Ice Box Chamberlain (1867)
Roxy Walters (1892)
Pete Donohue (1900)
Harry Gumbert (1909)
Lloyd Moseby (1959)
Fred Manrique (1961)
Brian Raabe (1967)
Javy Lopez (1970)
Johnny Damon (1973)
Juan Morillo (1983)
Infielder Fred Eloy (Reyes) Manrique played for the Twins for a few uneventful months in 1990. He was born in Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela, and signed with the Blue Jays as a free agent in 1978. His minor-league numbers are decent, but are more impressive when one realizes he reached AAA at age 20. He actually got to the majors at age 19; Manrique spent a month with Toronto in 1981, then got a brief trial in 1984, when he was still only 22. Manrique was sold to the Expos in April of 1985, and he was at AAA another year, getting 13 at-bats with Montreal. He was traded to St. Louis in March of 1986 for Tom Nieto and was sent to AAA again, getting 17 at-bats with the Cardinals. After the season, he was traded to the White Sox, and this time stuck in the big leagues. He was the mostly regular second baseman for the White Sox for the next two seasons, posting a fairly pedestrian average with few walks and little power. At mid-season of 1989, Manrique was traded to the Rangers. 1989 was his best year: he hit .294, although still with few walks and little power. In April of 1990, he was traded to the Twins for Jeff Saltzinger and cash. He spent about four months with the Twins as part of a revolving door at second base that included Al Newman, Nelson Liriano, Chip Hale and Doug Baker. Manrique may not have been the problem, but he wasn't the solution, either: he hit .237. During that time, Manrique was asked what the Twins needed to improve: his response was "a second baseman". Released in August, he moved on to the Angels and the Athletics, getting 21 at-bats with Oakland in 1991. After that season, however, he was again released, and his career was over. No information about what has become of Fred Manrique was readily available.
Infielder Brian Charles Raabe played briefly for the Twins in 1995 and 1996. Born in New Ulm, Minnesota, he attended the University of Minnesota and was drafted by the Twins in the 41st round in 1990. It took him a while to get above Class A, but he got people's attention when he hit .321 at AAA Salt Lake in 1994. He followed that up with .305 in 1995, which got him a September call-up. A .351 average at AAA in 1996 did not get him a September call-up; in fact, although he spent about a week with the Twins in June, all it got him was his release at the end of the season. Seattle signed him, and he spent 1997 with AAA Tacoma, where he hit .352. He played in two games for the Mariners in August, and was traded in September to Colorado, where he arrived in time to play two more games. After the season, Colorado sold him to the Seibu Lions, where he spent 1998. Raabe came back to the United States in 1999, signed with the Yankees, and hit .327 for AAA Columbus, but when it did him no good he retired. Raabe hit .332/.392/.479 at AAA in nearly 2,500 at-bats, but got only 29 at-bats in the big leagues. There was probably a reason he didn't get more of an opportunity, but someone who hits .332 in five seasons of AAA deserves a chance someplace. Brian Raabe had a successful run as the head coach of the high school baseball team in Forest Lake, Minnesota, and is now the baseball coach at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Right-hander Juan Bautista Morillo made three appearances for the Twins in 2009. He was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Puerto Rico and was signed by Colorado as a free agent in 2001. Originally a starting pitcher, Morillo was converted to the bullpen in 2007. That was his best year in the minors so far: he posted 2.55 in a season spent mostly with AA Tulsa. He was promoted to AAA the next year, but was not successful: his control, which had always been suspect, became a major problem at that level, as he averaged 8.4 walks per nine innings. He got brief call-ups with the Rockies from 2006-2008, totalling six appearances and 8.2 innings. Colorado placed Morillo on waivers in April of 2009, and the Twins' organization selected him. He made three appearances in Minnesota in April, and spent the rest of the year in Rochester. Control continued to be a problem for him, as he walked 6.9 per nine innings in 2009, and the Twins released him after the season. No American team signed him, so he went to Japan for 2010, but was injured almost all season. He left Japan after the earthquake and tsunami in 2011 and does not appear to have played anywhere in 2011. In 2012, however, he was back in baseball in the Philadelphia organization. He pitched poorly in AA, but did well in eight appearances in AAA. He went to Mexico for 2013 and pitched poorly in nine appearances, then went to Taiwan, where he played for the EDA Rhinos and was reputed to be the hardest thrower in the league. He turns 30 today and hasn't been in the majors since 2009. A year ago, we wrote, "It seems unlikely that he will make it back to the majors, but stranger things have happened." At this point, while it still may be true that stranger things have happened, it's a fairly short list.