The Twins claimed righty Thomas Hatch off waivers from the Royals, reports Dan Hayes of The Athletic. Kansas City had designated him for assignment over the weekend. The Twins subsequently announced the claim and added that the corresponding active roster move will be announced when Hatch reports to the team tomorrow. Minnesota had two vacancies on the 40-man roster after last week’s sell-off.
Hatch will be hoping for a longer run in the Twin Cities than he received in Kansas City. He only made one big league appearance with the Royals, giving up two runs in one inning. He’s out of minor league options, so the Royals quickly designated him for assignment after they selected his contract earlier in the week. It was the second time this season that K.C. had designated him almost immediately after a call-up. He went unclaimed on waivers in June, but the Twins placed a claim this time around as they look for fresh arms to fill out a bullpen that they tore down at the deadline.
The 30-year-old Hatch should be able to provide length out of Rocco Baldelli’s bullpen. He has worked as a starter with Kansas City’s Triple-A affiliate for the entire season. Hatch has managed decent results, working to a 4.22 earned run average across 91 2/3 innings. His 20.1% strikeout rate is a little below average, but he’s getting grounders at a 53% clip while showing solid control. Hatch has a five-pitch mix and sits around 93 MPH with both his sinker and four-seam fastball while working as a starter. He was able to push that into the 94-95 range in his lone MLB appearance in short relief.
Hatch has now pitched in parts of five big league seasons, combining for a 5.14 ERA across 70 innings. He had a brief stint in Japan last year and would have pitched this season with the Doosan Bears in Korea had the team not flagged something in his physical. The Twins will need to keep him on the MLB roster or designate him for assignment themselves.