veteran swingman Erasmo Ramirez The company hopes to be operational by 2026, Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune reports. The right-hander pitched 11 innings for the Twins last season. Nightengale revealed that Ramirez is practicing as a starter.
Minnesota is Ramirez’s seventh stop in his 14-year career. The 34-year-old was drafted from Triple-A St. Pauls in August when the Twins’ bullpen was devastated at the trade deadline. Ramirez recorded a two-out save in his first game with the club. He posted a 2.45 ERA in nine games and ended his tenure in Minnesota with five straight scoreless games. Ramirez was assigned to duty in late August. Shortly after the season, he was elected as a free agent.
Ramirez has extensive starting experience, making 96 starts in Major League Baseball (MLB). However, he hasn’t worked extensively in this capacity for some time. In 2015, Ramirez made a career-high 27 starts with Tampa Bay. After spending 2016 almost exclusively as a reliever, he made 19 starts for the Rays and Mariners in 2017. Ramirez missed most of the first half of 2018 with a strained shoulder, but he started 10 games for Seattle.
Boston signed Ramirez on a minor league deal before the 2019 season. Since then he has primarily served as a backup. Ramirez has made 144 major league appearances over the past seven seasons, including only four starts.
Ramirez had a 4.34 ERA in 860 MLB games. He came into the league with a fastball in the mid-90s, and it’s no surprise that he’s lost some of his mark over the years. Ramirez has been primarily a cutter/reacher this decade, but he’s not afraid to expand his arsenal. As recently as 2023, he threw seven different pitches. He has since given up on his slider and cleanup pitch, relying on his curveball as his only breaking pitch the past two seasons.
As a veteran pitcher who relies on veteran craftiness, Ramirez may be best suited in a swingman role, covering multiple innings as needed. His last two MLB starts came in 2023 during his second stint with the Rays. While neither game went as far as four innings, both men took short breaks and ultimately earned the victory over Tampa Bay. This flexibility could be valuable for teams in need of reliable innings.
Photos by Matt Krohn, Imagn Images
