Minnesota Twins interim general manager Rob Antony remained active Monday afternoon, as he shipped left-handed reliever Fernando Abad to the Red Sox per multiple reports.
Nothing is finalized on the roster quite yet, but this would sure seem to mean that Tyler Duffey will have a more permanent spot in the bullpen, as a roster move was needed once Jose Berrios was confirmed as Monday’s starter.
Abad was a non-roster invitee to spring training this year for the Twins, and pitched his way into higher-leverage work as the season went on. His Twins tenure finishes with 39 appearances, a 2.65 ERA, 7.7 K/9 and a WHIP of 1.21.
Over his career he hasn’t been a traditional LOOGY (lefty, one out guy), but this year his splits have borne that out more, as he’s allowed a .712 OPS to righties and a meager .458 mark to lefties. Left-handed hitters have just three extra-base hits against Abad this season in 52 plate appearances (a .265 slugging percentage), while righties also didn’t exactly blast Abad but got on base at a steady .360 clip.
Abad battled some back stiffness in early June, and since June 1 has pitched to a 4.91 ERA with an 11-9 K/BB ratio in 14.2 innings. Prior to that, his season ERA was just 0.93.
Still, he makes a ton of sense as a capable lefty for a Red Sox team that has Craig Kimbrel, Koji Uehara and Carson Smith all on the disabled list.
The return from the Red Sox is 25-year-old right-handed reliever Pat Light, who has just 2.2 big league innings under his belt — seven earned runs (23.63 ERA) — but has worked the late innings in Triple-A Pawtucket this year with seven saves and a 2.32 ERA. He reportedly throws in the upper 90s, but has experienced command issues at time. This year, he’s fanned 36 batters in 31 innings with the PawSox (10.5 K/9), but has also walked 17 (4.9 BB/9).
Light was on the 40-man roster for the Red Sox, and was added prior to this season. As a result, he’ll have two option years left with the Twins.
Dan Farnsworth of Fangraphs placed Light No. 18 on the team’s top prospect list this spring, and highlighted a plus-plus fastball with a swing-and-miss splitter as giving him potential to throw late innings for the Red Sox. Farnsworth said the stuff is very, very good but he has battled an issue with tipping pitches in the past.
Baseball America’s midseason update had Light as the Red Sox’ No. 10 prospect. They say he has a “special” fastball that sits in the high 90s which works well with his split. The slider is nothing special right now, and he’s still a work in progress as far as control goes.
