Lewis Thorpe of the Minnesota Twins pitches against the Cleveland Indians on August 18, 2021 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)
Australian left-handed pitcher Lewis Thorpe signed with the Toros de Tijuana in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, the Australian Baseball League X account announced on March 3.
Lewis to Mexico 🇦🇺 ➡️ 🇲🇽 Lewis Thorpe continues his professional career and has signed a contract with Toros De Tijuana in the Mexican League 📝 pic.twitter.com/ry8GJMZRhL
— Australian Baseball League (@ABL) March 4, 2024
The Toros de Tijuana have not yet announced the signing of Thorpe on their social media pages.
Thorpe, 28, was born in Melbourne, Australia, and played three seasons in Major League Baseball with the Minnesota Twins from 2019-21.
Thorpe began his professional career when he signed with the Twins as an international free agent on July 12, 2012 with a $500,000 signing bonus contract.
Thorpe did not play in the 2015 and 2016 season with the Twins organization due to a ulnar collateral ligament injury in his throwing arm.
Last winter, Thorpe played with the Melbourne Aces in the ABL, and in 10 starts, he posted a 2-3 record with a 3.60 ERA, throwing 50 innings and allowing 46 hits, 20 earned runs, 10 home runs, 20 walks, 41 strikeouts with a 1.320 WHIP.
Thorpe was a free agent in 2023.
Thorpe started the 2022 regular season with the Twins organization with Triple-A St. Paul, and started one game, throwing 1.2 innings and posting a 43.20 ERA after allowing six hits, eight earned runs, two home runs, two walks and struck out two. He was released on April 21, 2022.
He later signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the American Association on May 5, 2022 and started in 16 games posting a 8-2 record with a 4.96 ERA throwing 81.2 innings allowing 88 hits, 45 earned runs, 13 home runs, 24 walks, 75 strikeouts, and a 1.371 WHIP.
In the 2021 season, Thorpe split his time between the Florida Complex Level, Triple-A St. Paul and the Twins. In St. Paul, Thorpe threw 17 innings in two starts and six appearances, posting a 1-2 record and a 4.76 ERA, allowing 12 hits, nine earned runs, one home run, seven walks, and notching 12 strikeouts with a 1.118 WHIP.
With Minnesota, Thorpe posted a 0-2 record with a 4.70 ERA, throwing 15.1 innings in five appearances and four startsm allowing 14 hits, eight earned runs, two home runs, seven walks, and six strikeouts with a 1.370 WHIP.
Thorpe was on and off the injured list in the 2021 season. He landed on the seven-day injured list on June 5, 2021, with a left shoulder strain before he was activated on July 27, 2021 with his rehab assignment in Florida.
Thorpe threw 5.2 innings at the Twins Florida Complex Level and posted a 0-1 record with a 3.18 ERA in two starts allowing three hits, two earned runs, one walk, and seven strikeouts before he was activated to join Triple-A St. Paul on Aug. 8, 2021.
During the 2020 season, Thorpe started one game and made seven appearances, posting an 0-1 record with a 6.06 ERA over 16.1 innings, allowing 24 hits, 11 earned runs, four home runs, 10 walks, 10 strikeouts, and a 2.082 WHIP.
In his three seasons in MLB, Thorpe has a career record of 3-5 with a 5.76 ERA in seven starts and 24 appearances, throwing 59.1 innings and allowing 76 hits, 38 earned runs, nine home runs, 27 walks, with 47 strikeouts and a 1.736 WHIP.
Thorpe has played three seasons in the ABL, appearing with the Melbourne Aces from 2012-14 and 2023-24 and has made 18 starts with a 5-5 overall record with a 3.03 ERA throwing 92 innings allowing 83 hits, 31 earned runs, 11 home runs, 32 walks, 76 strikeouts and a 1.250 WHIP.
During Thorpe’s seven seasons in the minor leagues, he has posted a lifetime record of 25-21 with a 3.69 ERA throwing 449 innings in 89 starts and 100 appearances allowing 398 hits, 184 earned runs, 46 home runs, 146 walks, 532 strikeouts, and a 1.212 WHIP.
The first game of the 2024 LMB regular season is scheduled for April 11 when the Diablos Rojos del México travel to Puebla, Mexico, to take on the Pericos de Puebla at Estadio Hermanos Serdán.
The Toros de Tijuana will play their first game of the 2024 LMB season against the Sultanes de Monterrey on the road on April 12 at Estadio Mobil Super in Monterrey, Mexico. The game start times have not yet been announced.