Twins Sign 10-Year MLB Veteran Daniel Descalso To Minor League Contract; Will Report To St. Paul

ST. PAUL, MN (May 13, 2021) - The Minnesota Twins announced on Wednesday that they have signed 2011 World Series Champion Daniel Descalso to a minor league contract, and he will report to St. Paul. Descalso, 34 years old, last played in 2019 with the Chicago Cubs, playing 82 games.

The 2018 campaign saw the Redwood City, CA native set career highs in home runs (13), RBIs (57), walks (64) and total bases (152) with the Arizona Diamonbacks. He was also 9th in the National League in sacrifice flies with seven. He also spent 2017 with Arizona, posting 10 long balls, the only two seasons he’s hit double-digit homers in his big league career. He set career-highs in homers in three straight seasons, mashing eight homers in 2016 with the Colorado Rockies.

Descalso spent two years with the Rockies in 2015 and 2016. In his 2016 season with the Rockies, he struck out only 45 times in 101 games, just eight off his career-low for a Major League season.

The largest portion of his MLB time was with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he made his debut in 2010, and played with the club through the 2014 season, winning a World Series in 2011. Descalso left his mark in the postseason, notably in the 2012 NLDS, hitting .316 in the five-game series against the Washington Nationals. He had a game-tying hit in the ninth inning of Game 5 that helped the Cardinals later reach the NLCS, where they would lose to the eventual World Champion San Francisco Giants. A veteran of 13 post-season series, Descalso has a career .226 average in the MLB playoffs, and a .231 average in the World Series.

A versatile defender, Descalso became the first Cardinal to start at the four different infield positions in four consecutive games, becoming the first big-leaguer to do so since 2012. He’s spent most of his time in the middle infield, but played 117 games at third in the 2011 season with St. Louis.

The Minnesota Twins also recalled RHP Shaun Anderson on Wednesday, to fill the hole created by placing LHP Devin Smeltzer on the 10-Day IL.

The St. Paul Saints roster now consists of 30 players; 17 pitchers and 13 position players with the addition of Descalso.