WASECA —
By Jim Rueda

jrueda@mankatofreepress.com

After five years on the road as a scout for Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays, Waseca native Gene Glynn has finally come home to Minnesota … well, sorta.

Glynn, a multi-sport star at both Waseca High School and Mankato State University in the 1970s, was hired by the Minnesota Twins in November to be the manager of their Triple-A minor league affiliate. That means he’s back working for his home-state Minnesota Twins, but will spend most of his time in Rochester, N.Y., managing the Red Wings.

“I always thought I would be back on the field in some capacity,” Glynn said. “I really enjoyed my five years scouting for the Rays. They’re a great organization to work for but I really like the (coaching/managing) aspect of baseball.”

Glynn played seven years in the minor leagues and managed in the minors for five more. From 1990-92, Glynn managed short-season A-ball in the spring and then coached Mankato Loyola boys basketball during the winter. His 1990-91 Loyola team finished second in the state.

The Twins will be the fifth major league team Glynn has worked for. In 1994, Glynn was on the major league coaching staff of the Colorado Rockies. Five years later he moved over to the Montreal Expos and followed that up with third-base coaching jobs on the major league staffs of the Chicago Cubs and the San Francisco Giants.

He turned to scouting with the Rays from 2007-2011 until landing his latest gig with the Twins.

He was hired by Twins Minor League senior director Jim Rantz, who said he had tried to get him into the organization twice earlier.

For an update to this story, see Tuesday’s print edition or read the e-edition.

Jason Marquis and the Minnesota Twins agreed on a deal for the pitcher to join the team for the 2012 MLB season. Marquis is currently rehabbing after fracturing his right fibula while pitching for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2011.

Through the season, Marquis went 8-6 over 23 starts with a 4.43 ERA as the Diamondbacks made their surprise surge for an NL postseason appearance.

The injury occurred on August 14 in a game against the New York Mets. Angel Pagan hit a line drive that nailed Marquis in the third inning of the game. Marquis remained in the game, and seemed fine, but in the fourth inning he fell to the ground, grasping his right leg after hitting Josh Thole with a pitch.

Trainers had to help Marquis off the field with an injury that, at first, looked like a rolled ankle. The injury, which takes several weeks to heal, put Marquis on the 15-day disabled list and they replaced him in the rotation. On August 23, the Diamondbacks went ahead and placed Marques on the 60-day DL, effectively ending Marquis’ season.

Since Marquis was about to become a free agent, both sides agreed he had played his final game as a Diamondback.

It didn’t take long for the 33-year old pitcher to latch on with a new team. The Minnesota Twins needed a fifth starter and are looking to rebound from a disappointing last place finish in the AL Central in 2011. The Twins will give Marquis $3 million in a one year contract that will allow him to pitch in the American League for the first time in his career.

One big positive for the sinker ball pitcher is a nice, big pitcher’s park in Target Field to play. In the first two seasons the Twins have played there, the ballpark has been one of the most difficult for home run hitters. Of course, over his 12-year career, Marquis has made a name as a ground ball pitcher.

Marquis has played in Atlanta, St. Louis, Chicago (NL), Washington and Arizona over his career. His career ERA sits at 4.51 but he dropped his yearly ERA almost two runs when he moved from the Nationals to the Diamondbacks.

In 2012, Minnesota hopes Marquis will help them turn their fortunes back around.

Source: ESPN

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“Other than trying to lobby for some at-bats, I don’t think it’s going to change much,” Marquis said.

Well, he won’t have the pitcher’s spot in the lineup to face once every nine hitters, but he will get to pitch at spacious Target Field, which has been one of the most difficult parks to hit a homer in during its first two seasons of existence.

In the end, the Twins were looking for a veteran to help stabilize the back end of a shaky rotation. They went with Marquis, who missed the last month and a half of last season with a broken right leg after he was hit by a line drive.

The 33-year-old Marquis went 8-5 with a 3.95 ERA for the Washington Nationals last season before being traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 30. The right-hander was 0-1 with a 9.53 ERA in three starts for Arizona.

“He’s a groundball machine and he throws the ball over the plate,” Twins general manager Terry Ryan said.

Marquis actually walks 3.5 batters per nine innings, which is a little on the high side, especially by Twins standards. But the sinkerballer induces a ton of grounders, and the Twins were looking for somebody to come in after they traded Kevin Slowey to the Rockies so they could move left-handed starter Brian Duensing to the bullpen.

Ryan said that signing Marquis didn’t necessarily mean Duensing was moving to the ‘pen, but it’s clear that is the team’s preference. If everyone is healthy coming out of spring training, the Twins think that is the best scenario.

“If they’re all healthy, that certainly fortifies our bullpen,” Ryan said.

The expenditure brings the Twins’ payroll close to $100 million, which was a soft target the team had before the offseason in its effort to slash about $15 million.

“We’re closing in,” Ryan said. “We’ve got a little wiggle room here.”

Marquis can earn an additional $500,000 in performance bonuses.

___

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Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jason Marquis spent his entire 12-season career in the National League before becoming a free agent this offseason. With the Minnesota Twins in need of a fifth starter, he figured he’d give the other circuit a try.

Marquis agreed to a $3 million, one-year contract with the Twins on Thursday, and now he’s eager to take his sinker — and his dangerous bat — to the American League full-time.

“Other than trying to lobby for some at-bats, I don’t think it’s going to change much,” Marquis said.

Well, he won’t have the pitcher’s spot in the lineup to face once every nine hitters, but he will get to pitch at spacious Target Field, which has been one of the most difficult parks to hit a homer in during its first two seasons of existence.

In the end, the Twins were looking for a veteran to help stabilize the back end of a shaky rotation. They went with Marquis, who missed the last month and a half of last season with a broken right leg after he was hit by a line drive.

The 33-year-old Marquis went 8-5 with a 3.95 ERA for the Washington Nationals last season before being traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 30. The right-hander was 0-1 with a 9.53 ERA in three starts for Arizona.

“He’s a groundball machine and he throws the ball over the plate,” Twins general manager Terry Ryan said.

Marquis actually walks 3.5 batters per nine innings, which is a little on the high side, especially by Twins standards. But the sinkerballer induces a ton of grounders, and the Twins were looking for somebody to come in after they traded Kevin Slowey to the Rockies so they could move left-handed starter Brian Duensing to the bullpen.

Ryan said that signing Marquis didn’t necessarily mean Duensing was moving to the ‘pen, but it’s clear that is the team’s preference. If everyone is healthy coming out of spring training, the Twins think that is the best scenario.

“If they’re all healthy, that certainly fortifies our bullpen,” Ryan said.

The expenditure brings the Twins’ payroll close to $100 million, which was a soft target the team had before the offseason in its effort to slash about $15 million.

“We’re closing in,” Ryan said. “We’ve got a little wiggle room here.”

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Right-hander Jason Marquis has agreed to a one-year, $3 million deal with the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins announced the move Thursday.

The 33-year-old Marquis went 8-5 with a 3.95 ERA for the Washington Nationals last season before being traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 30. Marquis went 0-1 with a 9.53 ERA in three starts for Arizona.

Marquis missed the last month and a half of the season with a broken right fibula after being hit by a line drive. He was an All-Star with the Colorado Rockies in 2009 and will likely be relied upon as a fourth or fifth starter in Minnesota.

The Twins were looking for a veteran arm after moving starter Brian Duensing to the bullpen and trading Kevin Slowey to the Rockies.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.