Minnesota Twins: Logan Morrison injury could end up seeing Rooker
The Minnesota Twins lost starting DH Logan Morrison for the season to injury over the weekend, but it could end up leading to seeing their 2017 first-round selection.
Another strike against the 2018 Minnesota Twins season came this weekend, when it was revealed the injury that knocked out Logan Morrison would end up keeping him out for the rest of the season and likely into 2019.
After a season that saw Morrison hit 38 home runs for the Rays, the Minnesota Twins signed Morrison for a 1-year, $5.5M deal with an option for $8M or a $1M buyout. With news that LoMo will likely need up to 8 months to recover from hip surgery, he will not be having that option picked up.
Morrison’s performance likely had indicated he would not be back, as he’s hit .186/.276/.368 before the injury ended his season, a prime example of the players the Twins were relying on that came up short in performance to spiral the 2018 season.
With Morrison out, the obvious player to immediately benefit will be Tyler Austin, recently acquired from the Yankees for Lance Lynn. Austin is really a power-only player, though, not a ton different from Morrison.
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The guy that could be interesting to possibly get a shot with Morrison out and Joe Mauer a free agent after the season is the Minnesota Twins supplemental first-round pick in 2017, Brent Rooker.
Coming out of Mississippi State, the Minnesota Twins selected Rooker with their supplemental first round pick, with the 35th overall selection. He came out and simply dominated, hitting .281/.364/.566 in 62 games with 18 home runs. This season, the Twins pushed Rooker to AA, and he struggled right out of the gate in April, but from May 1st on, Rooker has hit .277/.360/.542 with 25 doubles and 20 home runs over 87 games.
Rooker can play outfield and first place, so he’s not just a bat-only the way that Austin has become as well, so that could be a way for him to garner more playing time as well. With Rooker likely to figure into the Minnesota Twins opening day competition for 1B/DH (or a corner outfield spot if a trade were to happen), bringing him up would give the team a chance to see what they have in the right-handed slugger.
The Minnesota Twins should be seeing plenty of young players getting a chance, but with an opening like this, there’s no reason for the Twins NOT to give at-bats to a guy that is certainly the future of the middle of the Twins lineup!