Alex

Speas

It seemed as though the Twins were considering keeping Zebby Matthews on their big league roster to be a weapon out of their bullpen, but it sounds like he’ll stay stretched out as a starter at the Triple-A level instead. With Matthews and Festa optioned out, that means that Chris Paddack and Simeon Woods-Richardson will handle the final two spots in the Twins’ rotation to begin the season.

The 26-year-old hurler bounced around a lot during the 2024 season, seeing action with four different organizations (Athletics, Astros, Red Sox and White Sox) at the Triple-A level. He also made one appearance with the Astros, allowing one run and striking out a pair of batters in his two innings of work. He has a very live arm — with a fastball that has touched 101 mph — and makes for a nice depth addition for the Twins’ bullpen.

Speas went unclaimed after being designated for assignment. The 26-year-old remains in the organization but will need to be added back to the 40-man roster in order to pitch in the majors.

Speas ships up to Boston after being designated for assignment last weekend by Houston. The hard-throwing has big-time velocity, but has also struggled to command his impressive stuff, walking over a batter per-inning this season at the Triple-A level. If he ever scales back the free passes, he could morph into a pretty stellar reliever at the highest level. At 26 years old, it’s easy to see why teams continue to roll the dice.

The move frees up a spot on Houston’s 40-man roster for the club to add reliever Bryan King ahead of Saturday’s game against the Orioles. The hard-throwing 26-year-old righty made one relief appearance for the Astros earlier this season after being claimed off waivers from the division-rival Athletics.

Speas heads back to the minors to enable the Astros to bring up a fresh arm ahead of Saturday’s contest against the Twins. The 26-year-old righty has made only one relief appearance this season in the big leagues since being claimed off waivers from the Athletics.

A longtime Rangers relief prospect, Speas made his major league debut with that club last season before bouncing around to the White Sox, A’s and Astros this season. He gets the call here even though he had a 10.91 ERA in 15 2/3 innings for three Triple-A teams. A very hard thrower, he rarely has any idea where the ball is going, as evidenced by his career 18% walk rate in the minors.

This will be Speas’ third team this season making brief stops with the Athletics and White Sox and will be sent down to Triple-A Sugar Land. The 26-year-old hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2023 when he was with the Rangers, but did well at the Triple-A level where he posted a 2.86 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and an 85/38 K/BB ratio over 56 2/3 innings with Triple-A Round Rock and Double-A Frisco.

Speas spent just a month with Oakland after he was traded to the team from the White Sox, but the 26-year-old did not pitch in a game for the Athletics. Speas posted a 2.86 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and an 85/38 K/BB ratio over 56 2/3 frames between Triple-A Round Rock and Double-A Frisco in 2023.

The White Sox tried to slip Speas through waivers unsuccessfully on Friday, but they’ll at least get a few bucks out of the transaction by flipping him to the Athletics. Speas, 26, posted a solid 2.86 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and an 85/38 K/BB ratio over 56 2/3 frames between Triple-A Round Rock and Double-A Frisco in 2023. It shouldn’t take him long to get a real shot with the A’s.