CLEVELAND – Johnny Field was all smiles in the clubhouse Monday. It's been quite a year for him.
He made his major league debut with the Rays and appeared in 62 games before being optioned to Class AAA Durham. While there, Wilson Ramos was injured, and the Rays needed a spot on the 40-man roster.
"They told me they were going to try to sneak me through waivers," Field said.
He was designated for assignment — but claimed by Cleveland on July 24. But the Indians dealt for outfielder Oscar Mercado on July 31, and had to make room for him on the 40-man roster. Field was DFA'd again — and claimed by the Twins.
Field, an outfielder, went home to Las Vegas the first time he was designated for assignment, then flew out to Pawtucket to join Class AAA Columbus. When he was DFA'd the second time, he was in Columbus and just hung out there until he found out where he was headed next.
"It's been a crazy two-week stretch, for sure," Field said.
Now he's with the Twins as bench help for the time being.
Letter from Falvey defends July deals
The Twins' decision to trade five players before the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline did not go over well with fans or players.
Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey is aware of that and has responded.
In a letter to Twins season-ticket holders on Monday, Falvey laid out his reasons for becoming a seller before the deadline. He said he felt that where the team was at in the standings with around 60 games to play, that it was time to extract as much value he could from the five players he traded — four of them under expiring contracts.
"I want to make one thing clear — our commitment will always be to invest in the now or in the future," Falvey said in the letter. "It is our fervent belief that by doing neither, teams will run right past us. That is not an acceptable outcome and would represent a missed opportunity."
That is what led to "a difficult decision," Falvey said, and he added that he fully understood the short-term impact of trading popular players such as Brian Dozier and Eduardo Escobar.
In the days following the July 27 trade of Escobar to Arizona, Falvey and General Manager Thad Levine flew to Boston and made themselves available to the players. Some, like Joe Mauer, took them up on it.
Mauer said he wanted to make clear that he felt the team was good enough to get back in the AL Central race.
"And I think they expected that too," Mauer said. "I think they still feel good about the guys who are still here. They know how important the guys who left were. They didn't take that lightly. They still expect a lot out of us, and we do, too."
Manager Paul Molitor said Falvey and Levine told him they wanted to be visible during the time they were making trades.
"From what I understand some guys took advantage of that," Molitor said. "There were some really good conversations. I don't know what the letter says that they sent out, but I'm sure it kind of outlines a little bit about the whole thought process about what you do at what time and when and for what reasons."
Etc.
• Righthander Michael Pineda, in his first rehabilitation start on Monday, threw two scoreless innings, giving up one hit and one walk while reaching 94 miles per hour on the radar gun. There is hope he will pitch for the Twins before the season ends.
• Class A Fort Myers outfielder Alex Kirilloff was named the Florida State League player of the month for July, batting .396 with a 13-game hitting streak.
