Emmanuel Rodriguez, Marco Raya, Cory Lewis Among the Twins First Spring Cuts

[Matt Braun]

The Twins trimmed their spring training roster following a loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

Image courtesy of William Parmeter

The following players were optioned to Triple-A. They cannot appear in a spring training game for the rest of 2025. 

RHP Travis Adams
A surprise addition to the 40-man roster this offseason, Travis Adams appeared in two spring training games, allowing four runs across four frames. He was already a long (long, long, long) shot to make Minnesota’s opening day roster; the 25-year-old will start the year in St. Paul.

RHP Matt Canterino
Matt Canterino—seen about as often as Bigfoot, these days—made one spring training appearance in which he walked three batters and suffered a shoulder injury in the process. So it goes. He’s set to meet with Dr. Keith Meister soon to better understand the nature of his injury and his process going forward, but, unfortunately, this tune sounds familiar: he’s going to be on the shelf for a while. 

RHP Marco Raya
Marco Raya suffered one of the most disastrous outings a pitcher could ever endure, hitting three, walking two, and failing to net a single out to give him a rarely seen infinity ERA. All five men eventually scored. The good news is that spring training is fake baseball; those runs only exist in an archaic hyperlink on Baseball-Reference. Freshly 22, Raya stands as one of the team’s best pitching prospects, and he’ll look to build on a 2024 season that delivered him to Triple-A.

OF Emmanuel Rodriguez
Even the most optimistic Twins fan, if such a thing exists, knew Emmanuel Rodriguez was unlikely to see game action this spring. He took live batting practice for the first time since undergoing thumb surgery and should begin running bases soon. The possibility of seeing one of the best prospects in baseball is by itself worth the price of a Saints ticket this spring and summer. 

The following Non-Roster players were reassigned to minor league camp. They can still appear in spring training games but will get their work in separately from the players in the big league camp.

RHP Randy Dobnak
The mustachioed legend himself is still the unwanted step-child in the Twins organization. 2025 marks the final guaranteed year of his extension, and he’ll likely once again star as the leading man in the Saints’ rotation, a team he’s thrown 343 2/3 innings for. 

C/1B/OF Alex Isola
Alex Isola hadn’t yet played in a spring game, a strong forecast for this decision. He’ll head back to St. Paul and bide his time in the Michael Helman role; a “break in case of emergency” depth option who can moonlight at catcher if need be.

RHP Cory Lewis
After missing spring training last year, Cory Lewis triumphantly tossed a pair of shutout innings—with a handful of his signature knuckleballs, one of them strong enough to punch out Gleyber Torres—in a successful relief outing. Like the other hurlers mentioned, he was clearly on the outside of the major league rotation looking in, but he’ll serve as a critical depth piece should health fail a starter, or two, or three. 

RHP Erasmo Ramírez
The 35-year-old Erasmo Ramírez lives in this perfect Baseball liminal space where, to me, he was last relevant some seven or eight years ago, but still inexplicably pops up on rosters because someone needs to pitch some innings and no one wants to burn an option year on a promising player. That’s how he’s pitched in each of the last 13 seasons. Unfortunately, that streak is in jeopardy: he suffered a significant tear in his right teres major and won’t be available to pitch for some time. 

INF Yunior Severino
The Randy Dobnak of position players, Yunior Severino has flashed the talent of a big-leaguer, but the Twins have eschewed his power and swing-and-miss ways, limiting him to a cross-town side-show a notch below big-league material. Even an uninspiring battle for the first base job couldn’t provoke the team to see what they have in Severino; he has yet to even appear in a spring training game.

Any surprises with the first batch of players sent back to minor-league camp?

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[djm24]

You hit the nail on the head when you said Dobnak is the "unwanted" player in the Twins organization. He's been "unwanted" since he  injured his finger. Since then, the Twins organization is regretting paying his $9M+ salary. Yet, they have their "player favorites" and have no qualms paying supposedly "star" players enormous salaries even though those players are often injured.

The best thing that could happen to Randy is for him to put in his time at St. Paul this year and then to get as FAR AWAY as possible from the Twins organization and the many hateful, insulting fans (including the relentless naysayers who frequently post on this on this board and who unfortunately find it impossible to say anything decent about him. Then again, I suppose there are some people who are always negative.)

At the end of this season Randy will then be free to either file for free agency or choose another career. I wish him luck.

Go Guardians!!!

 

[USAFChief]

23 minutes ago, djm24 said:

You hit the nail on the head when you said Dobnak is the "unwanted" player in the Twins organization. He's been "unwanted" since he  injured his finger. Since then, the Twins organization is regretting paying his $9M+ salary. Yet, they have their "player favorites" and have no qualms paying supposedly "star" players enormous salaries even though those players are often injured.

The best thing that could happen to Randy is for him to put in his time at St. Paul this year and then to get as FAR AWAY as possible from the Twins organization and the many hateful, insulting fans (including the relentless naysayers who frequently post on this on this board and who unfortunately find it impossible to say anything decent about him. Then again, I suppose there are some people who are always negative.)

At the end of this season Randy will then be free to either file for free agency or choose another career. I wish him luck.

Go Guardians!!!

 

I think Dobnak gets down on his knees and thanks his maker for that contract twice a day 

[tony&rodney]

38 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

I think Dobnak gets down on his knees and thanks his maker for that contract twice a day 

Never met Dobnak, but he was willing to sign the offered deal and has worked hard to meet his end. It was a shot in the dark by Falvine that missed. Glad to see Randy get his pay. He likely is disappointed to not get more MLB time but rational about making a living.

[djm24]

49 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

I think Dobnak gets down on his knees and thanks his maker for that contract twice a day 

 

[djm24]

59 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

I think Dobnak gets down on his knees and thanks his maker for that contract twice a day 

Sarcasm gets you nowhere. Why do you resent Dobnak for being able to secure his contract?  I'm sure you have a reason. Do you feel sorry for the Pohlads in that they are now $9M poorer??

 Anyone (.myself included) would love to be able to make millions per year. But for most of us "commoners", it just isn't "in the cards". So, be grateful for what you have.

Randy has done much for the community. He has made large donations to St. Jude's Childrens Hospital as well as held fundraisers for that hospital. And from what I've read, he is a likable clubhouse player. The St. Paul Saints manager (I forget his name) thinks very highly of him.

So, don't be such a naysayer. Don't be so critical.ife is too short.

 

 

 

[mikelink45]

No surprises - some disappointment with Canterino.  Not that I expected much from him, but he has had a horrible medical career in MLB

[djm24]

48 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Never met Dobnak, but he was willing to sign the offered deal and has worked hard to meet his end. It was a shot in the dark by Falvine that missed. Glad to see Randy get his pay. He likely is disappointed to not get more MLB time but rational about making a living.

Nice understanding. Thank you

 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

No surprises here. I felt so bad for Raya yesterday as I sat in the stands in Ft. Myers and watched his complete inability to get the baseball over the plate. He's not that bad, but I hope it will somehow turn into a positive learning experience for him.

[Althebum82]

Definitely not a surprise on Dobnak.  It still sucks that it has to happen on a day that he throws three shutout innings (just as he did in his only other spring training appearance), though.  It would look better deserved if he had met expectations and gotten blown up for an inning or two.

[djm24]

39 minutes ago, Althebum82 said:

Definitely not a surprise on Dobnak.  It still sucks that it has to happen on a day that he throws three shutout innings (just as he did in his only other spring training appearance), though.  It would look better deserved if he had met expectations and gotten blown up for an inning or two.

My thoughts exactly. I read about the "cuts"  short after the game completion, so IMO opinion the decision to cut Dobnak was made before the game started. And he was given the chance to pitch in relief only so Baldy could say that he was given a "fair" chance to pitch (two chances). It almost appears that regardless of how Randy's performance would have "shaken out", the decision was made  before the game to cut him  When spring training was first started, it was my gut feeling that Dobs would have been among the first players to be cut. Simply because the Twins FO made a "huge mistake" in signing him to that contract. (After all, it was a HUGE contract! Right?) So as Matt said in his article, Dobs is "unwanted". He 's not one of the "favorites" regardless of his performance since the Twins are hung up on their youth movement where pitchers are concerned. That is why I strongly feel Dobs would possibly have less stress with another organization. 

And regarding player favorites although he is still considered "young" why are the Twins still hanging onto Varland, giving him every chance to try to become an "elite" pitcher?Sure, he had pitched "well" in relief, doing one-inning shots. Most relief pitchers do well pitching only one inning per appearance. Is he is a Twins "favorite" simply because he is a Minnesota "native boy"? 

[GNess]

The approach with Severinø is curious - not one AB in a spring game as noted in the article. There are numerous prospects who were able to get a few AB's and even a long shot retread like Ford has some AB's.

If the Twins don't value Severino why is he on the St Paul roster? Why don't the Twins move on if he is held in such low regard? Is he injured or has a poor attitude?

 

 

[djm24]

44 minutes ago, GNess said:

The approach with Severinø is curious - not one AB in a spring game as noted in the article. There are numerous prospects who were able to get a few AB's and even a long shot retread like Ford has some AB's.

If the Twins don't value Severino why is he on the St Paul roster? Why don't the Twins move on if he is held in such low regard? Is he injured or has a poor attitude?

 

 

It's sports ",politics". Like Dobnak, Severino must just be "unwanted". Why invite a player to ST, never play him in a game and then cut him at first chance? Grave insult

And why hang on to Julien? Sure, he's had pretty decent offense in ST, but his defense is bad. He caused the Twins a loss during the March 9th game by making two throwing errors in the third inning, allowing for three unearned runs. Like Varland, is he another "favorite"?  He should be sent down to St. Paul.

 

[djm24]

1 hour ago, GNess said:

The approach with Severinø is curious - not one AB in a spring game as noted in the article. There are numerous prospects who were able to get a few AB's and even a long shot retread like Ford has some AB's.

If the Twins don't value Severino why is he on the St Paul roster? Why don't the Twins move on if he is held in such low regard? Is he injured or has a poor attitude?

 

 

I just checked. Severino is not on the ST injured list.

[Fatbat]

6 hours ago, djm24 said:

You hit the nail on the head when you said Dobnak is the "unwanted" player in the Twins organization. He's been "unwanted" since he  injured his finger. Since then, the Twins organization is regretting paying his $9M+ salary. Yet, they have their "player favorites" and have no qualms paying supposedly "star" players enormous salaries even though those players are often injured.

The best thing that could happen to Randy is for him to put in his time at St. Paul this year and then to get as FAR AWAY as possible from the Twins organization and the many hateful, insulting fans (including the relentless naysayers who frequently post on this on this board and who unfortunately find it impossible to say anything decent about him. Then again, I suppose there are some people who are always negative.)

At the end of this season Randy will then be free to either file for free agency or choose another career. I wish him luck.

Go Guardians!!!

 

Dobber will likely get a spot start in September in MPLS. He may even sign up next year for a curtain call. He is legendary. 

[stringer bell]

I would say there are 10-15 players where spring production is telling. Ford, Gasper, France, Julien, Lee, Martin, Keirsey, Funderburk, Castellano, Cartaya and Camargo probably all fall in that category. The guys optioned yesterday were going to be optioned and Randy Dobnak wasn't going to make the Opening Day pitching staff. 

That said, Dobnak has to have left a favorable impression, pitching well in both his starts, while Rodriguez, Canterino and Raya saw very limited action because of injuries. 

I think everyone remaining on the 40-man roster has a shot to make the Opening Day roster with the exception of Cartaya and Camargo. 

 

[Doctor Gast]

It's clear the Twins have their favorites & those they put in the doghouse because they failed to be transformed into a player they wanted. That hype gets magnified on social media way out of proportion, & becomes toxic. I get criticized for being a certain player hater because I don't adhere to all their positive hype & also for being a certain player lover because I defend them against all the negative hype. We have to eliminate all this hype to better evaluate our players.

Dobnak was a very good GB pitcher but didn't have a putaway pitch & batters kept fouling off pitches, driving up his pitch count. He came up with a new slider that was striking out batters. The Twins were ecstatic so they decided to extend him on the spot. Instead of letting Dobnak continue to be a good GB pitcher & incorporate that new slider to keep hitters off balance & let his fingers get used to that new pitch. They wanted to transform him into a SO pitcher, having him using that new slider all the time & quickly screwed up his middle finger. Now Dobnak should not be blamed for his new contract or injury, it should fall squarely on the Twins. Yet the displeasure of the Twins on Dobnak for not becoming the pitcher they wanted became very evident on social media & the animosity that should be on the Twins was placed on Dobnak. 

I don't say that Dobnak is this great SP that should be in the Twins rotation but he does have value & should be treated better by the Twins & fans. If Twins don't have a clear path for Dobnak then take the time to put together a package & sell it to teams like the ROX who would.

[Jeff K]

51 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

I would say there are 10-15 players where spring production is telling. Ford, Gasper, France, Julien, Lee, Martin, Keirsey, Funderburk, Castellano, Cartaya and Camargo probably all fall in that category. The guys optioned yesterday were going to be optioned and Randy Dobnak wasn't going to make the Opening Day pitching staff. 

That said, Dobnak has to have left a favorable impression, pitching well in both his starts, while Rodriguez, Canterino and Raya saw very limited action because of injuries. 

I think everyone remaining on the 40-man roster has a shot to make the Opening Day roster with the exception of Cartaya and Camargo. 

 

i think/hope that Julien has sealed his fate with his fielding extravaganza yesterday.

[amjgt]

This thread is strange.

[Fire Dan Gladden]

The hating on Dobnak is unwarranted.  The Twins took a promising young pitcher, locked him into an insanely cheap contract, than watched him get injured as other names passed him by.  He has come back to look like a possible MLB pitcher somewhere.

The guy does what he is asked, has basically been a workhorse for the organization, and has not said one negative word about his situation.  The Twins aren't looking to move him because of all the net positive things he provides.  When his contract is up, he will get other opportunities.

Stop the hate, respect the dude.

[LambchoP]

10 hours ago, GNess said:

The approach with Severinø is curious - not one AB in a spring game as noted in the article. There are numerous prospects who were able to get a few AB's and even a long shot retread like Ford has some AB's.

If the Twins don't value Severino why is he on the St Paul roster? Why don't the Twins move on if he is held in such low regard? Is he injured or has a poor attitude?

 

 

I'm also curious about Severino. I get that he had a bit of a down year, but he still hit over 30 HRs. Like 35 the year before. Sure he's lower on the depth chart, but not even one appearance? With the long term first base position in flux, the twins need to figure out if he's an option. If not, gotta look elsewhere. 

[chpettit19]

"They cannot appear in a spring training game for the rest of 2025."

Are we sure this is correct? That rule doesn't sound familiar to me.

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, amjgt said:

This thread is strange.

So very. 

[chpettit19]

10 hours ago, djm24 said:

It's sports ",politics". Like Dobnak, Severino must just be "unwanted". Why invite a player to ST, never play him in a game and then cut him at first chance? Grave insult

And why hang on to Julien? Sure, he's had pretty decent offense in ST, but his defense is bad. He caused the Twins a loss during the March 9th game by making two throwing errors in the third inning, allowing for three unearned runs. Like Varland, is he another "favorite"?  He should be sent down to St. Paul.

 

This is how major league baseball works. Welcome to the world of professional sports. There's no "grave insult." And neither of those players were "cut." They were reassigned to minor league camp since they are minor league players. Neither is on the 40-man. This was always what was going to happen.

Yunior Severino was a free agent and decided to sign back with the Twins. If he didn't/doesn't like how he's treated he could've/should've left. He didn't. He chose to come back here.

[nicksaviking]

1 minute ago, chpettit19 said:

This is how major league baseball works. Welcome to the world of professional sports. There's no "grave insult." And neither of those players were "cut." They were reassigned to minor league camp since they are minor league players. Neither is on the 40-man. This was always what was going to happen.

Yunior Severino was a free agent and decided to sign back with the Twins. If he didn't/doesn't like how he's treated he could've/should've left. He didn't. He chose to come back here.

Man, you made him sound like a dog who eventually got dropped off at the shelter!

[chpettit19]

2 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Man, you made him sound like a dog who eventually got dropped off at the shelter!

I'm picturing more of a Homeward Bound situation. The Twins left him behind and he crossed rivers and mountains, maybe fought off a porcupine, to return to where he wants to be.

[chpettit19]

2 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

It's clear the Twins have their favorites & those they put in the doghouse because they failed to be transformed into a player they wanted. That hype gets magnified on social media way out of proportion, & becomes toxic. I get criticized for being a certain player hater because I don't adhere to all their positive hype & also for being a certain player lover because I defend them against all the negative hype. We have to eliminate all this hype to better evaluate our players.

Dobnak was a very good GB pitcher but didn't have a putaway pitch & batters kept fouling off pitches, driving up his pitch count. He came up with a new slider that was striking out batters. The Twins were ecstatic so they decided to extend him on the spot. Instead of letting Dobnak continue to be a good GB pitcher & incorporate that new slider to keep hitters off balance & let his fingers get used to that new pitch. They wanted to transform him into a SO pitcher, having him using that new slider all the time & quickly screwed up his middle finger. Now Dobnak should not be blamed for his new contract or injury, it should fall squarely on the Twins. Yet the displeasure of the Twins on Dobnak for not becoming the pitcher they wanted became very evident on social media & the animosity that should be on the Twins was placed on Dobnak. 

I don't say that Dobnak is this great SP that should be in the Twins rotation but he does have value & should be treated better by the Twins & fans. If Twins don't have a clear path for Dobnak then take the time to put together a package & sell it to teams like the ROX who would.

The Rockies, and every other major league baseball team, has had numerous opportunities over the last few years to get Dobnak for nothing (except his contract) and have chosen not to take him. He's been waived a handful of times and placed on outright waivers. No team has ever claimed him. He's not valuable. He's a negative asset. The Twins would have to pay to get rid of him. Why would they want to do that?

This isn't "hating" on Dobnak. He seems like a good dude and was a wonderful story and seems to work hard and I have no problems with him and am glad he got the money he could. But he's not wanted by MLB teams. The league is "hating" on Dobnak. Nobody wants to pay him that deal, as small as it is. All 29 teams, on multiple occasions, have refused to "clear a path" for Dobnak. This idea that he'd be valued more somewhere else is provably false. It's been proven time after time over multiple years.

[bean5302]

14 hours ago, djm24 said:

...Anyone (.myself included) would love to be able to make millions per year. But for most of us "commoners", it just isn't "in the cards". So, be grateful for what you have...

 

 

 

Wasn't sarcasm for this exact quoted reason. Dobnak got a very fast and lucrative offer to lock him up long term. What would have happened had the Twins not been more aggressive with extending him than 99.9% of all players? Let's be honest, Dobnak would be a MiLB free agent right now or playing in Korea/Japan or something like that. I'm glad Randy made generational money. I'm glad he should be 100% financially secure for the rest of his life with no need to ever uber anybody around again. From everything I've read, he's a great guy to know. The feelings on this site are not personal towards Dobnak.

Randy suffered a pretty nasty injury to his most important finger on his throwing hand, and from what I've read, it's a permanent damage situation. While I think everybody here wishes him well personally, they also fault the Twins for jumping the gun on Dobnak given the imposed spending limits and other front office contract decisions which have hindered potential roster improvements.

We've all seen Randy's stuff at the MLB level. It doesn't play because his pitches don't have enough separation from one another, and his sinker just doesn't have the bite it used to. That's how it is. Dobnak should be incredibly thankful he's been able to work through his injuries and try to reinvent his career all while under a guaranteed contract playing in a city next door to the MLB team with the potential of pitching in the big show any given week. The Twins have given him opportunities, but they haven't worked out.

[Doctor Gast]

15 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

The Rockies, and every other major league baseball team, has had numerous opportunities over the last few years to get Dobnak for nothing (except his contract) and have chosen not to take him. He's been waived a handful of times and placed on outright waivers. No team has ever claimed him. He's not valuable. He's a negative asset. The Twins would have to pay to get rid of him. Why would they want to do that?

That's why I said & have explained so many times before, that the Twins have to put a package together. Because of the overpay, the Twins will have pay down that amount with player capital (Twins have many players they could & should trade), to help CO fill the holes that they have.

[USAFChief]

6 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

That's why I said & have explained so many times before, that the Twins have to put a package together. Because of the overpay, the Twins will have pay down that amount with player capital (Twins have many players they could & should trade), to help CO fill the holes that they have.

Explain to me why the Twins would do that. Should do that.