Roster News: 3 Twins Clear Waivers, Will Become Free Agents

[Matthew Trueblood]

 

Anthony Banda, Tristan Gray and Aaron Sabato each cleared waivers and were outrighted to the minor leagues Thursday, the Twins announced. They will each elect free agency or be released, as the MLB offseason begins. It's a slightly sad ending to the tenures of each player, but not unexpected in any of the three cases.

Banda, 33, had a 4.46 ERA in 39 appearances for the Twins, after the team acquired him from the Los Angeles Dodgers in February. An emergency patch for a neglected bullpen, Banda initially struggled to get his feet under him in Minnesota, but by mid-season, he'd become an important part of the team's relief corps. Alas, he suffered a lat injury and underwent season-ending surgery in early July, and his prognosis for a return to the mound is muddy enough that the Twins felt it best to move on. He had been on the 60-day injured list at the end of the year and would have had to be added back to the 40-man roster in order to be retained. He had one more year of arbitration eligibility remaining, but given the likelihood that he'll miss at least the early stages of the 2027 season, giving him a spot on the crowded reserve list over the winter was not worth the team's prospective investment.

Out of necessity and desperation, the Twins turned to Gray for a fistful of starts at shortstop this season. He never rewarded their faith, though. His bat speed went to waste due to poor swing decisions, and although he came to the team with a sterling defensive reputation, his glovework at short was little better than that of Brooks Lee. The lefty batter is 30 years old, and though he has (theoretically) five years of club control remaining and would not have been arbitration-eligible this winter, he's out of options and can't be sent to the minors without being outrighted. That made him too inflexible a piece for a team that hopes to aim higher on the bench in 2027, particularly after the matriculation of Kaelen Culpepper.

Being optionable wasn't a problem for Sabato, who was just added to the 40-man roster upon his September promotion to the major leagues. However, the former first-round pick long ago ceased to be viewed as a legitimate prospect, and giving him a cup of big-league coffee was a courtesy, not a commitment. He failed to record a hit in his six plate appearances and was the easiest cut to see coming on the team's roster, as they declutter and prepare for an active offseason.

The team will have to do more roster-clearing in coming days and weeks, but this early pruning adds some clarity to their upcoming search for bullpen help and their still-fluid infield picture.

 

Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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[DJL44]

Wallner, Orze and Acton hold on for another day.

[dberthia]

Twins Legends, all.

[Road trip]

None are surprises.  If there is a surprise, it is that there weren't more names cleared from the 40-man.  I wish them all well, but it isn't inconceivable that they are each near the end of their MLB careers (although, if he can regain his health, a lefty like Banda will get at least a AAA contract somewhere).

[tarheeltwinsfan]

I wish them all well. But such is life in the majors. 

[Brandon]

I hope they resign Banda to a split contract.  I also hope Sabato can be resigned to a minor league deal as well.  Gray has a nice offensive burst and knocked in a lot of runs initially, but I feel he can move on and we'll be just fine 

I wonder who else gets chopped in the coming days?

[DJL44]

I think that gets them down below 40 when you subtract the free agents

[arby58]

8 minutes ago, Brandon said:

I hope they resign Banda to a split contract.  I also hope Sabato can be resigned to a minor league deal as well.  Gray has a nice offensive burst and knocked in a lot of runs initially, but I feel he can move on and we'll be just fine 

I wonder who else gets chopped in the coming days?

You’re definitely a glass half-full guy. Nothing wrong with that, I just see them each as more than half empty. To the Twins credit (IMHO) they don’t just hang onto Banda because they traded for him.

[MackMan]

I think we'll see at least a few more names in the coming hours or over the weekend...

[Cory Engelhardt]

8 minutes ago, Brandon said:

I hope they resign Banda to a split contract.  I also hope Sabato can be resigned to a minor league deal as well.  Gray has a nice offensive burst and knocked in a lot of runs initially, but I feel he can move on and we'll be just fine 

I wonder who else gets chopped in the coming days?

I’d love Banda back on a minor league deal for 2027. I also hope Sabato gets a chance in the KBO to play a bunch and earn a different contract for 2028 or 2029.

[MeleMouth]

16 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I think that gets them down below 40 when you subtract the free agents

Yes, they are at 39.

[Brandon]

54 minutes ago, arby58 said:

You’re definitely a glass half-full guy. Nothing wrong with that, I just see them each as more than half empty. To the Twins credit (IMHO) they don’t just hang onto Banda because they traded for him.

I like bringing Banda back on a split deal cause he was on a roll when he went down so he can get hitters out and be an effective 6th inning pitcher.  Sabato because he was good in AAA last year, you still want to see if there is any more elevation in his game and see if he could be a DH or 1B for the Twins at some point.  Especially if they bring Lewis back, I would want potential replacement options for mid season.  He could just be a AAAA type player.  On a minors deal neither player is a big loss by signing.  It's no loss if they don't sign either though.

[Danchat]

Looks like Banda had another year of arbitration left, but I didn't know he had a murky prognosis for 2027. If they weren't going to tender him, no reason to keep him around on the 40 man roster.

[MackMan]

I mean they've done weirder things like when they re-signed Paddock after he needed surgery because they figured they could get some use outta him. Wouldn't put it against the Twins to attempt something similar with Banda though. Maybe a minor league offer with an invite to ST is the best option on the table. 

[arby58]

5 minutes ago, MackMan said:

I mean they've done weirder things like when they re-signed Paddock after he needed surgery because they figured they could get some use outta him. Wouldn't put it against the Twins to attempt something similar with Banda though. Maybe a minor league offer with an invite to ST is the best option on the table. 

Paddock was younger and a starting pitcher. Don’t see them doing that with a relief pitcher.

[Cris E]

He's out until mid-year, so little risk of Banda getting poached.  Once we get through the narrow, non-IL set of roster months they can add him back on a minor league contract to hang on to him and help with his rehab. He's worth having, but you can take him off the top shelf for this house cleaning work. 

[thelanges5]

1 hour ago, MeleMouth said:

Yes, they are at 39.

Abel, Festa, Paredes, Sands, and Lopez all have yet to come off the 60. 

[MeleMouth]

26 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

Abel, Festa, Paredes, Sands, and Lopez all have yet to come off the 60. 

They're off the 60. At the end of the season, they didn't have 48 players on the 40 and IL. If you want to count, go ahead.

[thelanges5]

1 hour ago, MeleMouth said:

They're off the 60. At the end of the season, they didn't have 48 players on the 40 and IL. If you want to count, go ahead.

mlb.com still has them listed on the 60. My bad.

[stringer bell]

I wish them all well. Banda is the only guy I can see the Twins trying to reacquire. Congratulations to Gray for hitting two grand slams and to Sabato for making it to the big leagues. 

[wesnewy]

I would like to see Banda back. He was really starting to turn it around before his injury, and he would probs be fairly cheap.

[MeleMouth]

I hope they are trading Wallner for a pitching prospect off the 40 or else converting him to pitching.

If Orze, Acton, Anderson, Ross, and Festa are retained, they could still lose their spots on the 40 before spring or summer training. 

[jkcarew]

NO!!!!

[Teflon]

6 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Wallner, Orze and Acton hold on for another day.

So too does Wilson Phillips.

[Vanimal46]

No problem with bringing Sabato and Banda back on minor league deals. Thanks for the memories Tristan Gray. I've seen more than enough MLB PAs from him to last a lifetime. 

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

I wish them well. 

Id like to resign Banda to a minor league deal. After his bumpy start, he was lights out until his injury. 

Sabato just didn't develop the way we hoped. Maybe he'll get a chance somewhere. 

I really hope they dont plan to resign Gray to any sort of deal. He was awful, even in AAA

 

[Patzky]

9 hours ago, Teflon said:

So too does Wilson Phillips.

"Release Me"

[DJL44]

No reason to bring Sabato back. Maybe Hendry Mendez can actually play some first base for the Saints.

[David Maro]

It's a good start now finish the job. There's at least 10 more spots to clear. Can't run out the same team in 27 hoping that they can improve 10 to 15 games in the win column. Looking at the division Chicago,Detroit and Cleveland aren't going anywhere and KC will make moves to improve.

[jmlease1]

Sabato will not be back. Twins management has been pretty clear they don't view him as a realistic 1B option, so he's far more likely to look for a different organization to give him a shot than the one that was only willing to give him the tiniest of looks this season, despite everything having fallen apart at the end. It's too bad; I would have liked them to give him a real look rather than 6 ABs, but my expectations for MLB success are limited.

Not sad to see gray go: he was far worse than projected/promoted on defense and his offense was extremely disappointing. Team got fooled by a decent first month at the plate (and weirdly, Gray hit well at Target Field?) into thinking there was more there. He was just bad, and I'm glad they're cutting him loose early.

Banda probably sticks if he wasn't still hurt, but since he's 33, coming off a serious injury, and not expected to return until June, you have to let him go. Wouldn't mind seeing him signed to a minor league deal to rehab it and maybe be a second-half option for the bullpen, but wouldn't go further than that. I could see him accepting that, as it's unlikely anyone gives him a MLB deal?

They definitely could have cut deeper if they had needed to, but I wouldn't expect them to drop any asset now they don't think they need to send out. Wallner will not be on the team in 2027, but they'll try to see if they can throw him into a trade of some kind. His value is minimal at this point, but there's still some: he had enough MLB success that it wouldn't be hard for a team to talk themselves into saying, "ehhh, MN just screwed up. we're smarter than them, we can fix him!" But they're still not going to give up much of anything for him.