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MN Twins Sign Yet Another Veteran Pitcher
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- MN Twins Sign Yet Another Veteran Pitcher
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
If you have watched the Minnesota Twins at all of late, it has become wildly apparent that they are struggling to pitch. Rocco Baldelli is without both Pablo Lopez and Zebby Matthews from his rotation. The rest of the group, not named Joe Ryan , has been terrible.
As the team has fallen to a 37-41 record , the lineup simply hasn't been able to bail out the arms on a nightly basis. Due to the short starts, the bullpen has become taxed at times as well.
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Whatever pitching depth Minnesota thought they had to start the year is all but gone. They've grabbed Joey Wentz and Connor Gillispie in recent days to address that. Now Jose Urena is set to join them.
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The starting rotation has been among the worst in baseball across multiple metrics in the month of June. They have exhausted the arms on the 40-man roster and just picked up Gillispie and his 8.65 ERA from the Miami Marlins . Jose Urena hasn't been a regular starter for a couple of years but the swingman is hoping to contribute for the Twins.
José Ureña signs a Minor League deal with the Twins
It will be his 11th organization and the 4th in 2025 season 🤯 pic.twitter.com/cE6ao7hdcz— Fernando Rayo (@Rayo2Fer) June 25, 2025
It's a minor league deal that has Urena assigned to Triple-A St. Paul. He doesn't currently get a 40-man roster spot, but there are clear options that he could push off the big league roster if things go well.
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Urena is a veteran journeyman in every sense of the word. He has played 11 big league seasons and has been in 11 different organizations. If he makes it to the big leagues for the Minnesota Twins, he'll have pitched for four different franchises at the highest level this year.
Of course, when you've bounced around that much, the results haven't been pretty. Here's the tale of the tape.
| Organization |
Earned Runs |
IP |
|---|---|---|
| 5 |
3.0 |
|
| 5 |
12.1 |
|
| 1 |
3.0 |
As is obvious, Urena's sample size isn't great. It all equates to a 5.40 ERA (6.34 FIP) across 18 1/3 innings. He has just 10 strikeouts and five walks. Urena has never been a big strikeout guy as he owns a career 6.0 K/BB. He has nearly 600 innings under his belt with Miami, and his 3.80 ERA in 109 innings with Texas represents a career-low.
If the Twins have a specific way they intend to use Urena, going out of the bullpen to replace Wentz makes sense. His 96.8 mph average velocity is a career-high. You can predominantly expect Urena to use his sinker, slider, and changeup. The fastball is still there from his starting days though.
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Related: Report: Twins Already Made Their Decision on Rocco Baldelli
At some point Rocco Baldelli needs Twins pitching to stop the bleeding and let the lineup make a difference. Urena isn't going to be the answer, but he's another stab at a potential piece of a solution.
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