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Today, the Twins announced that the following players have been outrighted off the 40-man roster and assigned to Triple-A St. Paul: Randy Dobnak, Josh Winder, Scott Blewett, Yunior Severino, and Daniel Duarte.
A couple of these, Scott Blewett and Daniel Duarte, are sort of no-brainers. Duarte was a waiver claim from the Rangers this past offseason. He blew out his arm almost immediately and underwent Tommy John surgery. Despite being a league-minimum pitcher who won’t be eligible for arbitration until 2026 and who looked promising for just a moment in the soring, he’s a fringy guy, and the Twins chose not to rely on him coming off surgery. Scott Blewett is also fringy and underwhelmed during his time with both St. Paul and the Twins. Despite a solid ERA across 20 innings with the Twins this season, his peripherals tell a different tale, with a low strikeout rate and an xFIP over 4—not what you want to see from a reliever. As players who have previously been outrighted, both will likely elect free agency over the coming days and will try to catch on elsewhere.
Then, there’s Randy Dobnak. Due to his contract and the fact that he has not found sustainable success since 2020 due to multiple finger injuries and middling stuff, this move is almost certainly a formality. He has pitched to an ERA higher than 7.00 and an xFIP higher than 4.50 over the past two seasons. The Twins would likely love to be out from under his $3-million contract for 2025 (and his $1-million buyout for 2026), but he will return to St. Paul to begin the 2025 season. While Dobnak is and has been a fun human-interest story, with the Twins’ pitching depth, it’s somewhat unlikely he finds his way back to the Twins. Only the fact that he has to stick around to keep getting that money and the fact that the Twins owe him such a sizable chunk will keep him a part of the organization for another year.
Severino is, perhaps, the biggest surprise. Part of the 2016 international signing class, he struck a deal with the Atlanta Braves. In late 2017, the Commissioner’s office stripped the Braves of a number of prospects due to repeatedly intentionally skirting international signing rules. The Twins signed him for $2.5 million as a free agent, when he was a switch-hitting second baseman. He grew and slid down the defensive spectrum, to the point of being a middling corner bat or DH type. Unfortunately, he hasn’t put up quite the offensive profile you would hope to see from one of those positions, with a .775 OPS this past season. He’s still technically a prospect, making it to Triple-A as a 24-year-old. At this point, it’s evident the Twins don’t see him as part of their plans, even at the depleted first base.
Finally, we have Josh Winder. Winder is another in a long line of Twins players whose career stalled due to injuries. He has pitched in just 38 games dating back to 2022. Winder debuted as a starting pitching prospect, produced middling results, then converted to the bullpen in 2023. As a reliever, he has pitched to an xFIP of almost 5.00. Given some health and an extended leash, Winder may have the ability to be at least a middle reliever. However, that will likely be with another team as well, as he will be able to declare free agency similar to Severino as players who have been outrighted after being in the organization for at least six years.
While some of these moves will disappoint fans, hopefully players more likely to positively impact the 2025 team will replace them. Best of luck to Winder, Severino, Blewett, and Duarte as they continue the next legs of their baseball journeys.
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