Baltimore Orioles: Jonathan Schoop Attempts To Re-Establish Himself With Minnesota Twins

Former Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop is trying to re-establish himself with the Minnesota Twins this season. Has he been successful?

I know I’m not the only one that spends time watching San Diego Padres and Minnesota Twins games to check in on the former beloved Baltimore Orioles infield duo of Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop. Best friends off the field and exciting players to watch on the field, both are finding success outside of Baltimore with their new teams.

While Machado and the Padres won’t find themselves in the 2019 playoff picture, the Minnesota Twins are mashing their way through the year as they try to hold off the Cleveland Indians and secure a postseason spot. Part of a lineup that is setting multiple home run records (take those for what you will in 2019), Jonathan Schoop is doing his part as he rebounds from a down 2018 campaign.

As of Thursday morning, the Twins are 86-53 and hold a 5.5 game lead over Cleveland in the American League Central. Winners of eight of their last ten, Minnesota has relied heavily on the long ball to cause the most damage, breaking the MLB record for most team home runs in a season (272 and counting). So long, New York Yankees!

This Twins lineup has broken or is on pace to break more records and recently broke the record for most players with 20 or more home runs in one season with eight. The seventh player to reach the 20 home run milestone and tie the record was our old friend, Jonathan Schoop.

Former Baltimore Orioles second baseman finds success in Minnesota.

Our friends over at Fansided’s Minnesota Twins blog, Puckett’s Pond, have watched Schoop on a nightly basis and gave us their thoughts on the free-agent acquisition.

“Last season, the Twins were a good offense, but had issues hitting home runs, ranking 23rd with 166 bombs. With Brian Dozier leaving in a trade deadline deal last summer, the Twins needed to find a way to replace that power and decided to take the plunge on Schoop. Schoop was a cost-effective answer for the Twins coming off a dreadful year with the Orioles and Brewers. While he hasn’t returned to his All-Star form from 2017, he’s provided pop with 21 HR on the season.”

Last season was one to forget for the 27-year-old second baseman out of Curacao. After collecting 67 extra-base hits (32 home runs) and hitting a career-high .293 in 2017 with the Orioles, Schoop’s production took a dive in 2018. Blame it on the dysfunction of the 2018 Orioles, being traded away from the organization that signed and developed him, or being separated from one of his best friends, Schoop’s time in Milwaukee ended with a .202 average and a WRC+ of 50 in 46 games with the Brewers.

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He didn’t see a lot of playing time down the stretch or in last year’s playoffs and was ultimately not re-signed by the Brewers, instead signing a 1-year/$7.5 million deal with Minnesota in the offseason.

With 103 games under his belt, Schoop is currently slashing .259/.307/.484 with 21 home runs, 21 doubles, and a 104 wRC+. As the Twins look to secure a playoff spot, Schoop has picked up his production and is coming off his best month of the season where he hit .311 with a 1.029 OPS in August. But it hasn’t all been pretty this season for the former Oriole.

“Schoop has had a tendency to come up short when the Twins need him most, hitting .174 with one home run, three RBI and 16 strikeouts in 46 at-bats in late & close situations. Mix in an 0-for-8 mark with the bases loaded and it’s fair to question his real value to the team. With Luis Arraez breaking out, its likely Schoop’s first season in Minnesota will be his only one, but he has definitely re-established his value from this time last year.” said Chris Shad of Puckett’s Pond.

To back up Chris’ point, according to Fangraphs, Schoop has a WPA (Wins Probability Added) of -0.92. Only CJ Cron has a worse mark for Minnesota this season.

Schoop will enter free agency again this offseason, but this winter should be a little more kind to the six-year MLB veteran. He isn’t having an All-Star season, but he’s improved. Worth just 0.5 fWAR last year, Schoop has been worth 1.4 fWAR in 2019 and made significant jumps in just about every offensive statistical category. He will be 28 on Opening Day next year and you have to imagine someone will be willing to pay for a second baseman with 25 home run potential.

“He’s here to win. He’s here for his teammates,” Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He supports everyone all the time and when he goes out there, he’s done a nice job for us.”

Keep being you, Schoop. I’ll be cheering you on in the playoffs, as I’m sure many Birdland faithful will as well.

Thanks to Chris over at Puckett’s Pond for his observations. If you want to continue to check in on Schoop or even another former Oriole in Nelson Cruz, I encourage you to check them out.