The Minnesota Twins, on August 25, had signed outfielder Billy Hamilton to a minor league contract.
At first, he joined the Twins’ FCL (Florida Complex League) squad.
The Twins, however, just added him to the active roster following the expansion to 28 players.
“The #MNTwins have officially added OF Billy Hamilton and LHP Austin Davis to expand their active roster to 28. Trevor Larnach to the 60-day IL to make room on the 40-man, but that’s just a formality since he’s already been on the IL for well over 60 days,” MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park tweeted.
The #MNTwins have officially added OF Billy Hamilton and LHP Austin Davis to expand their active roster to 28.
Trevor Larnach to the 60-day IL to make room on the 40-man, but that's just a formality since he's already been on the IL for well over 60 days.
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) September 1, 2022
Hamilton Can Contribute, Just Not On Offense
Hamilton is 31 years old and is who he is at this point: his offensive upside is severely limited, but he will offer game-changing speed and defensive ability at center field.
He has, however, struggled mightily since the start of the 2022 campaign, with a .129/.221/.326 slash line over his last 122 major league games.
Teams that add Hamilton know what they are going to get at this point: he will likely serve as a pinch-runner and late-inning defensive replacement for Minnesota over the remainder of the 2022 campaign.
His career-high in OPS over a full season is .664, and that came six years ago, in 2016.
He is, however, someone who the Twins could really use when they need a quick, smart baserunner in the late-innings; and then he could take over in center field, where he remains an asset with the glove.
The move to add him to the active roster is intriguing, for sure, but if he gets significant trips to the plate in the season’s final month in a tight race for a division title, something is very wrong with the Twins organization.
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