Could any of the Non-Roster Invitees make an impact in 2025? Let’s discuss:

Pitchers:

Scott Blewett

               A former 2^nd round pick by the Kansas City Royals, Blewett signed a minor-league contract with the Twins prior to the 2024 season, not having pitched in a major league game since 2021 with the Royals. His contract was selected by the Twins in mid-August when the Twins playoff hopes were still shining. Blewett, who has a very unfortunate last name for a pitcher, got into 12 games, and recorded a 1.77 ERA for the Twins over 20.2 innings. In a small sample size, he showed he had some value, but his underlying metrics, specifically in 4.00 FIP show that some luck may have been on his side. If Blewett’s contract is selected in 2025, expect that he will be part of the shuttle to St. Paul along with other last members of the bullpen. Blewett turns 29 in April, so he appears headed to St. Paul with possibility he is called up when the Twins need a fresh arm.

Randy Dobnak

               You probably know Dobnak’s story at this point, having previously been an Uber driver and eventually signing out of Independent Ball to make his major league debut with the Twins in 2019. After his stellar start to his big league career, the Twins signed Dobnak to a 5 year, $9.25 million contract after the 2019 season. Injuries and poor performance have limited his value, Dobnak is in the final year of that contract looking to recoup some of the value that has been lost. He had a mostly healthy 2024, pitching in AAA St. Paul, throwing 133.1 innings with a reasonable 4.25 ERA and 1.45 WHIP. His luster may be lessened, Dobnak is still a guy who can throw some innings and has a chance to make an impact as another member who is called up as a long-relief, spot start, guy depending on performance of others and team needs.

Ryan Jensen

               Claimed off waivers after being designated for assignment by the Miami Marlins in December of 2023, Jensen spent the entire year with the Saints in the International League. He threw 56.2 innings, pitching mostly in relief. Jensen will likely end up in St. Paul again and serve as depth. It appears there would be an outside chance he has an impact on the 2025 roster with who is ahead of him on the pecking order, but the chance is not zero percent either.

Cory Lewis

               Add Lewis to the ever-growing list of mid-round college pitchers that have slowly climbed in the Twins system. Drafted in the 9^th round in 2022, Lewis pitched at 4 different levels, even getting one start in AAA St. Paul. Lewis doesn’t have high-end velocity, but one fun thing to watch is his knuckleball, which is showing mid-80s speed. He has the upside of a back-end starter and expect to be able to drive across town and see him in AAA quite a bit, he very likely could earn a call up in 2025 at some point.

Darren McCaughan

               McCaughan is a depth signing for the Twins, having earned a cup of coffee with both the Guardians and Marlins in 2024. He has pitched almost exclusively as a starter in his minor-league career, so ending up in the Saints rotation appears likely. Because he has been called up previously, he could end up, like Randy Dobnak, being a guy that is called up for a specific situation if they need a fresh arm and he happens to be that guy at the time.

Andrew Morris

               Another 2022 draft pick, Morris started the year in Cedar Rapids, and then earned call ups to Wichita and St. Paul in 2024. He has a very good fastball, topping out at 97 mph and his off-speed stuff has improved since being drafted as well. Morris’ impact in 2025 may be limited, but expect to see him sooner rather than later when it comes to prospects being promoted over the next few years.

Alex Speas

               Speas signed a minor league contract with the Twins in November. He has previous major league experience with the Rangers and Astros in 2023 and 2024. He’s also pitched some in the Mexican League in the Mexican Pacific Winter League, making 6 appearances. Speas will serve as a depth arm and may end up riding the shuttle to St. Paul a time or two by the end of the year.

Huascar Ynoa

               Ynoa was signed as an international free agent by the Twins back in 2014 and was traded to the Braves back in July of 2017 in the trade the Twins acquired Jaime Garcia, who they then traded again. Ynoa made his Major League debut in 2019 with the Braves and pitches in some games in 2020, 2021 and 2022 with Atlanta as well. Ynoa has had the last two years taken away due to Tommy John surgery and another elbow injury. Ynoa is a guy, if he can re-find his form, could end up in the Twins bullpen at some point during the year.

Anthony Misiewicz

               Signed in mid-January, Misiewicz has 5 seasons of major league experience with six different teams. He most recently pitched out of the Yankees bullpen, where he threw one scoreless inning. A saying I heard a long time ago is that “you never have enough left-handed pitching,” which may or may not be true. Misiewicz will serve as left-handed depth behind guys like Danny Coulombe, and Kody Funderburk. With injuries or inefficiencies, he could earn a call up at some point and his prior major league experience will hopefully be a benefit to him.

Position Players

Alex Isola

               Isola was drafted in the 29^th round back in 2019 as a catcher out of TCU. The further he has moved up the minors, he has stayed behind the plate less, having most of his games at first base, designated hitter and some in corner outfield as well. His bat has carried him previously, before hitting a speed bump in 2024 playing in the high minors, mostly at AAA. He is a low batting average, high strikeout hitter who has shown to have a decent high at the plate. His bat will be what carries him, but he will be playing his age 26 season, likely serving as organizational depth in St. Paul unless he turns a corner and proves he can take the next step forward offensively.

Pat Winkel

               A 9^th round pick in 2021, Winkel has climbed the organizational ladder steadily, spending 2024 in AAA St. Paul. He’s shown his ability to hold his own behind the plate, but with so many catchers in front of him on the depth chart, he is currently in line to be in St. Paul for another year and serve as depth behind Ryan Jeffers, Christian Vazquez, and co.

Armando Alvarez

               Alvarez, a light-hitting infielder who got a cup of coffee with the A’s in 2024, has been in professional baseball for over a decade and has shown flashes over the past couple of years in AAA that he can hold his own at the plate. Alvarez has played all four infield positions, as well as a some games in the corner outfield in the past year, so his utility will bring some value. He will likely start the year in AAA St. Paul and may get called up at some point if they need a guy who can fill in in multiple spots because of injuries.

Mike Ford

               Ford, a former 1^st round pick by the Mariners has played for a handful of teams since first being called up in 2019 by the Yankees. For the past three seasons, he has bounced around, not hitting much for average, but showing a decent eye at the plate. He most recently was called up to the Reds, and then elected free agency and played the rest of the 2024 season in Japan with the Yokohama Bay Stars. With the loss of Carlos Santana, can the Twins catch lightning in a bottle with Ford as the strong side of a platoon? Possibly, but it’s likely he is in AAA and is called up if he is performing and if there is an injury. He’s shown his ability to hit AAA pitching the past couple of years, so it will be interesting to see if he can sustain that success if given the chance at the major league level.

Luke Keaschall

               Keaschall is ranked as the #61 prospect in baseball after a couple of very productive years, being called up to AA Wichita in 2024. His 2024 season was hampered by an elbow injury, limiting him to a lot of DH duty, but hit .281/.393/.439 in his time with the Wind Surge. Keaschall was a second round pick in 2023 out of Arizona State and has shown the ability to play multiple places on the diamond, including 2B, CF, and even some at 1B as well.

Yunior Severino

               Playing the 2024 season in AAA, Severino showed his power is real, hitting 21 home runs in 128 games played. It wasn’t quite his 35 home runs he hit over 120 games in 2023, but still something to consider. Severino was previously a third baseman, but has mostly been relegated to 1^st base and DH duties. His power will be what carries him, but you may see him called up in 2025 if the Twins other first base options aren’t working as planned.

Jeferson Morales

               Morales is more of a utility option than anything at this point. He played at AA and AAA in 2024 and played 4 positions along with serving as the DH as well. Morales signed in 2016 and has been in the Twins organization ever since. He was signed as a catcher but has played 1^st base, 2^nd base and in the corner outfield as well. Morales showed a solid hit tool last year, hitting .290/.367/.453 in between Wichita and St. Paul. It’s best to think of him as depth, but depending on how he continues to hit and where other needs fit, he could end up at Target Field sometime soon.