Bullpen merry-go-round continues; Littell re-called from Rochester

After a less-than-ideal outing by now-reliever Fernando Romero in yesterday’s win against the Seattle Mariners, the Minnesota Twins have decided to send him back to Rochester. Romero was called up to replace Ryan Eades in the bullpen to help reinforce a well-used bullpen, but after failing to record an out during this cup of coffee, it seems the Twins decided that Romero is not the right reinforcement. In his work yesterday, he allowed two hits, two walks, and two earned runs. Overall for the year in the big-leagues, he’s posted a 7.88 ERA in eight games over eight innings. In that small sample size, his K/9 is at 9.0, but his H/9 is 13.5 and his BB/9 is no help to reinforce anything positive as it sits at 5.6. He’ll return to the Red Wings, where he’s put up a 5.47 ERA in 24.2 innings, allowing 15 ER with a K/9 of 9.5 and a better BB/9 rate of 2.9. Let’s hope he can find his way in the majors, or this move to the bullpen for him is all for naught and essentially a waste of time.

In a corresponding move, the Twins hope that righty Zack Littell will be able to be useful out of the bullpen for the major-league club as he’s been re-called from Rochester. Littell was up earlier this year with the Twins already, pitching in 6.1 innings between two games. His last one was when a botched Martin Perez start against the Tampa Bay Rays turned into the Littell Show, as he pitched 4.1 innings of relieve, allowing eight earned runs, a walk, and three strikeouts. His numbers in Rochester look a bit bitter, as he has a 3.91 ERA across 12 games and 50.2 innings pitched. He’s allowed 22 earned runs and has a K/9 of 10.3.

In other words: Hey Twins, let’s do a trade thing for a reliever. Thanks!