“We were thinking, how do we lengthen out what we already have?” said Derek Falvey, the Twins’ president of baseball operations. “He could be your prototypical swingman, who can pitch out of the bullpen. We don’t have a lefthanded starter in the mix right now, either. He just adds another guy that we think can help.”
Irvin, who will only cost the Twins about $150,000 of his $2 million salary, won’t be eligible for the postseason, but he could be a part of next year’s pitching staff, Falvey said.
“Our view is to get to know him a little bit, get to know what he’s trying to do. And our pitching guys already have some ideas about ways where he could be a little bit more like he was early in the year,” Falvey said. “Hopefully we can identify some things that he can do well for us that complement what we always have.”
For Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, adding Irvin, who has also pitched for the Phillies and A’s, gives him another lefthander on a staff that has carried only one, Caleb Thielbar, since Steven Okert was released a month ago. The Twins will also finish the season with the fewest games started by a lefthander in their history; Okert’s one start, as an opener for David Festa against the Phillies in July, is the Twins’ only one, and it lasted only four batters.
“Any team can find ways to use lefthanded arms. There are many pockets every game where you can use them,” Baldelli said. “But it’s not a vital thing. It’s not always a necessity, but I think we can find ways to use this guy, effective ways.”
In addition to demoting Alcala, the Twins designated Class AAA righthander Randy Dobnak for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Irvin, who owns a 6-5 record and 4.86 ERA this year.