La Velle E. Neal III has covered baseball for the Star Tribune since 1998 (the post-Knoblauch era). Born and raised in Chicago, he grew up following the White Sox and hating the Cubs. He attended both the University of Illinois and Illinois-Chicago and began his baseball writing career at the Kansas City Star. He can be heard occasionally on KFAN radio, lending his great baseball mind to Paul Allen and other hosts. Mark Rosen borrows him occasionally for WCCO-TV.
Well, I was half right about Kevin Slowey.
He's no longer with the Twins. But he was traded.
Slowey has been dealt to the Colorado Rockies for a player to be named later. The deal has not been announced but has been confirmed by someone familliar with negotiations. The player is expected to be someone who's not on the 40-man roster.
Slowey, once a promising second-round pick out of Winthrop, began last season in the bullpen. He didn't adjust to the role well, struggling to get warmed up on short notice. In May, during a series in Phoenix, he said he didn't think the Twins were a good fit for him anymore.
He wound up in the rotation late in the season because of injuries but finished 0-8 with a 6.67 ERA. He spent the offseason assisting player's association chief Michael Weiner on the new collective bargaining agreement, getting eye surgery and preparing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
Colorado was interested in Slowey before the trade deadline last season. An offical with the club whom I know indicated yesterday that they weren't as interested in Slowey as they were then. Apparently, the Rockies began striking out on free agent pitchers, and this deal began to fall into place late last night.
In five seasons with the Twins, Slowey was 39-29 with the Twinswith a 4.66 ERA.
This might be the first trade the Twins have made involving a major leaguer during the winter meetings since I've been covering them.
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