Local lads no lock to stick with Twins

SARASOTA, FLA. — Getting the chance to be a major league pitcher for your hometown team can be a joy ride. For Glen Perkins and Pat Neshek, it's been more like a roller coaster.

Both reached the big leagues in 2006, when the Twins thought highly enough of the two rookies to keep them on their playoff roster. Neshek became the Twins' top setup reliever to Joe Nathan, and Perkins went 12-4 as a starter in 2008.

It looked as if each would enjoy a long, successful career, but arm injuries derailed them both. Now, these two Minnesota kids are on the bubble, fighting for jobs on the Opening Day roster.

The Twins plan to keep seven relievers, and four of those spots have been set aside for Joe Nathan, Matt Capps, Jose Mijares and either Scott Baker or Kevin Slowey, depending on who becomes the No. 5 starter.

Neshek, a product of Park Center High School, and Perkins, a former Stillwater High School and Gophers pitcher, are among 10 pitchers still in camp competing for those other three spots.

Perkins, 28, is out of minor league options, so the Twins must either keep him on the roster or risk losing him on waivers.

"I don't want to back my way into a spot," said Perkins, who lowered his ERA to 2.25 this spring by pitching a perfect ninth inning, striking out two, in the Twins' 3-2 victory over Baltimore on Friday night. "Wherever I end up, it's for a reason. If I'm here or somewhere else, as long as I'm healthy and throwing well, that's all I'm really worried about."

"There's been so much made of the velocity," Neshek said. "I'm kind of sick of it because everything you do, it's, 'What was his speed on the gun?' With me, it's always been about deception. If I'm not throwing 90-91, that's fine. I'm looking for 88-89."

Neshek has a funky delivery and relies heavily on his slider, especially against righthanded hitters.

The Twins have been hoping one of their righthanded relievers, besides Nathan and Capps, would distance himself from the others. Other candidates besides Neshek are Jeff Manship, Alex Burnett, Jim Hoey, Kyle Waldrop and Carlos Gutierrez.

Unlike Perkins, Neshek still has a minor league option remaining, meaning the Twins could send him to Class AAA Rochester. That's where Neshek spent most of last season, going 5-1 with a 3.89 ERA in 30 appearances.

It was Neshek's first year back from the surgery, and when it was over, he focused on rebuilding arm strength. Neshek said he noticed a difference early in camp, when he pitched batting practice to Twins hitters.

Perkins has regained the velocity he had before injuring his left shoulder in 2009. It actually came back last season while he was taking his lumps at Rochester, where he went 4-9 with a 5.81 ERA.

This spring, Perkins' fastball has been clocked at 91-93 mph.

"This is the first year in a while that I came into camp coming off a fully healthy season," he said. "I started throwing earlier this [winter], not to come into camp in midseason form, but to have my stuff a little closer to game-ready."

The Twins have less than two weeks to finalize their roster for the April 1 season opener in Toronto. But at this point, Perkins and Neshek have grown used to life on the proving ground.