MINNEAPOLIS – The Twins increased their relief options and alleviated the impasse of the outfield on Thursday night by acquiring the right-handed Shaun Anderson of the Giants in exchange for outside defender LaMonte Wade Jr.
Anderson, 26, posted a 5.44 ERA in 2019 on his debut, but he improved to post a 3.52 ERA in 18 appearances outside the San Francisco bullpen last season. He became a reliever in July 2019 and focused more on his tough slider last season. Considering his relative success outside the bullpen and his history as an appeaser at the University of Florida, he probably profiles to remain an appeaser with the twins.
This makes sense, considering that the bullpen was the twins’ greatest need in this off-season, even after their recent wave of activities. Minnesota has now acquired Hansel Robles, Alex Colomé and Anderson as bullpen options alongside Taylor Rogers, Tyler Duffey, Cody Stashak, Jorge Alcala and Caleb Thielbar – the formation of a solid group that was very exhausted by the departures of Trevor May, Matt Wisler, Sergio Romo and Tyler Clippard for free agency.
Given Anderson’s relative lack of experience, his place in a Minnesota bullpen is unlikely to include high-leverage situations, but manager Rocco Baldelli and pitching coach Wes Johnson have consistently distributed the workload among their substitutes, with a focus on usage limited and rest over the past two seasons.
Anderson also fits the Twins’ recent mold of emphasizing the use of the slider, as the right-hand threw his slider into 53 percent of his pitches last season, generating a 39.7 percent scent rate with the offer. It is a difficult slider that averages 88.3 mph and is used as your starting throw.
In order to gain a controllable young reliever, the twins had to part ways with a controllable young outfielder, who was fortunately an area of excess for Minnesota.
Wade saw time in the outfield and first base in 2019 and 20, and he showed strong eye and plaque discipline. The lack of strength in his bat limited Wade’s playing time, with Jake Cave serving as the fourth favorite outfielder for much of his stint with the twins. Cave remains on the team, and the long-awaited establishment of top players Alex Kirilloff, Brent Rooker and Trevor Larnach in the Majors throughout this season could have pushed Wade off the list anyway.