In recent days the Minnesota Twins have spent some money. Just how much they have at their disposal has been a question mark this offseason. They did find $9 million to split between Taylor Rogers and Victor Caratini though.
The addition behind the dish is something of a curious one. Especially after trading for Alex Jackson earlier this offseason. A reunion with Rogers makes sense as the bullpen is barren, and he brings a veteran presence.
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Both free agent signings needed spots on the 40-man roster. With Twins Fest on deck this weekend, the franchise made each deal official and sent a pair of players packing.
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Roster moves raise eyebrows for Minnesota Twins
Given that Derek Falvey needed to add both a pitcher and a position player to the 40-man roster, it makes sense that those respective talents would be removed. It’s a bit more surprising, at least for one of them, that they were.
Minnesota made their two newest free agent signings official on Friday night. They’ll also immediately welcome both Taylor Rogers and Victor Caratini to Twins Fest with frigid temperatures on Saturday.
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Jhonny Pereda was a late-season addition for Minnesota to cover behind the plate. He wasn’t a catcher that Rocco Baldelli wanted to play, so it’s not exactly shocking that he’d be sent packing. The addition of Caratini though, still has a glut of option-less players at the position. Especially if a trade isn’t coming.
The surprise move was designating Pierson Ohl for assignment. The 26-year-old has seen an impressive rise through the minors and made his big league debut last year. He worked as a reliever but posted middling results. Still, you’d certainly think there are better days ahead.
Ohl pitched in 14 games and started three of them. Across 30 innings he owned a 5.10 ERA (4.20 FIP) with a 27/7 K/BB. It was the 11.4 H/9 that did him in, but more seasoning certainly could have better positioned him.
It would be surprising to see a team not claim Ohl. He still has three minor league options, and you could do a lot worse than a guy who carried a 2.40 ERA across 71 1/3 minor league innings last year.
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40 man roster problems for MN Twins
It’s difficult to make a serious argument that the Minnesota Twins have significant fat to cut from their 40-man roster on the pitching side. John Klein and Andrew Morris were offseason additions, and Eric Orze was added to pitch in the bullpen this year.
On the position player side though, that’s where things get dicey. The three catchers don’t work together when it comes to filling out the 26-man roster. Tristan Gray, Ryan Kreidler, and Eric Wagaman are also all redundant when it comes to lackluster utility options.
There’s a glut of corner outfield options that won’t all have a pathway to playing time either. Right now Minnesota is probably establishing a baseline. It’s not clear they are pushing the water level up in doing so though.
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