Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
In six days, Joe Ryan will throw the first pitch of the Minnesota Twins 2026 regular season against the Baltimore Orioles, as they hope to distance themselves from a dismal 70-92 record one year ago.
The 26-man roster must be set before then, and they entered Friday with 42 players still in camp. That number fell when they decided, in rather surprise fashion, to move on from veteran reliever, Liam Hendriks and reassign starter Zebby Matthews to Triple A.
Andrew Chafin won’t play for Minnesota Twins
After tearing apart their bullpen last summer, the Minnesota Twins are trying to completely reconstruct and area of the team that, just one year ago, was arguably its biggest strength.
On Friday afternoon, three more cuts were announced, bringing the Fort Myers player total down to 37 and wiping out yet another veteran name from the bullpen — this time 35-year-old righty, Andrew Chafin.
We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/uAcmPrdwuH
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) March 20, 2026
Unfortunately, the new-look front office wasn’t given any funds to do so. And now, the intriguing veterans they brought in have no gas left in their baseball tanks.
Chafin, a Kenny Powers lookalike, pitched in six 2026 Grapefruit League games this spring, allowing two runs, while striking out five batters and walking three.
While velocity has never been his niche, the Kenny Powers lookalike was tossing a fastball down in Florida that averaged a putrid 85.7 mph — nearly 4 mph less than where he was a season ago.
Still, Chafin’s 2.41 ERA (3.46 FIP) with the Nationals and Angels last season provided hope this spring that he could not live up to. Considering that the MN Twins often try to build depth before opting for a release, this is almost a more curious move than Hendriks.
Noah Cardenas was also sent to minor league camp. That was a much more expected move. Gio Urshela returned to the organization as infield camp depth, but never really had a path to a roster spot.
Who’s in the Minnesota Twins bullpen?
The Minnesota Twins still needs to cut 11 more players before heading to Baltimore. With both Chafin and Hendriks out for the bullpen, options are starting to dwindle. Given Chafin’s left-handedness, his removal all but guarantees that Kody Funderburk will make the squad.
You can put Taylor Rogers, Cole Sands, Justin Topa, and Anthony Banda down in ink as well. That’s five of eight spots being filled. The Twins traded for Eric Orze this offseason an he’s on the 40-man roster already. That seems like a keeper too.
2025 Taylor Rogers wasn’t good but made it work.
If the Twins get 2024 Taylor Rogers though, that would be great. pic.twitter.com/7UIoePoeuh
— Ted (@tlschwerz) January 22, 2026
The final two spots then remain open, and there are multiple ways they could go. Cody Laweryson earning his way back in would be great. Veterans Dan Altavilla and Matt Bowman remain in camp after returning from the World Baseball Classic. Zak Kent was added over the winter and is on the 40-man roster too. Trent Baker pitched earlier in the week but hasn’t shown much of substance.
There’s also the possibility that a reliever is acquired in a trade. Trevor Larnach has been redundant for years. Eric Wagaman, Tristan Gray, and Ryan Kreidler are all fringe roster candidates despite being on the 40-man.
Lots of moving pieces exist, and time to sort them out is running thin.
Mentioned in this article: Andrew Chafin Gio Urshela Noah Cardenas
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