Alcala, in good health, seeks to strengthen the bullpen.
North Port, Florida:Jorge Alcala is throwing hard and back to full health, which is a significant step toward first and foremost returning to his true self. His next task is to position himself to once again play a significant role in the Twins bullpen.
Alcala did not throw in Thursday’s 5-0 defeat to the Braves, but he has made two outings this spring, and his fastball is back up to sitting in the encouraging range of 96–97 mph.
However, the emphasis is still on the consistency and offspeed stuff, just as it was the last time Alcala entered the picture, and the Twins still need those things from him now that his health isn’t a concern.
Manager Rocco Baldelli stated that although he is throwing hard, he is not going to be a guy who can just go out there and hurl fastballs.
For him to be effective, he will need both his breaking ball and one variation of his changeup. Overall, quite favorable. He seemed incredibly attractive to me. Thus, we’ll accept it.
Alcala last pitched for the Twins consistently in 2021, when he finished with a 3.92 ERA in 59 2/3 innings, 61 strikeouts, and 13 walks. During his early career, he struggled with consistency in his big stuff due to variations in velocity and location within outings.
Additionally, his troubles against left-handed hitters were significant and hindered his ability to become a more valuable leverage piece for the Twins.
One bright spot in an otherwise meaningless game in Kansas City on the last day of the Twins’ largely difficult 2021 season was that Alcala recorded his first career save, capping a run of 0.96 ERA pitching in the final two months (17 appearances)—seemingly ready to take that next step.
Despite only pitching 19 2/3 innings in the previous two seasons due to elbow and forearm injuries, he must now establish himself once more. He returned to the active roster towards the conclusion of the 23rd season but was forced to watch the playoffs from the sidelines.
Through interpreter Mauricio Ortiz, Alcala stated, It was incredibly difficult because you always want to play, you always want to help the team, and that wasn’t the case for the playoffs. However, one is always prepared to enter and support the group.
We’ve seen a lot of guys excel out there on the mound after coming back from a lot of different situations, according to Baldelli. He can accomplish that with ease. Right now, I don’t see anything getting in his way.
All he needs to do is return to the field and resume his productive midseason form. He’ll assist our Major League club after he completes that.
Alcala, who is 28 years old, has been involved in Major League Baseball since 2019, when he joined Brusdar Graterol in the major leagues.
However, he still has Minor League options remaining, and a flurry of activity in the bullpen during the offseason brought Josh Staumont, Steven Okert, Jay Jackson, and Justin Topa into the mix, presumably pushing Alcala out of the picture, assuming health.
Regarding his health, Alcala reported that he had a typical offseason while playing in the Dominican Republic and that he is feeling fantastic and fully recovered at camp.
When he was attempting to balance out his left-right splits, or at least get them into serviceable shape, back in 2020 and 2021, the changeup was a key component of his offseason strategy.
He noted that not much has changed regarding his arm care regimen following the two seasons of injury and that he has been psychologically preparing for a full season by asking veterans’ questions.
Alcala is aware of what the roster picture probably means for him, but his main objective is obviously to have a season in which he is fully healthy and prepared for action whenever his skills are required.As Alcala stated, I can’t say much about that; all I can say is that I’m contending every time I come here.
