The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have added right-handed pitchers Dakota Chalmers and Jhoan Duran, infielder Travis Blankenhorn, and outfielders Gilberto Celestino and Luke Raley to their major league roster.
Chalmers, 23, split last season between the GCL Twins and Single-A Ft. Myers, combining to go 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA (34.2 IP, 14 ER), 23 walks, 48 strikeouts, an opponent batting average of .173 and a 1.24 WHIP in nine starts. He was acquired by the Twins in a trade with the Oakland Athletics in August of 2018, in exchange for Fernando Rodney. Chalmers missed part of the 2019 season, recovering from “Tommy John” Surgery on his right elbow, a procedure he had done in April of 2018. The Snellville, Georgia native most recently made six starts with Salt River in the Arizona Fall League, recording 25 strikeouts in 17.2 innings pitched.
Duran, 21, split the 2019 season between Single-A Ft. Myers and Double-A Pensacola, combining to go 5-12 with a 3.76 ERA (115.0 IP, 48 ER), 40 walks, 136 strikeouts, an opponent batting average of .230 and a 1.19 WHIP in 23 games (22 starts). The Esperanza, Dominican Republic native was acquired by the Twins in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks in July of 2018, in exchange for Eduardo Escobar. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound pitcher finished the season ranked as the ninth-best prospect in the Twins organization by MLB.com.
Blankenhorn, 23, split last season between Single-A Ft. Myers an Double-A Pensacola, hitting .277 (122-for-440) with 22 doubles, two triples, 19 home runs, 54 RBI, 56 runs scored, 11 stolen bases and a .787 OPS in 108 combined games. The Pottsville, Pennsylvania native played most of the 2019 season at second base, registering 72 games there and 24 in leftfield. The 6-foot-2, 228-pound infielder was drafted by the Twins in the third round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of Pottsville (PA) High School. He earned a spot on both the 2019 Southern League Midseason and Postseason All-Star Teams, while finishing the season ranked as the 23rd-best prospect in the Twins organization by MLB.com.
Celestino, 20, split last season between Low-A Cedar Rapids and High-A Ft. Myers, hitting .277 (133-for-480) with 28 doubles, three triples, 10 home runs, 54 RBI, 58 runs scored, 14 stolen bases and a .349 on-base percentage in 125 combined games. The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native was acquired by the Twins in a trade with the Houston Astros in July of 2018, in exchange for Ryan Pressly. The 6-foot, 170-pound outfielder finished the season ranked as the 20th-best prospect in the Twins organization by MLB.com.
Raley, 25, spent last season between the GCL Twins and Triple-A Rochester, hitting .310 (45-for-145) with six doubles, eight home runs, 23 RBI, 29 runs scored and an .878 OPS in 38 combined games. He missed playing time in the middle of the season after undergoing surgery on his left ankle in late May. The Hinckley, Ohio native was acquired by the Twins in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers at the 2018 trade deadline, in exchange for Brian Dozier. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound outfielder recently played in 23 games for Salt River in the Arizona Fall League and was named AFL Hitter of the Week on October 23 after hitting .391 (9-for-23) with two doubles, two home runs and a 1.156 OPS for the Rafters.
The Twins now have 37 players on their major league roster; 19 pitchers, two catchers, eight infielders, seven outfielders and one designated hitter.