Minnesota Twins Outright a Handful of Players; All Clear Waivers

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Randy Dobnak, Minnesota Twins
Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins have been in offseason mode for a few weeks now. With the general manager meetings taking place this week though, they have some housekeeping to do. Some of that relates to the 40 man roster, and needing to clear space before acquiring new talent, decisions were made on multiple players.

40 man roster shuffle begins for the Minnesota Twins

Derek Falvey will need to work his magic with regards to his offseason blueprint once again. The team is for sale and while the Pohlad’s aren’t cutting payroll, they probably aren’t adding to it either. There were a handful of fringe roster players that found themselves outrighted from the 40-man on Monday.

The emotional spectrum of the players outrighted is diverse. A veteran like Scott Blewett only found himself throwing 20 innings for Minnesota due to injuries. Randy Dobnak has been through this game before and it continues to be a formality. Yunior Severino experienced the reality for the first time, and it suggests his prospect status has fallen mightily. Of the decisions made its only that pair and Josh Winder who generate any level of intrigue.

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Dobnak will remain in the organization unless someone is willing to trade for him. He signed a $9.25 million contract prior to 2021 and is still owed at least $4 million through 2025. There’s no reason for him to become a free agent and walk away from that money. He also made it back to the big leagues last season, and again could conceivably be a depth option.

Randy Dobnak
Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

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There was a time that Josh Winder looked like a future roster fixture. A seventh round pick in 2018, Winder made a solid debut in 2022. He has struggled to stay healthy since though, and has now transitioned to a reliever full time. It’s somewhat curious that he went unclaimed, but most organizations have similar talents.

Last season Yunior Severino was added to the 40-man roster to protect him from being Rule 5 Draft eligible. After a .775 OPS in St. Paul poured water on his 2023, he has fallen to become little more than a fringe top-30 prospect at this point. Severino isn’t young at 25 years old, and without real defensive ability, it’s not a huge surprise no one took a shot. It is a reminder of just how quickly things can fall apart though.

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Minnesota will look to pick their spots when it comes to offseason additions. The expectations should be higher for the trade market, but getting the roster in order was a must. Free agency officially opened on Monday.

Twins exercise Jorge Alcala’s option

It was quite curious how the Twins decided to use Jorge Alcala last season. Despite having dealt with plenty of arm injuries over the years, he had no consistent plan and was often shuffled back to St. Paul. That made it plausible to believe Minnesota may instead pay his $55,000 buyout. The decided to bring him back instead.

At $1.5 million, Alcala seems like a no-brainer. Falvey has never seemed to like spending big on relievers, and Alcala brings upside at a muted cost. His 3.24 ERA was workable in 2024, and he proved to be a reliable arm in high-leverage spots at different points.

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Rocco Baldelli definitely needs some better options in relief this year as a whole. Falvey won’t be able to get by with only scrap heap additions. Keeping Alcala around is a good start.

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