The Twins have signed right-hander Alex Speas, as initially announced by Speas’ agency, Munger English Sports Management (X link). Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune confirmed that it is a minor league deal, and it isn’t known if the contract contains an invitation to the Twins’ big league Spring Training camp.
Minnesota becomes Speas’ sixth different MLB organization within the last 14 months. A second-round pick for the Rangers in the 2016 draft, Speas spent his entire pro career with Texas until October 2023, when the White Sox claimed the righty off waivers. The A’s traded for Speas last April, and he subsequently went to the Astros and then the Red Sox on other waiver claims after being designated for assignment. Boston DFA’ed Speas as well and outrighted him off their 40-man roster in August, and Speas finished out the season pitching with Triple-A Worcester.
Speas’ transactional whirlwind resulted in just a single game at the Major League level, as he tossed two relief innings for the Astros on May 31 (in a 6-1 loss to his new team, the Twins). Speas’ overall MLB resume consists of four games, as he first reached the Show with three appearances for Texas during the 2023 season. Speas has a 9.00 ERA in that small sample size as a big leaguer, and an 8.69 ERA in 58 career innings at the Triple-A level.
Those struggles can be directly traced to a garish 23.05% walk rate, as Speas’ inability to find the plate has left him unable to claim any sort of foothold in the majors. Since Speas has a 28.13% strikeout rate at Triple-A and a fastball in the 100mph range, it is easy to see why teams keep taking chances on Speas, and the Twins will become the latest club to see if it can harness Speas’ control and turn him into a useful relief pitcher. Speas turns 27 in March, so it isn’t too late for him to break out if he can deliver even a passable walk rate.