A look at what’s happening around baseball Tuesday:
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PITCH OUT
Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson is serving his final days with Minnesota before leaving for the same job with LSU.
His departure, first reported Sunday night, blindsided Twins fans, and Johnson called it “the toughest thing I’ve ever done.” He’ll stay with the AL Central-leading Twins through the end of a series at Cleveland on Thursday, then return to his college roots — he previously worked at Arkansas, Mississippi State, Dallas Baptist and Central Arkansas
Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said the team is having ongoing discussions about how to replace Johnson for the remainder of this season — and beyond. Johnson joined the Twins in 2019 after coaching at Arkansas, and he is believed to be the first college pitching coach to jump directly to the major leagues.
“Knowing Wes and getting a chance to enjoy him and see him all these years, it’s not incredibly surprising to see him go back to the college game,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Am I incredibly happy to see it happen in the middle of the season? Of course not. No one is. There’s no way around that discussion.”
WAITING GAME
The Angels and Mariners are still waiting to hear which players and coaches will be suspended for their brawl Sunday, but Seattle is down at least one player.
Catcher Luis Torrens went on the 10-day injured list Monday with a left shoulder injury suffered during the fight. Mariners manager Scott Servais also had bruises on his arm after ending up at the bottom of a pile during the skirmish.
The real pain for Seattle is likely still to come when suspensions are handed down. Outfielder Jesse Winker and shortstop J.P. Crawford are likely to miss several games following their ejections.
The ruckus began when Winker was hit by a pitch, then began shouting with interim Angels manager Phil Nevin. Winker was still angry Monday. Asked if the brawl was a bad look for baseball, Winker responded, “I think it’s a bad look on Phil Nevin and could have been handled differently.”
VINNIE’S CORONATION
Hot prospect Vinnie Pasquantino could get his first big league start at first base for the Kansas City Royals in a home game against Texas.
The Royals cleared space to promote Pasquantino from Triple-A on Monday by trading veteran first baseman Carlos Santana and nearly $4.3 million to Seattle for right-handers Wyatt Mills and William Fleming.
Pasquantino wasn’t in the starting lineup Monday night against the Rangers because of tight travel schedules, but Royals general manager J.J. Picollo and manager Mike Matheny expect his big bat to be in the lineup regularly.
The 24-year-old Pasquantino was hitting .280 with 18 homers this season at Omaha, and he was among the Triple-A leaders in extra-base hits, runs, homers and slugging percentage.
SHOWCASE
Frankie Montas, 3-7 despite a 3.21 ERA, will be in the spotlight when he starts for Oakland at Yankee Stadium.
The 29-year-old right-hander could be dealt by the salary-shedding A’s by the Aug. 2 trade deadline, joining Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Chris Bassitt and Sean Manaea, who were jettisoned earlier this year in moves that cut payroll to a major league-low $48 million on opening day.
Montas has a $5,025,000 salary, is eligible for arbitration after this season and can become a free agent following the 2023 World Series. Oakland has been shut out three times and scored one run five times in his 15 starts. Rookie left-hander JP Sears will be brought up to start for the Yankees.
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The Associated Press
