The Minnesota Twins signed outfielder Drew Stubbs to a minor league contract with an invite to Major League Spring Training, per Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.
In an effort to add a veteran presence to their young outfield, the Minnesota Twins signed outfielder Drew Stubbs to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. As it stands now, the Twins figure to start Byron Buxton in center field, Eddie Rosario in left and Max Kepler in right.
#Twins have Buxton, Kepler, Grossman, Santana and Rosario on their OF depth chart. Stubbs will try to win a bench job in spring training.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) February 8, 2017
With Buxton at 23, Kepler set to turn 24 in a month and Rosario at 25, the Twins would have one of the youngest outfield trios in the game. Adding Stubbs to the mix gives the Twins flexibility in alignment and can compensate for any cold stretches the trio may endure. While young, Buxton, Kepler and Rosario spent most of last season together with Triple-A Rochester, which gives the trio experience that will undoubtedly help as the season progresses.
While Stubbs isn’t a lock to make the big league club, the Twins currently have 26-year-old Danny Santana penciled in as the team’s fourth outfielder – so Stubbs may have a clear path to the major league roster if he performs well in Spring Training.
Stubbs could see time as a platoon partner for the left-handed hitters Rosario and Kepler. In 841 career at-bats against lefties, Stubbs owns a .272 average.
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Since his time with the Cincinnati Reds from 2009-2012, Stubbs has seen a major drop-off in production. In 2010 and 2011, Stubbs looked to be a capable contributor in the majors when he posted a .249/.325/.401 slash line with 37 combined home runs and 70 steals in 308 games. But consistency at the plate and strikeout concerns continued to grow as Stubbs moved to the Cleveland Indians.
A move to the Colorado Rockies in 2014 looked to revive Stubbs’ career, as he hit .289 with a .821 OPS and 15 home runs in 132 games, but he stumbled out of the gate in 2015 and failed to recapture his stroke upon moving to the Texas Rangers.
In 2016, Stubbs played for the Rangers, Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles in 59 total major league games, and struck out in 40 percent of his at-bats.
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The hope for the Twins is that Stubbs can regain his status as a valuable bench bat, like he was during his time in Colorado. At 32, it’s unlikely that Stubbs will be able to suddenly cut down his strikeouts, but playing as a veteran for a young Minnesota team may be the right move to help him regain his focus.