Twins claim catcher Jose Godoy off waivers

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Jose Godoy was with the San Francisco Giants for about four days before the Twins claimed him off waivers Friday. The Giants had claimed him earlier in the week from the Seattle Mariners.

The 27-year-old catcher from Venezuela joined St. Louis as an international free agent in 2011 and was a part of its minor league system. He signed with Seattle as a free agent in 2020 and ended up playing 16 major league games there. A left-handed hitter, he went six-for-37 with one double, three RBI, two runs scored and three walks.

In nine minor-league seasons, he has 22 home runs and a .276 batting average in 534 games. The Twins are seeking depth after trading Mitch Garver to Texas and Ben Rortvedt the Yankees.

Godoy fills out the 40-man roster, meaning the Twins will have to make a move should they acquire anyone else, which seems likely given the team still needs some help on the mound and at shortstop. The Twins could place pitcher Kenta Maeda on the 60-day injured list, as he still is recovering from Tommy John surgery.

New starting pitcher Sonny Gray was supposed to throw his first bullpen Thursday. But a schedule change ended delaying that until Friday.

Gray chalked the move to aligning better in the overall pitching schedule for spring training, and it didn't seem to bother him. How that first session goes will be important, though, as it will be his first real action since last season.

Gray in particular has endured a busy offseason. He was in Florida negotiating the new collective bargaining agreement as Cincinnati's player representative. And then just when he and his family were heading to the airport for spring training in Arizona, he heard of his trade to the Twins and realized he needed to go back to Florida instead.

"There's guys in the locker room, there's guys around baseball that are probably all over the place with this going through the lockout, going through this," Gray said Tuesday after arriving at the Twins. "… We'll just have to take it a day at a time here, take it one bullpen at a time. Go from there. I want to build up as fast as possible but also as safe."

Twins coach Rocco Baldelli said after Thursday's first spring game Bailey Ober would be the first starting rotation pitcher to take the mound when he starts and pitches probably two innings against Boston on Saturday.

The Twins were without a valuable member of their staff Thursday. But for a very good reason.

Communication coordinator and Spanish interpreter Elvis Martinez flew back to Minneapolis to become a U.S. citizen. Martinez was born in the Dominican Republic before moving to Puerto Rico as a child. He played college baseball at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he also learned English.

Martinez has been with the Twins since 2018 helping the Spanish-speaking players communicate with their English-speaking coaches and the media. He's even stationed in the dugout during games to help with any translating.

Martinez shared the news on Twitter, along with a photo of him waving a small American flag.

"Thankful for this moment and the endless opportunities I've earned with hard work and dedication in this country," Martinez wrote. "The opportunity to grow as a person and as a professional. My heart and soul will always be with my beloved DR. I will never forget where I came from."