CLEVELAND — One day after the Twins completed a stunning fire sale at the trade deadline, shipping eight players to other teams Thursday, they brought up minor leaguers by the busload.
The Twins called up six players from Class AAA for Friday’s series opener in Cleveland, and they sent a team bus to pick them up from nearby Toledo, Ohio, where the St. Paul Saints are playing this week.
The additions include position players Austin Martin, Edouard Julien and Ryan Fitzgerald, along with pitchers Travis Adams, Pierson Ohl, Erasmo Ramírez and José Ureña. Outfielder Alan Roden, acquired from Toronto in the Louie Varland/Ty France deal, is joining the active roster, too.
“Toby [Gardenhire] told us we had a bus there, put our [baseball] stuff on the bus and go back to the hotel and grab your [personal] stuff, and it was a two-hour trip here,” Adams said, referring to the Saints manager. Adams described their clubhouse’s reaction to the trade deadline as “definitely shocked.”
Pitchers typically need to spend 15 days in the minors after they were optioned, but Adams and Ohl were permitted to return early because they’re replacing players who were traded away.
Martin and Roden were atop Friday’s lineup, both playing in the outfield, and Julien started at second base.
“These opportunities, they’re precious,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “It’s a beautiful thing watching guys take advantage of them and that’s what I want to see right now.”
Said Roden: “The vibe around the clubhouse is probably a unique situation. I am definitely understanding of that as much as possible to not get in the way of that. But for me, it’s a great opportunity and that’s how I’m viewing it.”
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