Twins catcher Suzuki on pace for career year
The Minnesota Twins traded All-Star shortstop Eduardo Nunez to the San Francisco Giants on Thursday, and with the Aug. 1 trade deadline looming catcher Kurt Suzuki could be next.
Suzuki signed with the Twins in 2013 and made the All-Star Game in 2014, before a disappointing season in 2015 led Minnesota to trade for former New York Yankees backup John Ryan Murphy.
Murphy was expected to split time with Suzuki, but the 32-year-old surged as the new guy slumped.
Suzuki is on pace to finish with career highs in batting average (.292) and slugging percentage (.447), and returned to full-time catching duties when Murphy was optioned to Triple-A in May.
Kurt Suzuki, April -€“ July 2015 vs. April -€“ July 2016
| April-July, 2015 | April-July, 2016 | |
| BA | .230 | .292 |
| BA vs. LHP | .212 | .324 |
| BA vs. RHP | .238 | .277 |
| OBP | .288 | .328 |
| SLG | .302 | .447 |
| HR | 3 | 6 |
Suzuki and the Twins are set to take on Chicago White Sox lefty Jose Quintana on Friday, a matchup that would have been cause for concern early in the season.
However, the Twins have turned things around dramatically when facing left-handed pitchers.
The Twins are batting .291 against lefties over their last 21 games against them, while southpaws have a combined 5.52 ERA against Minnesota over that same span.
Left-Handed Starters vs. Twins
| First 6 Games | Last 21 Games | |
| W-L | 5-1 | 4-5 |
| ERA | 2.72 | 5.52 |
| HR Allowed | 0 | 22 |
| BA Against | .220 | .291 |
Statistics courtesy of STATS LLC