Traded Twins reliever DFA’d by Cardinals after Red Sox did the same months earlier

The Twins traded righty reliever Jorge Alcalá to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for minor leaguer Andy Lugo on June 11, after Alcalá started the season with an abysmal 8.88 ERA over 24 1/3 innings. Alcalá’s fall was largely unexpected, as he had a 3.24 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 58 1/3 innings the season before.

Cardinals DFA former Twins reliever Jorge Alcalá, about three months after Red Sox did the same

Alcalá had one short tenure with Bostonas the Red Sox designated him for assignment on August 5 after he posted a 3.31 ERA with 18 strikeouts and eight walks in 16 1/3 innings for the historic franchise. Two days later, the St. Louis Cardinals claimed Alcalá off waivers.

In 15 games for the Cardinals, Alcalá posted a 5.02 ERA with 15 strikeouts and seven walks over 14 1/3 innings. The St. Louis front office decided it had seen enough from the former Twins righty, announcing the decision to designate him for assignment on Tuesday.

Should the Twins consider bringing back righty reliever Jorge Alcalá?

Alcalá’s main problem last season was his inability to restrict free passes; his 11.7% walk rate ranked in the seventh percentile. His groundball percentage (34.5%) was also poor, ranking in the 14th percentile. And while his hard hit rate (37.6%) was in the 71st percentile, his barrel rate (10.9%) was in the low 10th percentile.

While all of these stats above suggest that Minnesota shouldn’t consider bringing back Alcalá, it could be difficult for the righty reliever to find a major league deal this season. If that’s the case, the Twins might as well sign him to a minor league contract. After all, he has been successful in a Twins uniform in the past.

But if a team wants to offer Alcalá a major league deal, the Twins shouldn’t even consider doing the same. Yes, Minnesota is in dire need of rebuilding its bullpen after the fire sale at the trade deadline last summer, but Alcalá probably isn’t the answer.

In terms of rebuilding the bullpen, the Twins have already taken a step in the right direction by trading for Rays reliever Eric Orze. The Twins still have more work to do, but Alcalá isn’t worth adding unless they can get him a minor league contract.