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According to the Rochester Red Wings, the Minnesota Twins have re-signed five players on minor league contracts. In addition to Doug Bernier, who was outrighted earlier in the month and then signed again a couple of days later, the Red Wings will see infielder James Beresford, outfielder Jermaine Mitchell, and right-handed pitchers Lester Oliveros and Virgil Vasquez return to the team in 2014.
There has been discussion that Beresford and Oliveros could be added to the 40-man roster, but that hasn't happened yet. It's unlikely at this point that Bernier, Mitchell, or Vasquez would be added.
Bernier started the season in Rochester as the Red Wings' everyday shortstop, hitting .295/.370/.407 to earn a promotion to the Majors in late July, where he batted .226/.339/.283 down the stretch. Fellow infielder Beresford played mostly second base, posting a solid .306/.363/.346 between Double-A and Triple-A. Mitchell split time in Triple-A between the Phillies and Twins organizations, playing a lot of center and right fields while batting a combined .268/.341/.418.
On the pitching side, Oliveros missed nearly the entire campaign recovering from Tommy John surgery. He did make six appearances for the GCL Twins in which he naturally dominated, but it's not worth noting in terms of his value to the 2014 Red Wings. Vasquez, on the other hand, split time between Double-A and Triple-A, making 20 starts and ten relief appearances. In total he threw 136.1 innings, striking out 96, walking 27, and posting a 1.24 WHIP en route to a 3.96 ERA. Whether he'll start or relieve for Rochester in 2014 will largely determine on how the rest of the winter shakes out for Minnesota in their pursuit of pitching.
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