J.R.

Towles

He gets an invite to camp. The former top prospect has been a major bust in the big leagues, batting just .187/.267/.315 with 11 homers and 50 RBI over 484 plate appearances. Towles, now 27, picked a decent spot to try to resurrect his career. Joe Mauer is brittle and Drew Butera wouldn’t be handed the starting job if (when) Mauer lands on the disabled list in 2012 because of his terrible bat. Minnesota would also probably like to stay away from putting Ryan Doumit at catcher for an extended period of time because of his own health issues. It’s not a reach to believe Towles could accrue some at-bats at Target Field in 2012.

Minnesota signed former top prospects Burroughs, Towles and Steve Pearce to minor league contracts last week. The trio likely was attracted to a Twins roster that was decimated with injuries last season and leaned heavily on their Triple-A affiliate for reinforcements. Twins assistant GM Rob Antony said he believes Towles could push Drew Butera for the third catcher job (behind Joe Mauer and Ryan Doumit) and Burroughs might challenge Danny Valencia for the third base job. Towles (.286/.389/.443 career slash line at Triple-A) isn’t much of a defensive catcher, but would be a gigantic offensive upgrade over Butera, who is the major league’s worst hitter. Deep AL-only players will want to keep an eye on both Towles and Burroughs in camp.

The 28-year-old backstop hit an underwhelming .214/.280/.315 with one homer and 10 RBI in 52 games for Triple-A Rochester in 2012. Even though there may be hidden upside offensively, with his sub-par defensive ability it may be difficult for Towles to score a spring training invitation.

Towles began the season with the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate and batted .237 in 19 games before being given his release. The 29-year-old backstop hasn’t played in the majors since 2011 and will serve as organizational depth with Los Angeles.

Towles, now 27, will become a free agent following the World Series. The former top prospect has been a major bust in the big leagues, batting just .187/.267/.315 with 11 homers and 50 RBI over 484 plate appearances.

Towles hit an underwhelming .214/.280/.315 with one home run and 10 RBI in 52 games for the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate last season. He isn’t a threat to Tony Cruz’s backup job and projects to open 2013 in an organizational depth role.

With Jason Castro on the rise in the organization, this might have been Towles’ last real chance in the organization. The drop to Corpus Christi only underscores this. Towles failed to make the most of his opportunity this season, batting just .191/.235/.319 with one home run and nine RBI over 47 at-bats. Humberto Quintero figures to share playing time with Kevin Cash until Castro is ready.

There’s some minor significance here, because J.R. Towles has caught all five of Oswalt’s starts so far this season. Coincidence or not, Oswalt is off to a fantastic start, posting a 2.73 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. Ultimately, it shouldn’t have much impact, because Oswalt is a quality pitcher regardless of who is behind the plate.

As if he needed any more bad news. Towles, once a highly regarded catching prospect, was optioned to Double-A earlier this month and is just 2-for-20 against the lesser competition. He won’t be back in the majors anytime soon, especially with Juan Castro rising quickly through the ranks.

Towles, a former top prospect with the Astros, played at the Triple-A level last season between the Cardinals and Dodgers. He turned 30 in February.