By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
After spending the past three seasons in Major League Baseball, Cameron Rupp isn’t ready to say Triple-A is his ceiling.
He believes in his bat and in his glove.
Now he’s hoping to prove to the Minnesota Twins that they also should show faith in his skills.
Rupp, 29, signed with the Twins on Tuesday, was assigned to Triple-A and made his Rochester Red Wings debut on Wednesday night at Frontier Field.
The veteran catcher went 0-for-2 with a pair of walks and a pair of strikeouts, which was major production compared to most of the Wings lineup.
The Wings collected just four hits — including a solo home run by Chris Carter — and lost 7-2 to the Indianapolis Indians.
The Wings (28-26) have the International League’s best road record (18-9) but surely don’t refer to Frontier Field as the friendly confines. They’re just 10-17 at their downtown ballpark, and have scored two or fewer runs in 13 of those losses.
Rupp doesn’t know the oddities of the Red Wings home/away records yet. He’s barely had time to introduce himself to manager Joel Skinner, the coaching staff and the players, although he spent time in the Phillies organization with infielder Taylor Featherston and pitcher Trevor May.
Now in his ninth professional season, and first outside of the Philadelphia system, Rupp is hoping to work his way back to the big leagues.
He was designated for assignment by the Phillies late in spring training and signed with the Texas Rangers. They sent him to Triple-A Round Rock and he produced. In 32 games, he had a .274 batting average, .346 on-base percentage and .540 slugging percentage with 8 homers and 15 runs.
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But he exercised his opt-out clause on June 1.
“It was just one of those things where it didn’t work out in Texas,” Rupp said. “I just wasn’t in their plans. It wasn’t the best fit for me.”
He believes the Twins may need him. With Jason Castro lost for the rest of the season after knee surgery, Minnesota’s MLB depth chart has unproven Mitch Garver and veteran backup Bobby Wilson.
“I’ve got some experience in the big leagues,” Rupp said.
Indeed, he played in 296 games for the Phillies with a slash line of .234/.298/.407. In 1,127 plate appearances, he hit 39 homers, drove in 124 runs and scored 100 runs.
A year ago, he appeared in 88 games (.217/.299/.417) with 14 homers, 34 RBI and 35 runs.
If this look-see with the Twins doesn’t work out, he reportedly can opt out of his contract on July 15. But he’s not thinking about the what-ifs. He’s looking to help the Wings and, ultimately, the Twins.
So does that mean there’s pressure to perform, especially with assistant general manager Rob Antony and director of pro scouting Brad Steil in the stands?
“There’s pressure in every game I play, not matter what,” Rupp said. “This is an opportunity to come play the same game I’ve been playing.”
Notes: The Wings released infielder Jermaine Curtis because Zach Littell was returned to Rochester after spending Tuesday as the 26th player on the Twins doubleheader roster. Curtis was hitting .200, including 2-for-his-last-28. He had been hit by a pitch eight times.
Christ Bostick went 1-for-4, driving in one run with a sacrifice fly and another with a double.
Aaron Slegers took the loss for the Wings, dropping to 5-3. He allowed seven hits and three earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. His ERA has jumped from 1.97 to 3.43 after losing his past two starts.
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