Ex-Lookouts On The Move As Twins Make Roster Changes

Vielma, Granite, Jorge and Palka Added To Major League Roster

  • Friday, November 18, 2016
Zach Granite was named Southern League Postseason All-Star and given the Sherry Robertson Award as Twins minor league Player of the Year.
Zach Granite was named Southern League Postseason All-Star and given the Sherry Robertson Award as Twins minor league Player of the Year.
photo by Tim Evearitt

Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN – The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have added right-handed pitchers Felix Jorge and Fernando Romero, catcher Mitch Garver, infielder Engelb Vielma, and outfielders Zack Granite and Daniel Palka to their major league roster.

 

 Jorge, 22, split the season between Single-A Ft.

Myers and Double-A Chattanooga, going 12-8, 2.69 ERA (167.1 IP, 50 ER) with 23 walks, 109 strikeouts and three complete games in 25 starts. The 6-foot-2, 170-pound right-hander was originally signed by the Twins as an undrafted free agent in February of 2011 out of Santiago, Dominican Republic.

 

Romero, 21, split the 2016 season between Single-A Cedar Rapids and Single-A Ft. Myers, going 9-3, 1.89 ERA (90.1 IP, 19 ER) with 15 walks and 90 strikeouts in 16 starts. The 6-foot, 215-pound right-hander was originally signed by the Twins as an undrafted free agent in November of 2011 out of San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic.

 

Garver, 25, split last season between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Rochester, hitting .270 (117-for-434) with 30 doubles, 12 home runs and 74 RBI in 117 games.  The Albuquerque, New Mexico native was drafted by the Twins in the ninth round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of New Mexico.

 

Vielma, 22, played for Single-A Ft. Myers and Double-A Chattanooga in 2016, hitting .265 (90-for-339) with seven doubles, four triples and 12 stolen bases in 98 games.  The Venezuela native missed parts of 2016 suffering from a right hamstring strain and a left oblique strain. The 5-foot-11, 155-pound shortstop was named best defensive infielder and best infield arm in the Twins system by Baseball America.

 

Granite, 24, spent the 2016 season with Double-A Chattanooga, hitting .295 (155-for-526) with 18 doubles, eight triples, 52 RBI, 86 runs scored and 56 stolen bases, which was tied for first among all minor leaguers. The Staten Island, New York native was drafted by the Twins in the 14th round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of Seton Hall University.

 

Palka, 25, split last season between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Rochester, hitting .254 (128-for-503) with 24 doubles, 34 home runs and 90 RBI in 133 games. He was named both Southern League Mid- and Postseason All-Star and finished fourth in all of minor league baseball in home runs. The Greenville, South Carolina native was originally drafted by Arizona in the third round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft and acquired by the Twins via trade in November of 2015, in exchange for catcher/outfielder Chris Herrmann.

 

Additionally, catcher Juan Centeno and infielder Trevor Plouffe have been outrighted off the 40-man roster, while outfielder Adam Brett Walker was claimed off outright waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers.

 

The Twins now have 39 players on their major league roster.

Engelb Vielma
Engelb Vielma
photo by Tim Evearitt
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