Twins acquire Kevin Jepsen for Rays

But Twins G.M. Terry Ryan believes the move makes the Twins better for the stretch run to the playoffs. Jepsen will be one of the setup men for All-Star closer Glen Perkins and helps provide the Twins with some bullpen depth.

Jepsen’s ERA in 46 appearances and 41.2 innings with the Rays was a shiny 2.81, but that really doesn’t tell the full story.

Still, Ryan, manager Paul Molitor and a couple of Jepsen’s former teammates were happy with what they did acquire: An eight-year veteran who throws a 95-miles-per-hour fastball, has late-inning experience, and is particularly hard on righthanded hitters.

In his first season with the Rays after spending the previous six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, Jepsen is due about $1 million for the remainder of the season.

The Twins are sending minor league right-handers Chih-Wei Hu and Alexis Tapia to Tampa Bay. “They”™ve had to use Trevor May in the eighth inning lately, which shows how bad things are gotten.

We have kept hearing that a trade of Kevin Jepsen was the Tampa Bay Rays’ most likely move, and now it is finally happened.

“I don’t expect him to be the potion here to get us over the hump”, Ryan said. Now that the bullpen has been addressed, look for the Twins to put up a fight over the last two months of the season.

Jepsen has a career 3.80 ERA with 305 strikeouts and 130 walks in 322 1/3 innings. Neither was rated among the organization’s top 30 prospects in Baseball America’s preseason list, although Hu was recently slotted in at No. 20 for the Twins by MLB.com. “I think the theory is relievers go in cycles”. To make room on the 40-man roster for Jepsen, the Twins designated for assignment Triple-A left-hander Caleb Thielbar. “So cliché, but that’s all I can say”, Archer said. “You aren’t just going to grab guys without giving up people”. He made a spot start in Triple-A, but otherwise has been with high Class A Fort Myers. In three seasons Hu, 21, is 16-5 with a 2.31 ERA.

Tapia, a 19-year-old Venezuelan, was 1-2 with a 3.60 ERA between rookie-level Elizabethton and Fort Myers.