Twins Acquire Jeff Howell for Future Considerations

The most minor deal at the trade deadline was the Twins’ acquisition of Royals minor league catcher Jeff Howell for future considerations.

Howell, 27, was playing with Double-A Northwest Arkansas, batting .242/.305/.395. He was 4-for-17 with a double in a brief Triple-A cameo earlier this year.

He posted strikingly similar numbers last year at Double-A, and in High-A the year before, so a low-.300’s OBP, high-.300’s slugging guy seems to be what he is. Scouts credit him with a sound, all-fields approach and decent swing, so he at least understands his limits and doesn’t try to hit the ball out of the ballpark.

Howell typically throws out about a quarter of attempted base thieves against him, so he’s not a shutdown guy in that regard, either. He’s known as a good receiver and polished defender, and has committed just two passed balls all season.

Howell has some skills, but he looks like an emergency backup catcher at best, largely because he’s 27. Catchers can develop later than most, but Howell looks like strictly a depth pickup for Minnesota, a team that has been forced to use catcher Tobias Streich, well below the Mendoza Line at Low-A, as the Double-A backup catcher the last couple of weeks. Howell should step into that role and help tutor a New Britain staff that has struggled this year despite the presence of prospects Tyler Robertson and Deolis Guerra.

As for Kansas City, I’m not sure what “future considerations” amounts to, but Howell doesn’t look like a guy who carries much of any trade value, so getting compensation for him leaving right before he was about to become a six-year minor league free agent is nice.