Twins acquire Astros lefty reliever Chapman
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MINNEAPOLIS -- Three days after outfielder Danny Santana was designated for assignment on Friday, the Twins traded him to the Braves for left-handed reliever Kevin Chapman, giving the club more bullpen depth.
Chapman, 29, had a 7.71 ERA with 10 strikeouts and three walks in 11 2/3 innings at Triple-A Gwinnett after being outrighted at the end of Spring Training. He's not on the 40-man roster, so he's expected to be sent to Triple-A Rochester. But he has Major League experience with a career 4.09 ERA in parts of four seasons with the Astros from 2013-16.
Chapman has struck out 48 batters in 55 innings in the Majors but has also had trouble with his control, walking 31 batters. His fastball averaged 90.7 mph last year, and he also works in a slider and changeup. He's struck out 272 batters and walked 117 in 220 1/3 career innings at Triple-A.
Santana, 26, hit .266/.300/.381 with 10 homers, 47 doubles and 41 stolen bases in 280 games with the Twins over the last four years. But he's been unable to build on his rookie season when he hit .319 in 2014.