October 2

Mike Dorgan (1853)

Eddie Murphy (1891)

Gene Benson (1913)

Masayori Shimura (1913)

Maury Wills (1932)

Earl Wilson (1934)

Bob Robertson (1946)

Greg Pryor (1949)

Alan Newman (1969)

Matt Walbeck (1969)

Eddie Guardado (1970)

Scott Schoeneweis (1973)

Jose Morban (1979)

Aaron Hicks (1989)

Cam Bedrosian (1991)

Oliver Ortega (1996)

Masayori Shimura was a pioneering baseball broadcaster in Japan.

Cam Bedrosian is the son of ex-Twin Steve Bedrosian.

Not “the” Al Newman, left-hander Alan Spencer Newman did not pitch for the Twins, but was in their farm system for a few years. He was a big (6′ 6″, 240) left-handed pitcher who was born and raised in LaHabra, California. He attended Fullerton Junior College and was drafted by the Twins in the second round in 1988. He pitched well in Class A, but was not promoted to AA until half-way through the 1991 season. He had a good half-season at AA Orlando, but could not repeat his success there in 1992. In June of 1993, Newman was traded to Cincinnati with Tom Houk for Gary Scott. He was frequently on the move after that: Newman was a part of the organizations of the Cubs, Padres, White Sox, and Padres again. He also spent three years with Alexandria in the independent Texas-Louisiana League. Newman signed with Tampa Bay in 1999, and after going 10-0 with a 2.24 ERA in AAA Durham, he was finally promoted to the big leagues at age 29. He did not pitch well, however, and was released after the season. He hooked on with Cleveland, had a good year with AAA Buffalo, and made it to the Indians for one game in June. Newman was again released after the season. He played in the Japan Central League from 2001-2003, and played in independent leagues from 2004-2006 before finally calling it a career. Alan Newman was an instructor for Baseball Softball World of Yorba Linda, California; however, he is no longer listed as one on their website.  At last report, he was living in Pedley, California and was the owner of Old School Baseball, a baseball instructional facility.

Catcher Matthew Lovick Walbeck played for Minnesota from 1994-1996. Born and raised in Sacramento, he was drafted by the Cubs in the eighth round in 1987. He spent five years in rookie and Class A ball, but had a good year when finally promoted to AA Charlotte in 1992, hitting .301. Walbeck made the Cubs out of spring training in 1993, but was returned to the minors in late April after playing in only five games. After the season, he was traded to the Twins with Dave Stevens for Willie Banks. Walbeck was a semi-regular catcher for the Twins for three seasons. He hit .230/.271/.300 as a Twin in 946 at bats, with 8 home runs and 103 RBIs. After the 1996 season, Walbeck was traded to Detroit for Brent Stentz. He was the Tigers’ backup catcher in 1997 and did a good job for them, hitting .277 in 151 at-bats. The Tigers traded him to Anaheim before the 1998 season. Walbeck was a semi-regular for the Angels for three years. He did relatively well his first two years there, but when he slumped to a .199 average in 2000 it was time to move again. In 2001, Walbeck played for the Cincinnati and Philadelphia organizations, batting 1.000 in one at-bat for the Phillies. He was traded to the Tigers before the 2002 campaign, and made it back to the majors in mid-May. Walbeck remained with the Tigers through 2003, and then turned to managing.  He was named Eastern League manager of the year in 2010 while heading the Altoona Curve, but was let go after the season.  He then was the manager of the Class A Rome Braves, but he was fired in July of 2011.  Matt Walbeck is currently living in Fair Oaks, California, where he owns the Walbeck Baseball Academy.

Everyday Eddie Guardado would not make a list of all-time greats, but he is remembered fondly by most Twins’ fans. Left-handed reliever Edward Adrain Guardado played for the Twins from 1993-2003. Born and raised in Stockton, California, he attended San Joaquin Delta College and was drafted by the Twins in the 21st round in 1990. He did not sign until May of 1991. A starter throughout his minor-league career, Guardado was promoted to the Twins in 1993 after a hot start in AA Nashville. He was placed in the Twins’ rotation and made 16 starts for them that year, but he clearly was not ready, going 3-8 with a 6.18 ERA. Guardado made the Twins to stay in 1995. He moved into a set-up role in 1996, and stayed in that role until late 2001, when he became the Twins’ closer after LaTroy Hawkins imploded. He remained the Twins’ closer through 2003 and was a part of the Twins’ playoff teams in 2002-03. Guardado was an all-star in 2002 and 2003 and led the league in saves with 45 in 2002, when he finished 15th in the MVP balloting. He became a free agent after the 2003 season, and signed with Seattle. He did well for the Mariners when healthy, but began having injury problems. Guardado was traded to Cincinnati in July of 2006. He pitched well for the Reds that year, but not so well in 2007, and was released. He signed with Texas in 2008, and was pitching well in a set-up role when the Twins brought him back in late August in an attempt to bolster their bullpen in a playoff push, trading minor league pitcher Mark Hamburger for him.  Most people were happy to see Everyday Eddie back in a Twins uniform, but he was unable to help, and 2009 found Guardado back with the Rangers. He was decent, but no more, and announced his retirement after the season. He changed his mind and attempted to come back with Washington in 2010, but was released during spring training, bringing his playing career to an end. As a Twin, Guardado was 37-48 with 116 saves. His ERA, inflated by his time as a starter, was 4.55, his WHIP was 1.34, and his ERA+ was 104. He is thought of by Twins fans as a tough competitor who was always willing to take the ball and go into battle. He sponsored the Eddie Guardado Foundation, which helps families affected by autism by reducing their out of pocket expenses for therapy and treatment.  That foundation later merged with Autism Care Today, now known as ACT Today, of which Eddie is a director.  He was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2013.  He became the Twins' bullpen coach in 2015, but was let go after the 2018 season.  His oldest son, Niko, is an actor who has been on "The Goldbergs" and the "Party of Five" reboot.  At last report, it appeared that Eddie Guardado had moved to Tustin Ranch, California.

Infielder Jose Morban did not play for the Twins, but was in spring training with them in 2003. Born and raised in Santiago, Dominican Republic, he signed with Texas as a free agent in 1996. A speedy player with a little pop in his bat, he struggled to keep his batting average at an acceptable level. He also struggled to make contact, fanning over a hundred times in each full minor league season he played. He was still in Class A in 2002, but the Twins saw something they liked, because they chose him in the Rule 5 draft.  To make room for him on the roster, the Twins released a failed prospect named David Ortiz. They kept Morban through most of spring training, but placed him on waivers at the end of March and he was chosen by Baltimore. The Orioles apparently liked him, too, because they kept him in the majors all season rather than send him back to Texas. He appeared in 61 games, but got only 71 at-bats; in 23 of his games, he was used as a pinch-runner. Oddly, he was also used at designated hitter in four games, making him the most unlikely DH this side of Jason Tyner. He hit .141/.187/.225 that season with two home runs. Those are also his career numbers, as he never played in the major leagues after that season. He split 2004 between A and AA, then became a free agent and signed with Cleveland. He reached AAA with the Indians in 2005, then moved on to Seattle. He appears to have been injured part of the season, but did not hit when he was healthy and was released in late August. Morban went back to the Rangers in 2007 but was released in mid-April. He then spent three seasons in independent ball before his playing career came to an end.  At last report, it appeared that Jose Morban was living in the Dominican Republic.

Outfielder Aaron Michael Hicks played for the Twins from 2013-2015.  He was born in San Pedro, California, went to high school in Long Beach, and was drafted by the Twins in the first round in 2008 with the fourteenth pick.  He hit well in the Gulf Coast League that year, struggled some when he went to Beloit in 2009, did well when repeating the Midwest League in 2010, had a mediocre year in Fort Myers in 2011, did well in New Britain in 2012, and started 2013 in Minnesota.  He was clearly sent to the majors before he was ready.  Obviously it's easy to say that now, but there's really very little in his minor league record that suggested he would be ready to play in the majors in 2013.  Hicks was the Twins' starting centerfielder for the first half of the season and hit .192/.259/.338.  Sent to AAA at the all-star break, he struggled there, too, although that may have been at least partly due to injuries.  2014 was a case of "second verse, same as the first", as he again opened the season as the Twins starting centerfielder, again struggled at the plate, and again was sent back to the minors, this time to AA.  He did well in New Britain, did fairly well in Rochester, and was a September callup to the Twins.  He started 2015 in AAA, but after hitting .342 in 38 games he was called up to the Twins in mid-May and was their main center fielder the rest of the season.  He wasn't a superstar but he showed significant improvement, batting .256/.323/.398.  The Twins thought they needed a catcher, however, and traded him to the Yankees after the season for John Ryan Murphy.  He flopped in New York in 2016, batting just .217, but did much better in 2017.  He had an excellent first half, batting .290/.398/.515, but was injured on June 25 and missed about six weeks.  He was not nearly as good when he came back, batting just .216/.304/.402.  In 2018, however, he came back strong, hitting twenty-seven home runs and posting an OPS of .833.  He was injured at the start of 2019, started very slowly when he came back, and then was injured again in early August, making it kind of a wasted year for him.  He was healthier in 2020, but had another poor season, batting just .225, although with an OBP of .379.  He was batting below .200 in 2021 when he was injured in mid-May and missed the rest of the season.  He stayed healthy in 2022 but wasn't much better.  Two years ago, we wrote, "At some point, Aaron Hicks is going to have start hitting again if he's going to stay in the major leagues."  That point came when he got out of New York.  Struggling through another poor season, he was released in late May, signed with Baltimore a few days later, and immediately started hitting again.  He was the Orioles starting centerfielder for two months, got hurt, and upon coming back has been a "regular" at all three outfield spots.  He posted an OPS of .806 for Baltimore.  He signed with the Angels for 2024, but unfortunately left his batting stroke in Baltimore.  He batted .140 in eighteen games, and was released in May.  He did not sign with anyone, so his playing career is presumably over.  It wasn't a great career, but he played in twelve major league seasons, and there aren't a whole lot of people who can say that.  At last report, Aaron Hicks was living in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Right-hander Oliver Ortega appeared in ten games for the Twins in 2023.  He was born in Nagua, Dominican Republic, and signed as a free agent with the Angels in December of 2014.  He pitched very well in the Arizona League in 2016, missed 2017 due to injury, and came back to have a solid year in Class A in 2018.  He did well in high-A in 2019 but struggled in five AA starts.  He missed the COVID year of 2020 and was converted to the bullpen in 2021, struggling again in AA but oddly pitching much better in nine AAA appearances.  He started 2022 in the majors and pitched well for two months, but not very well in June and was sent back to AAA in early July.  He was waived in December of 2022 and claimed by the Twins for 2023.  He had a very good year in St. Paul and was with the Twins for about a month in the middle of the season.  He made ten appearances, pitching well in seven of them but not so well in the other three.  His numbers with the Twins are 0-1, 4.30, 1.23 WHIP with 14 strikeouts in 14.2 innings.  He was waived after the season and claimed by Houston.  He needed elbow surgery, however, and missed the entire 2024 season.  He signed with the Mets for 2025 and appeared in only thirteen minor league games, but pitched very well in them.  He turns twenty-nine today.  If he's healthy, Oliver Ortega could still have a decent major league career.

October 1

Ray Kolp (1894)

Carmen Hill (1895)

Jimmie Reese (1901)

Bob Griffith (1912)

Jim Russell (1918)

Bob Boyd (1919)

Hal Naragon (1928)

Chuck Hiller (1934)

Rod Carew (1945)

Bill Bonham (1948)

Pete Falcone (1953)

Jeff Reardon (1955)

Vance Law (1956)

Mark McGwire (1963)

Roberto Kelly (1964)

Chuck McElroy (1967)

John Thomson (1973)

Brandon Knight (1975)

Matt Cain (1984)

Erik Komatsu (1987)

Robbie Ray (1991)

Xander Bogaerts (1992)

Caleb Boushley (1993)

Charlie Barnes (1995)

David Banuelos (1996)

Jimmie Reese played in the majors only briefly, but was a coach in the majors or minors for most of his life.  He was Babe Ruth's roommate for a short period and uttered the famous line that in reality, he roomed with Babe Ruth's suitcase.  He is also remembered for his skill with a fungo bat, to the extent that he would sometimes pitch batting practice with it.

October 1 is tied for the lead for most Twins birthdays with nine.

Catcher Harold Richard Naragon played for the Twins from 1961-1962 at the end of a long career as a reserve catcher. Born in Zanesville, Ohio, his family moved to Barberton, Ohio when he was in the seventh grade. Naragon was signed as a free agent by the Indians in 1947 after attending a tryout camp. He was not a strong offensive player in the minors–his best season was 1950, when he hit .268 with 14 doubles for AA Oklahoma City. He was considered an excellent defensive player, however, and got a September call-up to the Indians in 1951. Naragon was then drafted into the Marines and did not play in 1952-53. When he returned to baseball in 1954, he was a big-leaguer. He remained one for the rest of his career with the exception of 1958, when he spent most of the year with AAA San Diego. Naragon never got more than 127 at-bats in a season with Cleveland, with the result that his batting average varied widely, from a low of .238 to a high of .323. He was traded to the Washington Senators in May of 1959. Naragon got the most at-bats of his career that season, 248, but hit only .247 with no power and not many walks. He returned to a backup role in 1960. Naragon came with the Senators to Minnesota in 1961, and hit .302 in 139 at-bats. In 1962, however, he lost the backup catcher spot to Jerry Zimmerman, batting only 35 times. He was released after the season, and his playing career was at an end. He became a bullpen coach with the Twins, becoming close friends with pitching coach Johnny Sain. Both Naragon and Sain were fired after the 1966 season, and both moved to the Detroit Tigers through 1969. After he was let go the Tigers, Naragon returned to Barberton and purchased a sporting goods store, which he operated until his retirement in 1990. As a Senator/Twin, Hal Naragon hit .252/.289/.295, with 2 home runs and 30 RBIs in 461 at-bats. Naragon was known as a sharp dresser and a fine golfer. Hal Naragon passed away on August 31, 2019 in Barberton.

Hall of Fame infielder Rodney Cline Carew played for the Twins from 1967-1978. Born in the Panama Canal Zone, he was named after the doctor who delivered him, Dr. Rodney Cline. The Carews came to the continental United States when Rod was 14, and he attended high school in Washington Heights, New York. He was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1964. He spent three years in the low minors, hitting well every season, and jumped to the Twins in 1967 despite never having played above Class A. He was clearly ready–he batted .292 and won the Rookie of the Year award. He also made the all-star team, his first of 18 consecutive seasons as an all-star. He missed time due to military reserve commitments in his first few seasons, and was injured much of 1970. Carew led the league in batting average seven times, with a high of .388 in 1977. He also led the league in OBP four times, led in hits three times, led in triples twice, and led in OPS once. Despite never hitting more than 14 home runs, he also led the league in intentional walks three times. Carew received votes for the Most Valuable Player award eight times, finishing in the top ten six times, the top five three times, and winning the award in 1977 despite playing for a fourth-place team. He stole home 17 times in his career, seven times in 1969. After the 1978 season, it became clear that Carew would become a free agent the next year, and it also became clear that the Twins would not offer him enough money to keep him. Thus, Carew was traded to the California Angels on February 3, 1979 for Dave Engle, Paul Hartzell, Brad Havens, and Ken Landreaux. He played seven years for the Angels, and continued to hit well. He batted over .280 every season for California, and batted over .300 his first five years there. He got MVP consideration for a ninth time in 1982, finishing 26th in the balloting. Carew retired after the 1985 season. A second baseman for his first nine years, he moved to first in 1976 and spent the rest of his career there. As a Twin, Rod Carew hit .334/.393/.448 with an OPS+ of 137. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on his first try in 1991. The national baseball stadium of Panama is named for him. Carew is the only player in the modern era of baseball to win a batting title without hitting a home run. He has served as the batting coach for the Angels and the Milwaukee Brewers.  As you probably know, he had a serious heart attack in 2015 which nearly killed him and required a heart transplant.  He is now involved in raising money for the American Heart Association through his Heart of 29 Campaign.

Right-handed reliever Jeffrey James Reardon pitched for the Twins from 1987-1989. He was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, went to high school in Dalton, Massachusetts, and attended the University of Massachusetts–Amherst. He was signed by the Mets as a free agent in 1977. A starting pitcher early in his minor league career, he converted to relief pitching while at AAA Tidewater in 1979. Reardon reached the majors in late August of 1979 and never returned to the minors. He never started a game in the majors–all of his 880 appearances were in relief. He pitched quite well for the Mets, but was traded to Montreal in late May of 1981 as part of a package for Ellis Valentine. He became the Expos’ closer in 1982 and did a fine job for them, leading the league in saves in 1985 with 41. In February of 1987, he was traded to Minnesota with Tom Nieto for Al Cardwood, Neal Heaton, Yorkis Perez, and Jeff Reed. Reardon immediately was made the Twins closer. He lost eight games in 1987, and had an ERA of 4.4, but after the Ron Davis Era he seemed like a godsend. The fact that the Twins won the World Series in his first year didn’t hurt anything, either. Reardon remained the Twins’ closer through 1989, when he became a free agent. He signed with Boston, where he was the closer for nearly three years, getting back to the playoffs in 1990. On August 30, 1992, Reardon was traded to Atlanta, where he again went to the World Series. He became a free agent after that season, and signed with the Reds, sharing closing duties with Rob Dibble. Neither of them had a particularly good year, and after the season Reardon was on the move again, signing with the Yankees. He got off to a poor start, however, and was released on May 8, 1994, ending his playing career. As a Twin, Jeff Reardon went 15-16 with 104 saves. He had an ERA of 3.70 and a WHIP of 1.15. Reardon made four all-star teams in his career, finished eighth in the Cy Young balloting in 1987, was in the top twenty in MVP balloting three times, and won the Rolaids Relief Man Award in 1985. As you may know, Reardon had more than his share of difficulties since leaving baseball. Sadly, his son Shane passed away from a drug overdose in 2004. In 2005, Reardon was charged with armed robbery of a jewelry store. It was eventually determined that he had committed the crime under the influence of antidepressants and mood stabilizers, and he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He was not required to be committed as a result of the court ruling, although he did received treatment. Jeff Reardon lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.  He appears that he now has his life in order and it is hoped that things will continue to go well for him.  He was inducted into the Western Massachusetts Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024.

Outfielder Roberto Conrado (Gray) Kelly played for the Twins from 1996-1997. Born and raised in Panama City, Panama, Kelly was signed by the Yankees as a free agent in 1982. He got off to a slow start in the minors, but seemed to hit his stride in 1986, when he batted .278 for AA Albany-Colonie. Promoted to AAA the following year, he got cups of coffee with the Yankees in 1987 and 1988 before reaching the big-leagues permanently in 1989. A high-average hitter, Kelly also showed some power with the Yankees, hitting 20 homers in 1991 and twice hitting over 30 doubles. He stayed with the Yankees through the 1992, but then was traded to Cincinnati for Paul O’Neill. His batting average stayed solid, but his power numbers declined, and he started moving around quite a bit. Kelly was traded to Atlanta in 1994 and went to Montreal and then Los Angeles in 1995. He became a free agent after the 1995 season, and signed with the Twins, where he played for most of two seasons. He hit well for the Twins, batting .308/.358/.450 in 569 at-bats. With the Twins out of contention in 1997, however, Kelly was traded to Seattle in August for Joe Mays and Jeromy Palki. Kelly moved on to the Texas Rangers for two solid years as a part-time player in 1998 and 1999. Kelly played ten games for the Yankees in 2000. He signed with the Rockies in 2001, and hit .288 with 12 home runs for AAA Colorado Springs, but did not make it back to the majors. Kelly played two years in the Mexican League, and then turned to managing and coaching. He played on two all-star teams in his career, and reached the post-season with the Dodgers, the Mariners, and twice with the Rangers.  He then became a minor league manager and major league coach.  At last report, Roberto Kelly was the manager of the Sultanes de Monterrey in the Mexican League.

Right-hander Brandon Michael Knight did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 2001.  He was born in Oxnard, California, went to high school in Ventura, California, attended Ventura College, and was drafted by Texas in the fourteenth round in 1995.  He spent five rather undistinguished years in the Rangers' system, never having a really good year above Class A, then was traded to the Yankees for Chad Curtis after the 1999 season.  He did better in 2000, spending the year in AAA and going 6-4, 4.44 but with a WHIP of 1.26.  The Twins chose him in the Rule 5 draft, but returned him to the Yankees in late March of 2001.  He then had a couple of fine seasons in AAA in 2001 and 2002 and got brief call-ups to the majors in both years, appearing in four games in 2001 and seven games in 2002 for the Yankees.  He pitched poorly in the big leagues both times, however, and went to Japan in 2003.  He pitched poorly in 2003 and pitched both poorly and seldom in 2004 and 2005.  Perhaps he was injured, although this is unclear.  In any event, he came back to the United States in 2006 and signed with the Pirates.  He had a fine year as a reliever for AA Altoona, but by this time he was thirty years old, so it really did not impress anyone.  He played for Somerset in the Atlantic League in 2007 and had started 2008 there when he was signed by the Mets in late May.  He pitched very well in AAA New Orleans, and by the end of the year Brandon Knight returned to the majors after a six year absence, a feat which would have really impressed people if anyone had remembered that he had been there before.  Nobody much noticed him now, either--he made four appearances for the Mets and again pitched poorly.  Returned to AAA in 2009, this time in Buffalo, he did not pitch well and was released in late July.  He went to Korea for the rest of 2009 and all of 2010, pitching for Samsung.  In 2011 he moved to Nexen, for whom he was still pitching in 2014.  He only made six starts in 2014, however, and was ineffective, bringing his playing career to an end.  His big-league numbers are 1-0, 8.62, 1.85 WHIP in 31.1 innings.  Still, he got there, and he appeared in fifteen big-league ball games, which is fifteen more than the vast majority of people will play in.  He was a pitching coach for the SSG Landers in the KBO.  At last report, Brandon Knight was running Knight Baseball, "helping players develop proper mechanics and an appreciation for the great game of baseball" in Ventura, California.

Outfielder Erik Jordan Komatsu played in fifteen games for the Twins in 2012.  Born and raised in Caramillo, California, he attended Cal State–Fullerton and was drafted by Milwaukee in the eighth round in 2008.  He had some fine years in the Brewers’ system, batting .321 in the Pioneer League in 2008,  .323 in the Florida State League in 2010, and .294 in the Southern League in 2011.  In July of 2011, however, he was traded to Washington, and he has done very little since.  He didn’t hit much the rest of 2011 in AA Harrisburg, was left unprotected, and was taken by St. Louis in the Rule 5 draft.  The Cardinals kept him on the roster at the start of the season but played him sparingly and put him on waivers in early May.  The Twins selected him and also kept him in the majors.  He appeared in fifteen games for Minnesota, starting nine of them.  He got 32 at-bats and hit .219/.297/.219.  The Twins then returned him to Washington and he spent the remainder of the season playing for AAA Syracuse, where he was decent but nothing more.  He was still in the Nationals organization in 2013 but was injured most of the season, appearing in only sixteen minor league games.  He started 2014 in Syracuse, was released in May, signed with the Angels a few days later, went first to AAA then to AA, was released in June, signed with Milwaukee a week later, and finished out the season in AA.  He played in the Atlantic League in 2015, then his playing career came to an end.  At last report, Erik Komatsu was an outside sales representative for UniFirst Corporation.

Left-hander Charlie Segars Barnes was with the Twins for about a month and a half in 2021.  Born and raised in Sumter, South Carolina, he attended Clemson and was drafted by the Twins in the fourth round in 2017.  His numbers at Clemson were not all that impressive until 2017, when he went 5-5, 3.20 with a WHIP of 1.18.  He kind of flew under the radar in the Twins' minor league system, not posting eye-popping numbers but doing pretty well at each stop.  He had a 2.61 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in a 2017 split between Elizabethton and Low-A Cedar Rapids; a 2.81 ERA with a 1.34 WHIP at High-A Fort Myers in 2018; and a 3.60 ERA with a 1.36 WHIP at AA Pensacola in 2019 (although he struggled when promoted to AAA that season).  He did not pitch in 2020, but he had a solid season at St. Paul in 2021 (3.79 ERA, 1.28 WHIP) and made nine appearances in the majors.  He has posted a 5.92 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP in those appearances (38 innings), which is obviously not good.  The Twins released him after the season and he went to Korea, where he had three fine seasons with Lotte.  He came back to the United States for 2025, signing with Cincinnati, but pitched poorly in AAA and returned to Lotte.  He turns thirty today.  It's doubtful, though not impossible, that he'll get another chance in the big leagues, but we wish him well with his career in the KBO.

Right-hander Caleb J. Boushley appeared in two games for the Twins in 2024.  He was born in Hortonville, Wisconsin, but we don't know whether he heard a Who.  He attended Wisconsin--LaCrosse and was drafted by San Diego in the thirty-third round in 2017.  He pitched well in the low minors but missed the 2020 COVID year.  He did well in eight AA starts in 2021, but struggled when promoted to AAA.  He was waived by the Padres after that season and claimed by Milwaukee.  He had a tremendous 2022 season in AAA Nashville, going 12-2, 3.25, 1.17 WHIP, but did not get a call to the majors.  He did not do as well in AAA in 2023 but got a major league start at the end of the season, getting his only major league win so far.  He was a free agent after the season and signed with Minnesota.  He did not pitch particularly well in AAA St. Paul, but made two appearances for the Twins anyway, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks in four innings.  He signed with Texas for 2025 and spent the season between AAA and the majors, pitching very well in AAA and not very well in the majors.  He was waived in early September and claimed by Tampa Bay, for whom he made three AAA appearances.  He turns thirty-two today and has no real record of success.  We wish him well, but it would be surprising if he got another chance in the majors.

Catcher David Clemente Banuelos did not play for the Twins, but was in their farm system from 2018-2023.  He was born in Ontario, California, attended Cal State--Long Beach, and was drafted by Seattle in the fifth round in 2017.  He played in low A for the Mariners that season, then was traded to Minnesota for "future considerations".  For most of his time with the Twins, he was your basic light-hitting catcher.  He was in Class A in 2018 and 2019, missed the 2020 COVID season, split 2021 between AA and AAA, and spent all of 2022 in AAA.  His best batting average in those seasons was .220 and his highest OPS was .648.  In 2023, however, he batted .270 with an OPS of .896.  Unfortunately, he did that at age twenty-six at AA, so no one was particularly impressed.  He became a free agent and signed with Baltimore for 2024.  He spent most of the year in AAA and batted .225 with an OPS of .713.  He was in the majors briefly in April and appeared in one game, pinch-hitting and flying out to right.  He was injured much of 2025, and again went 0-for-1 in the majors, although he did get hit by a pitch to make his OBP .500 for the year.  He turns twenty-nine today.  He is presumably good defensively, and he does draw a lot of walks.  It seems unlikely that he'll have much of a major league career, but there are light-hitting defensive catchers who've done it.  If he can catch someone's eye at the right time, it's still possible that we'll see David Banuelos around for a while yet.