It’s beyond interesting how often things can come full circle in baseball. Heading into the season ZiPS suggested that the Minnesota Twins may have the best bullpen in baseball. Following the trade deadline teardown, they may have the worst.
Jorge Alcala was part of the group to begin the year. Then he was sent packing in a trade with the Boston Red Sox. Now Minnesota needs stabilizing relief arms, and they are considering Ryan Pressly, who was originally traded to Houston in exchange for Alcala.
Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images
It remains to be seen if Minnesota wants their former high-octane arm back, but the Red Sox decided they are done with the Alcala experience.
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Boston Red Sox DFA former Minnesota Twins reliever Jorge Alcala
Jorge Alcala pitched 22 games for the Minnesota Twins prior to being dealt to Boston. He lasted just 19 games with the Red Sox before being cast off again.
After another blowup outing, manager Alex Cora talked with Mass Live’s Chris Cotillo and described much of Alcala’s career.
“The stuff was good. He wasn’t able to throw strikes. Good kid, good stuff. We’ll see what the future holds, but we needed to make a change.”
Some pitchers are effectively wild, and some are just wild. Since 2022, Alcala owns a 4.2 BB/9. It’s not incredibly-high for a reliever, but so often he puts himself in bad situations.
In 19 games for Boston Alcala owned a 3.31 ERA. Behind that was a 5.56 FIP, which is even higher than the 5.45 FIP that he owned with Minnesota. Alcala also allowed four home runs in just 16 1/3 innings. The longball has been a bugaboo for a while.
Through his first 14 outings with Boston, Alcala allowed five runs (one earned) in 13 innings. Over his last five outings, the final of which was a three-run blowup against Kansas City, he recorded less than three outs four times. Alcala allowed six runs (five earned) in just 3 1/3 innings with a 5/4 K/BB.
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Related: MN Twins Interested in Former (Familiar) Top Reliever
Because of his upper-90’s fastball Alcala is likely to find another opportunity. Whether that comes with a contender or not is a question. Alcala has been virtually this same pitcher for years. That won’t stop another organization from thinking they can change him.
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