The Twins announced Monday that they’ve claimed lefty Cole Irvin off waivers from the Orioles, who’d designated him for assignment last week. Minnesota opened a 40-man roster spot by designating right-hander Randy Dobnak for assignment. Irvin will join the roster tomorrow, Dan Hayes of The Athletic tweets. The veteran lefty would not be eligible for the Twins’ postseason roster, given that he’s being acquired after Sept. 1.
Irvin, 30, will give the Twins some rotation depth for the final couple weeks of the season and can be controlled for two additional seasons via arbitration if the Twins choose. He’s had an up-and-down tenure with the Orioles after being acquired from the A’s in the 2022-23 offseason in a trade that sent infield prospect Darell Hernaiz to Oakland.
Irvin was initially acquired to help stabilize the O’s rotation. From 2021-22, he gave the A’s 62 starts (359 1/3 innings) of 4.11 ERA ball with a well below-average 16.8% strikeout rate but also a very strong 5.2% walk rate. As a homer-prone lefty who averaged 91 mph with his heater, Irvin had clearly benefited to an extent from the Athletics’ cavernous home park, but his Baltimore tenure got off to a far shakier start than anyone could’ve reasonably expected. Irvin was shelled for 15 runs in his first 12 2/3 innings, and the O’s optioned him to Triple-A after just three appearances. He spent much of the remainder of the ’23 season as an up-and-down swingman.
The 2024 season brought a slew of injuries to the Baltimore staff, and with it came a fresh opportunity for Irvin. He ran with it for a good portion of the season, as he’s rattled off 16 starts and another nine relief appearances — several of them covering three or four innings. In 107 1/3 frames this year, Irvin carries a 4.86 earned run average. He’s fanned 16.2% of his opponents against a 5.3% walk rate — marks that mirror his rate stats from his peak days in Oakland. Home runs have again been an issue (1.43 HR/9), but for an injury-ravaged Twins club that is currently relying on three rookies (Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa, Zebby Matthews) behind Pablo Lopez and Bailey Ober, Irvin could provide some veteran help to the staff, whether in the rotation or as a long reliever.
Irvin is earning $2MM this season after avoiding arbitration over the winter. He’s owed about $151K of that between now and season’s end, and the Twins will assume that in full. If he’s retained via arbitration, Irvin isn’t likely to be a particularly costly option; his modest workload and generally pedestrian results this season should keep next year’s salary in the rough vicinity of $3MM, assuming he’s tendered a contract. He’s out of minor league options, so Irvin will need to stick on the Twins’ roster this year and throughout the offseason or else once again be designated for assignment and likely exposed to outright waivers.
Irvin hasn’t started a game since Aug. 27, when he tossed 60 pitches over 4 1/3 innings. He did toss three innings and 43 pitches on Sept. 2, plus another one-inning relief outing on Sept. 9 (15 pitches). He may not be stretched out to jump into the rotation and throw 100 pitches, but if the Twins need, he should be an option to pitch as many as three to five innings, depending on pitch count. Whether that’ll happen or whether Irvin will simply head to the ’pen isn’t yet clear. Lopez will start tonight’s series opener in Cleveland, and he’s slated to be followed by Matthews, Ober and Woods Richardson, respectively. Of that group, Matthews has struggled the most. He’s lined up to start tomorrow. Irvin could piggyback with him or replace him outright, depending on how the Twins feel about the matchup.
In order to make room on the roster, Dobnak will be designated for assignment for a second time in his career. The right-hander was a sensational story in 2019, ascending from indie-ball hurler and part-time Uber driver to the Twins’ big league rotation. He pitched well enough in that debut showing and in the shortened 2020 season (combined 3.12 ERA, 15.7 K%, 5.7 BB%, 58.8 GB% in 75 innings) that the Twins signed him to a five-year, $9.25MM contract with a trio of club options.
Injuries and a downturn in performance have soured that modestly priced deal, however. Dobnak was torched for a 7.64 ERA in 2021, removed from the 40-man roster in 2022 and passed through waivers. He posted an ERA north of 5.00 in Triple-A from 2022-23 but has had a rebound in St. Paul this year, logging a 3.90 ERA in 23 starts and four relief appearances for the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate. That prompted a fresh look in the majors, but Dobnak allowed five runs on nine hits and five walks with seven punchouts in 7 2/3 innings.
Dobnak is still owed a bit more than $170K of this year’s $2.25MM salary, plus a $3MM salary in 2025 and at least a $1MM buyout on the first of his three club options. That remaining $4.17MM on his contract will all but assure he clears waivers. He’s been outrighted before, so Dobnak will technically have the opportunity to reject the assignment, but doing so would mean forfeiting the remainder of that salary. There’s no chance he’ll do that, so assuming he indeed goes unclaimed, he’ll remain with the organization in Triple-A but no longer occupy a spot on the 40-man roster.
Wish Cole all the best, hope he can regain his early 2024 form. Unfortunately, he’s just so inconsistent that you cannot trust him for much other than low leverage inning eating.
Hate to lose him with no compensation but his exhausting his options left Baltimore with little options.
Maybe the Twins can start to recoup some value from some lopsided trades with the Orioles as of the last few yrs.
Yeah, keep that chest puffed out there gromit. The truth is the Os wanted to focus on Irvin’s twin who they traded 2 prospects for at the deadline, then stashed in the minors for safe keeping because he (Rogers) predictable sucked.
I bet you’re fun at parties.
You may have me mixed up my friend. The Sox are a joke, no arguing that. My Cease takes were that the Os should have been willing to part with Mayo for him. Do you disagree with that still?
They have a seemingly tired, last year of his contract, Burnes and a whole bunch of crap and injuries. They could have had Cease all this year and next or Crochet the next 2, and decided to trade for Rogers. So yeah, I stand behind that.
@big
Whatever, I’m not joining you in wallowing in whatever insecurities you have. Puffed out comment was random and kind of silly.
Judging a trade with this short a sample size is a fools errand. We’ll see. Maybe you’re right, maybe you’re wrong on Rogers but there was no predicting the crazy injuries to the infield and there was no place for all those IFs to play. I do wish that Rogers came out and went full Eflin, would make me feel better about the fact that the regular season is fast approaching and the IL still has valuable and major pieces that Baltimore would be better with than without.
But the Dodgers and Braves and most non-KC teams wish they didn’t have to deal with injuries either. It’s why you play the 162. Stinks that there’s a full rotation of strong starters on the injured list. We just saw a Rangers team limp into the postseason last year and catch lightning in a jar.
I’m glad for the talent and hope the Orioles have this season and looking ahead.
Not going to let bitter and critical folks rob me from what’s been a fun season.
Not the worst pickup for a depleted Twins rotation heavily relying on inexperienced rookies.
I can see Irvin stepping in behind Festa and sending Zebby back to AAA for the time being, Not a permanent solution, yeah, but a better solution than what we have right now.
Show me where he said “replacing festa”
I see a Irvin/Matthews piggy back coming.
Randy Dobnak, living the dream
Granted he was always far better at home in OAK I dislike the way you automatically assume a 91 mph fastball to be a bad pitch. There have been many outstanding 91 mph fastballs with good movement (especially from lefties). Just because the average pitcher can’t locate today… It’s just how you said it that was misleading imo. It really seems to just be his fly ball tendencies. Not really anything necessarily to do with throwing 91mph. Most people who throw 91mph are grounder specialists.
Greg Maddux dominated mlb for over decade w/marginal velocity. Instead he relied on location n movement.
As a Braves fan I’ve seen many. Besides the obvious in Maddux and Glavine- Medlen and Minor used to throw about 91. I think Hudson was about 91-92 (perhaps the most underappreciated pitcher of his era because of the lack of strikeouts). Teheran was usually 90-92 with a little extra in the tank. Sale shut out the Jays the other week throwing mostly 90-92 (for whatever reason). And he blew it by them (deception, movement, & location). I mention all this cause this is basically a list of the Braves best pitchers in that 10 year period or so. Many guys throwing 91 in the steroid era dominating too. Nothing has changed. Only the mentality and outlook.
@Rishi
As an A’s fan I watched him a lot, from the day he outpitch Kershaw in a late Spring training game in 2021. He’s probably a bit too direct as a starter and maybe doesn’t quite have the speed to expand the zone. Hence the low BB numbers, but also homer prone.
But he tries his trousers off, and as the numbers suggest, he’s proven incredibly durable. Really good #5;starter in a big ballpark….
Those were definitely 2 meatballs in Boston!
That’s good spot for him because Camden yard is just too small . I’d take him back on the A’s but they will be going to a minor league park next year so the Oakland factor is gone . He’s like Tommy Milone another fellow A’s Twins . Either really good or getting taken to the woodshed .
He got lit up on the road pretty good too.
@mitchell
Love chilled to the bone, Tommy Milone as an A’s fan. Trying to work out a plan to get to Oakland one last time and back to work next Monday. I think my plan is futile, but we’ll all have happy memories of that ballpark.
He should return to his early 2024 approach–max velocity. He was throwing mid-to-high 90’s early in the year but then returned back to his old approach.
Yep not much deception there in his delivery and then add in the pitch clock rule which takes away the opportunity to vary time break in between the picthes and hitters feast on a guy like Cole.
Didn’t Dobnak start the twins wildcard game some years back?
Yes:(
I know Dobnak has been disappointing but there is some value to having a guy who you can move on and off the 40-man at will. More teams should have a guy like that.
The Seattle Mariners own this man.