Minor League Transactions

The Twins have made three minor league moves since I last posted. Info is courtesy of Baseball America, as always. Also, I'm a little late with some of this info -- some of it has been out there since February. Nevertheless, I haven't had time to check this stuff out anywhere other than at Baseball America, which doesn't always post things in a timely fashion.

First, Daniel Matienzo (who I listed as #4 in the Twins 1B organizational rankings) was released by the team, clearing the way for Brock Peterson to get the majority of the playing time in New Britain this year. Matienzo, a 23rd round selection back in 2002, has played in New Britain for the last couple of seasons, and his numbers have been moving downwards each year. Last year, Matienzo hit just .252, and he didn't seem to be really solid with the glove, so this move doesn't surprise me that much.

The Twins also signed Liam Hendriks, an 18-year old right-handed pitcher out of Australia who will start his professional career in the Gulf Coast League this June. For a good article on Hendrik's, you can head over to the DTFC Forums, which has a solid write-up on Hendriks and his background.

Finally, the Twins also signed Aussie 1B Tim Atherton, who is currently 17 (unless he just had a birthday). Don't know a lot else about him at this point, but would presume that, like Hendriks, he's not likely to make his debut until June with the GCL Twins -- and if past history is any indication, there's no guarantee that he'll even play this year.