BALTIMORE -- The Twins' bullpen is one short on Saturday, after Samuel Deduno was claimed off waivers by the Houston Astros.
The 31-year-old righthander, who twice failed to hold a spot in Minnesota's starting rotation, finishes his Twins career with a 16-18 record and 4.26 ERA. He started 41 games, pitched in long relief another 22 times, and tantalized fans with his sometimes-dominating fastball.
But his lack of control was a persistent problem, and ultimately, the Twins decided to let him go for nothing but the $25,000 waiver fee. The Astros will pay the final month of his $520,000 contract, and the Twins free up a roster spot they can use for a younger player.
"He was sad to leave Minnesota," said manager Ron Gardenhire, who broke the news to the veteran righthander in the lobby of the team's hotel here. "He definitely liked it here. But I told him, it's always a good thing when somebody wants you."
To replace Deduno, the Twins added lefthander Aaron Thompson to the 40-man roster and summoned him from Class AAA Rochester, where he had posted a 3.59 ERA in 52 innings this season. "We wanted to bring in a lefty who's getting lefties out," Gardenhire said of the decision. Thompson, 27, was originally drafted by the Marlins in 2005 and has been in the Twins system since 2012. He appeared in four games with the Pirates in 2011, making one start, and posting a 7.04 ERA.
Thompson will arrive tomorrow, so the Twins will play with one fewer pitcher in the bullpen, though since Deduno threw 44 pitches last night, he wouldn't have been available today anyway.
Kyle Gibson is on the mound tonight, trying to reverse his recent trend: The second-year righthander has a 6.08 ERA over his last four starts. He'll face Chris Tillman, an 11-game winner for the Orioles. Here are tonight's lineups:
TWINS
Santana CF
Dozier 2B
Mauer DH
Vargas 1B
Arcia RF
Plouffe 3B
Suzuki C
Escobar SS
Schafer LF
Gibson RHP
ORIOLES
Markakis RF
Young DH
Jones CF
Cruz LF
Davis 1B
Hardy SS
Paredes 3B
Hundley C
Schoop 2B
Tillman RHP
