Twins left-hander Steven Okert went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A St. Paul, per the group’s transaction log at MLB.com. Minnesota designated him for task over the weekend. Okert has four-plus seasons of huge league service, giving him greater than the three years wanted to reject the task in favor of free company however fewer than the 5 years required to take action whereas nonetheless retaining the rest of his wage. He’d must forfeit the rest of this season’s $1.0625MM wage (about $188K) to turn out to be a free agent, so it’s fairly possible he’ll settle for the task and head to St. Paul.
Acquired from the Marlins in a straight-up swap for utilityman Nick Gordon — who was additionally not too long ago designated for task and outrighted — Okert had a good first half however has seen his outcomes tumble because the All-Star break. The 6’2″ southpaw pitched to a 3.86 ERA with a 22.1% strikeout fee and 9% stroll fee previous to the Midsummer Traditional however has been torched for a 9.82 earned run common with a 15.8% strikeout fee and 13.2% stroll fee in 7 1/3 second-half frames. Total, he’s sitting on a 5.09 ERA for the season.
Okert, 33, has been working in medium-leverage conditions for a lot of the season however has struggled essentially the most in his most pressure-filled spots. He’s been credited with seven holds and one save but additionally six blown saves. Solely three relievers in baseball this season (min. 30 innings) have a decrease mark in phrases in Win Chance Added than Okert’s -1.84.
Whereas Okert actually hasn’t had his finest efficiency in his first season with the Twins group, he has a stable monitor file courting again to his Marlins days. From 2020-23, he tossed 153 1/3 innings for Miami and notched a tidy 3.40 ERA. His 10.2% stroll fee in that point typically matches this 12 months’s 10% mark, however from ’20-’23 Okert punched out 28.9% of his opponents. This 12 months, that mark has plummeted to twenty.6%. Okert’s slider stays lethal, with opponents hitting simply .141/.236/.295 within the 89 plate appearances he’s wrapped up with that providing. Nonetheless, they’ve completely teed off on his four-seamer (which has misplaced practically a mile per hour in 2024), batting an eye-popping .424/.486/.636 in opposition to the pitch.
Okert will attempt to get again on monitor throughout the river in St. Paul, although he’ll have solely a month or so to pitch his approach again into consideration for the group’s possible postseason roster. If Okert isn’t added again to the 40-man roster previous to the offseason, he’ll have the suitable to turn out to be a free agent, as is the case with all outrighted gamers who’ve greater than three years of huge league service time.
