Twins Roster Moves: Zack Weiss In, Jordan Balazovic Out, Santana and Jackson Official

[Matthew Trueblood]

In a flurry of essentially inessential moves Wednesday afternoon, the Twins made their two most recent free-agent signings official and said goodbye to three players at the fringe of their 40-man roster, including a former top prospect.

Image courtesy of © Rick Osentoski - USA Today Sports

A few days after we learned that Carlos Santana would sign with the Twins to play first base and be an occasional designated hitter, the team made that move official, along with their other, smaller foray into free agency, reliever Jay Jackson. We finally found out the financial terms of Jackson's deal, too. He'll make $1.5 million, all told, with the chance to more than double that if the team picks up a club option on him for 2025.

Per source: Jay Jackson’s deal with the Twins will be for 1 year at $1.3M plus incentives. Also includes a 2025 club option for $3M or $200K buyout, making it $1.5M guaranteed.

Escalators could increase the total amount to two years, $5.45M if all thresholds are met.

If the…

— Eric Treuden (@ETreuden) February 7, 2024

In order to make room for Santana and Jackson on the 40-man roster, the Twins designated both Daniel Duarte and Bubba Thompson for assignment, not long after claiming each on waivers. As teams' 40-man rosters gain some extra flexibility when the 60-day injured list opens for the year Thursday, it's likely one or both is claimed and goes elsewhere, but the team could look to keep either in the minors as a camp invite if they make it through the wire this time.

Minnesota also claimed right-handed reliever Zack Weiss, 31, from the Red Sox, and designated former top pitching prospect Jordan Balazovic for assignment to create the space. Balazovic's career arc is a tale of bad luck, dubious decisions, and injuries, but he might yet get an opportunity to shine in someone's bullpen. Since he is out of minor-league options (and had no plausible path to winning a job in the junior circuit's best or second-best bullpen out of camp), this is no great loss in real terms, but it's a sad ending to the Twins chapter for a player on whom many fans once pinned pretty high hopes. 

Weiss is interesting, though, to say the least. Primarily a slider-fastball guy, he sprinkles in a cutter against lefties, but the slider alone can do plenty of damage when he's commanding it. He ran a strikeout rate around 30 percent last year, though much of that time was spent in Triple-A for the Angels and Red Sox. His fastball sits in the 93-96 range, touching only a tick higher, but like several other recent favored Twins targets (including Jackson), it's a secondary offering for him.

Last June, Weiss slid from the third-base to the first-base side of the rubber, trying to align himself better to hit the glove side of the plate with his fastball and attack lefties with the cutter on their hands. He did have modestly improved numbers after the move, but they were lies. In reality, he lost control of the slider, which is his bread and butter. If he sticks around, the Twins will look either to get him back to the third-base side of the rubber or to help him find a feel for the slider from his new angle that permits him to throw enough strikes with it.

Unlike Balazovic, Weiss has minor-league options left, despite his advanced age. He could stick around as an up-and-down pen option for the balance of the season, but optionability only keeps a player like this on the roster if they show enough to avoid being shoved out by some non-roster option (be it an external addition or a prospect promotion) who deserves it more.

This brings some temporary clarity and stasis to the hovering Twins roster questions, but they still have an item or two on their winter shopping list. In the meantime, Balazovic's departure marks the subtle turning of a corner, from one era of Twins pitching prospects to a new one.  

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Are you disappointed to see the Twins give up on Balazovic at this early stage of the spring? What do you think of Weiss, and where should the team be looking to add next? Sound off below.

Research assistance provided by TruMedia.

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[notoriousgod71]

I don't care about giving up on balazovic but I'd prefer it to be for someone that isn't going to be on the constant shuttle to and from AAA.

[Doctor Gast]

I expected Balazovik to be waived but not this soon.

[DJL44]

Balazovic may still have enough perceived upside that they are able to get cash or a low-level prospect in return.

[Muppet]

Bubba Thompson. We hardly knew thee

[Dman]

With no options left and this being a playoff team it was going to be really, really hard to keep Balazovic on the 40 man.  I mean if he looked elite out of the pen maybe they would have tried to keep him but IMO it was best to rip the band aide off and do the DFA.  Festa, Lee or some other player was going to need that 40 man spot anyway and Balazovic was gonna be the first one to go.  At least they got a guy that if they can pass him through waivers will have options left.

I will say I was a huge, huge believer in Balazovic,  I had him as a future mid rotation starter, but the wheels fell off when he couldn't control his pitches.  I still think he will be a good to really good pen arm.  He has good velocity and movement on some pitches, but the lack of options makes it a killer for the Twins.  Also there are several arms that look better right now in Canterino, Festa, Raya, Ohl, SWR and I even have Sands ahead of him right now.  I loved watching him move up, but for this years team I think this is the right decision.

[Seth Stohs]

I do like the strategy of claiming big arms or guys with something to work on, and then claim more and DFA guys and hope that a few get through waivers and can stick in the organization. 

I do think Balazovic will be claimed, but we'll see. 

[Nashvilletwin]

Balazovic couldn’t make it one more day.  Sounds like the Twins are letting him move on to get another chance somewhere else. Good luck to him.

With the 60 day opening tomorrow, it looks like there might be some room opening up on the 40 man if needed.  Otherwise, the next addition to the roster would’ve meant some real meat would  need to be cut (and, yes, given our limited MLB ready outfield depth, Gordon is still considered real meat).

[Gamblerssoftball]

Some these poor guys have no clue whether to unpack their bags or just sleep at the airport. Gotta be kind of frustrating 😒 

[Rosterman]

So the arm express now contains Weiss, Staumont, Headrick, Fundeburk, Woods Richardson, Varland before the Twins need to dip into names like Henriquez, Dobnak, Alexy, Harris, Bowman, Solomon, Boushley, Gunkel, Jensen, Laweryson, Boyle amongst others on the light-rail shuffle.

 

Sometimes wonder if they would take all the money spent on such players and just get THE ONE.

[Fatbat]

Which way did they go george, which way did they go?? 😵‍💫

[SD happy]

If Balozovik and Duarte are already at Ft Meyer’s working out, are they allowed to continue working out at the spring training site while they are in ‘limbo’?

[nicksaviking]

AJ Alexy, Josh Staumont, Ryan Jensen, Daniel Duarte, Zack Weiss, Jordan Balazovic.

I think it would be fascinating to sit in the war room and hear the rationale for shuffling all of these similar relievers. This is a yearly thing, so there must be some built in strategy for this. We like this one better because of x or this one because of y. They all look the same from a high level. None of these players really interest me, but hearing the rationale absolutely would.

 

[DJL44]

2 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

AJ Alexy, Josh Staumont, Ryan Jensen, Daniel Duarte, Zack Weiss, Jordan Balazovic.

I think it would be fascinating to sit in the war room and hear the rationale for shuffling all of these similar relievers. This is a yearly thing, so there must be some built in strategy for this. We like this one better because of x or this one because of y. They all look the same from a high level. None of these players really interest me, but hearing the rationale absolutely would.

It might be as simple as ranking all the pitchers in organized baseball with a computer and claiming anyone who ranks higher than the 40th man on the roster. None of those guys should be buying a house in Hennepin County.

[IndianaTwin]

42 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Balazovic couldn’t make it one more day.  Sounds like the Twins are letting him move on to get another chance somewhere else. Good luck to him.

With the 60 day opening tomorrow, it looks like there might be some room opening up on the 40 man if needed.  Otherwise, the next addition to the roster would’ve meant some real meat would  need to be cut (and, yes, given our limited MLB ready outfield depth, Gordon is still considered real meat).

Are you referencing the Twins 60 day opening up? If so, who? It seems like the first time in a few years that we don't have someone headed that way as soon as needed. 

 

[stringer bell]

Fascinating to see the club add so many 30 y.o.+ relievers who are not household names. I would hope they strike gold with a couple, but none are anything close to a sure bet with Topa being the most likely to succeed. 

With the DFA of Balazovic, we're now to the point where any more moves are going to expose guys that somebody thinks will be a significant piece of 2024.

[2wins87]

Are we sure the 60-day IL opens tomorrow?

I can't find this anywhere by googling, and the only information I do find says it opens up on the day that pitchers and catchers report (which is a little different for different teams).

[Major League Ready]

On 2/7/2024 at 3:13 PM, nicksaviking said:

AJ Alexy, Josh Staumont, Ryan Jensen, Daniel Duarte, Zack Weiss, Jordan Balazovic.

I think it would be fascinating to sit in the war room and hear the rationale for shuffling all of these similar relievers. This is a yearly thing, so there must be some built in strategy for this. We like this one better because of x or this one because of y. They all look the same from a high level. None of these players really interest me, but hearing the rationale absolutely would.

 

Right there with ya.  I would love to sit in an see the process they go through.  What is it they see that can be unlocked or refined.

[nicksaviking]

11 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

With the DFA of Balazovic, we're now to the point where any more moves are going to expose guys that somebody thinks will be a significant piece of 2024.

Yeah, this is why I wasn't too upset about not being able to add free agents this year, there just weren't nearly as many easy spots to fill as usual.

I mean I wanted BETTER additions, but I didn't want many additions, and I certainly didn't want to add guys just because we're all bored.

[ashbury]

17 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

With the DFA of Balazovic, we're now to the point where any more moves are going to expose guys that somebody thinks will be a significant piece of 2024.

Zack Weiss.  How quickly we forget. 😀

[Heistyman]

Weiss has allowed 8 bombs in 27 major league innings.  We better get an X-Ray on his neck from turning around to see them go out so frequently.  Boy I hope they saw something in the video they can fix because at age 31 and that track record he looks like a milb invite at best.

[KirbyDome89]

46 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

It might be as simple as ranking all the pitchers in organized baseball with a computer and claiming anyone who ranks higher than the 40th man on the roster. None of those guys should be buying a house in Hennepin County.

It feels a lot like shuffling the bottom of your bench, hoping you find that diamond in your fantasy league. 

[DJL44]

26 minutes ago, 2wins87 said:

Are we sure the 60-day IL opens tomorrow?

I can't find this anywhere by googling, and the only information I do find says it opens up on the day that pitchers and catchers report (which is a little different for different teams).

The Dodgers report on 2/9, Padres on 2/11 and most other teams 2/14 or 2/15. That's when the 60 day IL opens.

[jkcarew]

Balazovic just not good enough for a guy with no options. He’ll likely figure things out well enough at AAA over the next year or two to stick with a major league club in the bullpen. Lots of things delayed the process here, not the least of which were the injuries and the utter lack of ability to work from ahead in the count at the upper levels. 

[FlyingFinn]

1 hour ago, nicksaviking said:

This is a yearly thing, so there must be some built in strategy for this. We like this one better because of x or this one because of y. They all look the same from a high level. None of these players really interest me, but hearing the rationale absolutely would.

Just looking for the next Stewart of 2023 to suddenly appear. All you need is for one guy to pan out in 2024 out of all of these pitchers signed for it to be worth it. Just don't make a mistake and get rid of the wrong guys from your own organization (Coulumbe, Cano). Relief pitchers can range wildly, from terrible one year to good the next for a myriad of reasons.

[nicksaviking]

6 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Just looking for the next Stewart of 2023 to suddenly appear. All you need is for one guy to pan out in 2024 out of all of these pitchers signed for it to be worth it. Just don't make a mistake and get rid of the wrong guys from your own organization (Coulumbe, Cano). Relief pitchers can range wildly, from terrible one year to good the next for a myriad of reasons.

Obviously they're looking for a diamond in the rough over all, but this doesn't explain the continuous cycling of these guys in the off season. What I'm saying is that I'd be interested being a fly on the wall when they say, Ok Jensen, nope lets go to Duarte, eh, I guess let's do Weiss, before they've ever thrown a pitch in spring training.

[SaberNerd]

Weiss has consistently shown the ability to strike out hitters at the MLB level, and his rate of allowing homers will likely come down, but control has been an issue.  I doubt he starts the year in the majors, but he's not a bad option for 10th on the depth chart.

[Jocko87]

2 hours ago, Muppet said:

Bubba Thompson. We hardly knew thee

One of the few names I could spell. 😢

[chpettit19]

40 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Obviously they're looking for a diamond in the rough over all, but this doesn't explain the continuous cycling of these guys in the off season. What I'm saying is that I'd be interested being a fly on the wall when they say, Ok Jensen, nope lets go to Duarte, eh, I guess let's do Weiss, before they've ever thrown a pitch in spring training.

I think it's an attempt to get as many as they can. Just keep claiming and waiving, signing and waiving, waiving guys you already have and see how many you can get through. They're all roughly the same guy so just see if you can't collect a few more to stash in AAA. They don't really care if they lose 9 out of 10 of the waived guys because they've replaced them with a guy with a similar chance to be successful, but each time they get one through they've increased their odds. I don't think it's so much grading player vs player, but instead a general pool of players that they're trying to collect as many of as they can.

[chpettit19]

Waiving Jordy Blaze is a good reminder of why contending teams don't like to clear spots for even top prospects on opening day rosters. It's the hope and excitement time of year where all the prospect rankings are coming out and we all picture our perfect future where they all hit their ceilings. Reality is that most won't, and that's why teams tend to build MLB depth with veterans and let the prospects take jobs as injury replacements instead of being plan A. Jordy was ranked higher than anyone currently in the system so let's hope the guys coming up now can find that key to give themselves the extra push over the top to successful major league careers.