Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Twins and second baseman Jonathan Schoop are finalizing a one-year, $7.5 million contract. The deal also includes performance incentives.
Schoop, 27, opened the season with the Orioles, batting .244 with 17 home runs and 40 RBI in 367 plate appearances. The Brewers acquired him ahead of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline but it didn’t work out for the Brewers. Schoop posted a paltry .577 OPS in 46 games and went hitless in eight postseason at-bats.
Schoop had a very productive year in 2017 but it looks like an outlier compared to what he’s done over the rest of his six-year career. Still, it’s a relatively cheap contract for the Twins.
MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger adds that the Twins have also inked infielder Ronald Torreyes to a one-year contract. Torreyes was designated for assignment by the Yankees on November 26, then traded to the Cubs two days later. The Cubs non-tendered Torreyes two days after that. So it’s been an interesting two weeks for him.
With Torreyes and Schoop, the Twins have added some capable infielders at little cost.