CHICAGO – It has been the year of the center fielder for the Twins. And not in a good way.
An organization that was building a legacy of strong center field play has been relegated to scouring the waiver wire for options this season and using a natural shortstop in the position.
Their latest example is their addition of former Braves outfielder Jordan Schafer, who was claimed off waivers Sunday. It's the second time this season the Twins claimed a center fielder off waivers to address a need on their roster.
How did the Twins get to this point? They went from Kirby Puckett (1984-95) to Torii Hunter (1997-2007) to Carlos Gomez (2008-09). First-round picks Denard Span, Ben Revere, Aaron Hicks and Byron Buxton were all in the organization at the same time. They were covered, or so it seemed.
"We have been fortunate to have had some very reliable center fielders as you pointed out," said Rob Antony, Twins assistant general manager. "This has been a different year but the positive is that Sam Fuld had an opportunity to play and he produced, which made him valuable."
Fuld was claimed off waivers April 20 and played 53 games for the Twins before being traded Thursday to Oakland, the team that waived him. Once Schafer steps into center for the Twins, he will become the seventh player the Twins have used there, the most since 1995. At least they will have a true center fielder on the 25-man roster.
The Twins put themselves in this pickle with a series of moves.
They traded Gomez to Milwaukee for J.J. Hardy in 2009. In a span of about a week in 2012 they dealt Span to Washington for Alex Meyer and Ben Revere to Philadelphia for Trevor May and Vance Worley. They were desperate for starting pitching upgrades at the time, but it cost the Twins center field depth. Righthanders Meyer and May both are on the verge of their major league debuts.