March 25: Castellano has cleared waivers and been returned to the Phillies, per Nightengale.
March 24: The Twins optioned infielder/outfielder Austin Martin to Triple-A St. Paul this morning, per a team announcement. They’ve also informed catcher/infielder Mickey Gasper and outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. that they’ll break camp on the Opening Day roster, per Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. That sequence likely locks infielder Edouard Julien into the final spot on the position-player side of the roster.
Gasper, 29, came to the Twins in a December trade sending lefty reliever Jovani Moran back to the Red Sox. He has just 18 MLB plate appearances to his credit, but Gasper is a .317/.422/.498 hitter in 70 Triple-A games and a .276/.401/.455 batter in 176 Double-A games. He’s had a big camp, batting .308/.417/.487 with more walks than strikeouts. Gasper’s status was briefly up in the air after an infield collision yesterday resulted in a laceration on his ankle that required six stitches. He’s patched up and been cleared to start the season on a big league roster for the first time in an eight-year professional career.
Like Gasper, the 27-year-old Keirsey is a 2018 draftee who’s making his first Opening Day roster. He hit .275/.375/.375 this spring and is coming off a .300/.368/.476 performance in Triple-A last year. Keirsey is a plus runner and outfield defender who can handle all three slots. He made a brief big league debut last year, getting into six games and going 2-for-13 with a homer in that debut effort.
The pitching side is largely set, but Minnesota does appear to have one bullpen vacancy, at least in the short term. Righty Brock Stewart was already on the mend from arthroscopic shoulder surgery and also suffered a hamstring strain in camp. He’ll start the 2025 season on the injured list alongside Michael Tonkin, who’s dealing with a shoulder strain.
On top of Stewart’s injury, the Twins have already informed Rule 5 pick Eiberson Castellano that he won’t make the club. He’ll presumably be placed on waivers soon if he hasn’t been already. Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune adds that they’ve also told non-roster relievers Scott Blewett and Anthony Misiewicz that they won’t make the club. Both will head to Triple-A.
Both Nightengale and Dan Hayes of The Athletic suggest Minnesota could look to bring in a reliever who’s not currently a part of the organization. There’s space to place a waiver claim or scoop up a veteran who’d been a non-roster invitee with another club but has since opted out. Jalen Beeks, Adam Ottavino, Drew Pomeranz, Ross Stripling and Jake Woodford are among the names who were recently granted their release after triggering opt-out clauses. Righty Tyler Phillips was DFA by the Phillies over the weekend, too.
So happy that Gasper will get another chance for his first MLB hit!
Why?
tom – Because I feel sorry for his parents who follow him to every game waiting for it to happen, and Mickey deserves at least one piece of memorabilia (first hit baseball).
Sure it would be cool too if he broke the record for longest hitless streak to start an MLB career, but I think he’d value the first hit more than being famous for failure.
Why does he deserve it more than the thousands of other 4A guys who didn’t even get a chance?
Tom – You’re misreading.
Where did I say he deserved a hit? I did say he deserves one piece of memorabilia, he had a great ST after ending last year horribly.
Hits are almost always earned. My hoping he gets a solid line drive base hit has NOTHING to do with him deserving it any more than anyone else.
He is hitless because he didn’t deserve a hit yet.
If he gets a hit, as long as it’s not a popup lost in the sun or something freakish like that, then he will have deserved it.
You make it sound like hits are awards or something. LOL
@tbbs. Nobody said he deserved it more. Fever Pitch Guy just said he’s happy for Gasper. Why NOT be happy for him?. It’s ok to be happy for a guy. Really, it is.
Why not? The guy’s been in professional baseball for ten seasons and is nearly 30. I hope his first at-bat of the season is a homer.
99% of professional baseball players never even get that shot. He’s had plenty and has failed. And the more he fails the more we want to root for him? This phenomenon always made me chuckle.
@tbbs. You’re reading things into people’s comments that aren’t there.
let – Maybe he’ll pull a Nava ….. grand slam on the first MLB pitch he sees.
tom – What is funny about supporting a guy when he’s down? Why wouldn’t you want him to enjoy one fleeting moment of success?
“Why be happy for a guy who has a shot to achieve a dream he has worked his butt off for” is a pretty weaksauce contrarian take
And no one said he deserved a chance more than anyone else. Just that it’s nice to see a guy get a chance. If it had been another guy, it would have been nice to see that too
The Twins could be deliberately delaying a bullpen signing, knowing they can snag a proven arm at a discount after the Opening Day roster crunch, while banking on Gasper and Keirsey to overperform early and offset the pitching risk
Interesting that Fangraphs projects them with the #1 bullpen too.
#1 BP in what, the state of Minnesota? Lol, seriously though, that is weird. Cleveland and Detroit have better pens in their division! Maybe KC too.
Obviously an options move
Optionally an obvious move.
Moving is an obvious option.
Options are obviously movable.
I’d have just used Blewett in the bullpen, rather than looking for somebody outside the org.
I still would refuse to put a guy named “Blewett” in the bullpen.
When did the Twins sign Spencer Strider?
idk how much he will actually play/start, but an outfield lineup of Bader, Buxton, and Keirsey would be fun to see for a game or two. Any fly ball would be caught
Learn how to use commas, Adams. There shouldn’t be one before “too.”