Twins Designate Alex Jackson For Assignment
The Twins announced Wednesday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Cody Laweryson and opened a spot on the 40-man roster by designating catcher Alex Jackson for assignment. They’d been shopping the out-of-options Jackson in recent days but didn’t find a taker. They can continue to explore trades for five days before they’ll have to place him on waivers. Minnesota also placed righties Travis Adams and David Festa on the 15-day IL due to a triceps strain and shoulder impingement, respectively.
Jackson, 30, came over from the Orioles in a November trade sending minor league infielder Payton Eeles to Baltimore. At the time, the Twins’ ownership situation was somewhat in flux, leaving the front office uncertain as to what sort of budget they’d have throughout the winter. Jackson was acquired and signed to a $1.35MM deal, avoiding arbitration and giving the Twins a glove-first backup catcher with some power but immense strikeout and OBP concerns.
The Twins eventually introduced a trio of new minority stakeholders and shuffled up the ownership hierarchy, with Tom Pohlad stepping in as the new control person in place of his younger brother, Joe. That shift came with the apparent green light for some modest investments in free agency, which led to Minnesota signing Victor Caratini on a two-year deal. Caratini became the new backup to starting catcher Ryan Jeffers, leaving Jackson with no path to a 26-man roster spot. Since he can’t be optioned, he’s been designated for assignment and will spend up to a week in limbo waiting to learn his next steps.
Jackson was once a top-10 draft pick and ballyhooed top prospect, but he’s never found his stride in the majors. He’s taken 440 plate appearances dating back to his 2019 MLB debut but mustered only a .153/.239/.288 slash. He’s slugged 11 homers but fallen victim to a strikeout in a disastrous 40.7% of his plate appearances. Jackson draws good marks for his pitch framing and throwing, but his anemic offensive profile makes him better suited to be a third or fourth catcher on any team’s depth chart.
It’s possible he’ll stick with Minnesota in just that role. Jackson’s lack of production, lack of minor league options and $1.35MM salary create a good chance that he’ll pass through waivers unclaimed. He has enough service time to reject an outright assignment to the minors but not enough service to do so while retaining his guaranteed salary. As such, if he clears, he’ll surely accept an assignment to Triple-A and open the season over in St. Paul.
Laweryson, 27, made his big league debut with the Twins last season. He held opponents to a run on four hits and no walks with seven punchouts — a nice follow-up to the 2.86 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate he logged across 44 Triple-A innings. The Twins tried to pass him through waivers in the offseason, only for the Angels to claim him.
The Halos designated Laweryson for assignment in February and released him, at which point he returned to the Twins on a minor league pact. He’s allowed one run on five hits and a walk with six strikeouts in 6 2/3 spring innings.
Twins Make Several Roster Decisions
The Twins announced Tuesday that they’ve granted right-hander Matt Bowman his release. He triggered an opt-out clause in his contract over the weekend. Minnesota also reassigned non-roster players Dan Altavilla, Orlando Arcia, David Bañuelos and Trent Baker to minor league camp. As Dan Hayes of The Athletic notes, that positions right-handers Cody Laweryson and Zak Kent to take the final two bullpen jobs, barring any outside additions. Matthew Leach of MLB.com did suggest earlier today that Minnesota could make another move or two regarding its patchwork bullpen.
Bowman, 34, had a nice spring, tossing 7 1/3 shutout innings. He allowed six hits and a pair of walks while punching out seven hitters. The journeyman right-hander has pitched in parts of seven major league seasons, compiling a 4.38 ERA over the course of 240 2/3 frames. He tossed 24 2/3 innings for Baltimore in 2025 but was tagged for a 6.20 earned run average.
Laweryson, 27, made his big league debut with the Twins last offseason. He held opponents to a run on four hits and no walks with seven punchouts — a nice follow-up to the 2.86 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate he logged across 44 Triple-A innings. The Twins tried to pass him through waivers in the offseason, only for the Angels to claim him.
The Halos designated Laweryson for assignment in February and released him, at which point he returned to the Twins on a minor league pact. He’s allowed one run on five hits and a walk with six strikeouts in 6 2/3 spring innings. Since he was in camp as a non-roster invitee, Laweryson will require the Twins to clear a 40-man roster spot to add him to the Opening Day roster. They’ve been shopping out-of-options catcher Alex Jackson but have no shortage of fringe players on their 40-man roster after last summer’s sell-off.
Whether there are any forthcoming moves or not, a year will make quite a difference for the Twins. They entered the 2025 season with what looked like one of the sport’s best bullpens on paper. Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart, Danny Coulombe, Justin Topa and Cole Sands gave the club a very strong top end. When the Twins shifted to sell mode at the deadline, that group was near wholly dismantled. Duran, Jax, Varland, Stewart and Coulombe were all traded for younger and/or more controllable players.
Heading into 2026, the Twins have what looks like one of the game’s worst bullpens by a wide margin. They added left-hander Anthony Banda after he was designated for assignment by the Dodgers and picked up righty Eric Orze in a small trade with the Rays. Left-hander Taylor Rogers, now 35, is back on a one-year deal that guarantees him $2MM. Kent was claimed off waivers after spring training was already underway.
That’s the extent of the team’s bullpen additions this winter. They’ll head into the season with Rogers, Banda, Sands, Topa, Orze, Kent, Laweryson and Kody Funderburk comprising new manager Derek Shelton’s relief corps. There’s no clear closer. Rogers is the only Twins reliever with experience in that role, but he’s been relegated to middle relief work with the Giants, Reds and Cubs in recent seasons. Rogers, Banda, Topa and Sands are the only Twins relievers with even a year of major league service.
As the season wears on, the Twins will surely hope for some young arms to step up and secure roles. Prospects like Connor Prielipp, Marco Raya, Ryan Gallagher and John Klein could eventually emerge as relief options. Starting pitchers who don’t carve out footholds in the rotation could get a look here, too; Zebby Matthews, David Festa, Kendry Rojas and Andrew Morris are among the possibilities. For now, the early iteration of the group looks about as bleak as any team in the game.
Twins, Cody Laweryson Agree To Minor League Deal
The Twins brought back reliever Cody Laweryson after he was released by the Angels last week. Matthew Leach of MLB.com first noted that the right-hander had a locker in Minnesota’s Spring Training complex. Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star-Tribune confirms the sides have a minor league deal with an invite to big league camp.
Laweryson returns to the only organization he’d known until November. Minnesota selected him in the 14th round in 2019 out of the University of Maine. They called him up for the first time last September. The 6’4″ righty made five appearances, allowing two runs (one earned) across 7 2/3 innings. He struck out seven without issuing a walk. Laweryson also pitched well in Triple-A, turning in a 2.86 earned run average while striking out a quarter of opposing hitters.
The 27-year-old (28 in May) has a strong statistical track record. Laweryson owns a 3.39 ERA with a 27% strikeout percentage over 327 minor league innings. Teams evidently remain skeptical about how it’ll translate over a larger sample against big league hitters. Laweryson’s 93.2 mph average fastball isn’t especially imposing. He doesn’t have a power breaking ball either, sitting 85-86 mph with a cutter while mixing in a low-80s changeup.
Minnesota dropped him from the 40-man roster at the beginning of the offseason despite having one of the league’s weakest bullpens. The Halos claimed him but cut him loose to make room on the roster when they re-signed Yoán Moncada. The Twins also have former big leaguers Liam Hendriks, Julian Merryweather, Dan Altavilla, Matt Bowman and Grant Hartwig battling for spots in a wide open middle relief group.
Angels Release Cody Laweryson
The Angels announced they’ve released reliever Cody Laweryson. He had been designated for assignment earlier in the week when they finalized their one-year deal to bring back Yoán Moncada.
Los Angeles claimed Laweryson off waivers from the Twins early in the offseason. The 6’4″ righty made five appearances with Minnesota as a rookie. He allowed two runs (one earned) across 7 2/3 innings, striking out seven without issuing a walk. Laweryson also pitched well in Triple-A, turning in a 2.86 earned run average while striking out a quarter of opposing hitters. The former 14th-round pick has a solid 3.39 ERA with a 27% strikeout percentage over his minor league career.
Despite the strong production, Laweryson was dropped by a Twins team that has one of the worst bullpens in MLB. His 93.2 mph average fastball isn’t especially imposing. He doesn’t have a power breaking ball either, sitting 85-86 mph with a cutter while mixing in a low-80s changeup. He’ll celebrate his 28th birthday in May.
It’s not clear why the Angels released Laweryson rather than assigning him to Triple-A. Speculatively speaking, it’s possible there’s an undisclosed injury at play, as injured players cannot be outrighted. (He dealt with a forearm strain in the minors midseason but finished the year healthy and on Minnesota’s active roster.) If there is some kind of injury, they’d presumably look to re-sign him to a minor league deal. In any case, Laweryson is now a free agent who can explore other opportunities.
Angels Designate Cody Laweryson For Assignment
The Angels announced Monday that they’ve designated right-hander Cody Laweryson for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to infielder Yoan Moncada, whose previously reported one-year deal to return to the Halos is now official.
Laweryson was a November waiver claim out of the Twins organization. The 27-year-old (28 in May) made his big league debut this past season when he tossed 7 2/3 innings and held opponents to just one run. The 2019 14th-round pick set down seven of the 26 opponents he faced on strikes (26.9%) and didn’t issue a walk. Laweryson’s fastball sits at an average of 93.2 mph, and he rounds out his repertoire with a cutter and changeup.
That ascension to the majors capped off a strong overall year for the 6’4″ righty. Laweryson split the bulk of the season between Double-A and Triple-A, where he combined for 44 innings of 2.86 ERA ball. He posted better-than-average marks in strikeout rate (24.6%), walk rate (7.7%) and grounder rate (46.3%) in the minors.
Since Laweryson was only selected to the 40-man roster for the first time this past season, he has a full slate of three minor league option years remaining. He can be controlled for at least six full seasons. All of that could make him appealing to clubs looking for some flexible bullpen depth, though it bears mentioning that 2025 was a rebound campaign. Laweryson was tagged for a 4.80 ERA in 50 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball in 2023 and hit even harder (6.52 ERA) in 33 innings of Double-A relief in 2024.
The Angels can trade Laweryson or place him on waivers at any point in the next five days. If they go the waiver route, that’ll be another 48-hour process. His DFA will be resolved in a maximum of one week.
Angels Claim Cody Laweryson
The Angels announced that they’ve claimed right-handed reliever Cody Laweryson off waivers from the Twins. That’ll bring the Halos’ 40-man roster count to 34 players while dropping the Twins to 38.
Laweryson, 28 next May, was a 14th-round pick by Minnesota back in 2019 and made his MLB debut this past season, tossing 7 2/3 innings and allowing one run late in the season. The 6’4″ righty punched out seven of 26 opponents and didn’t issue a walk. He averaged 93.2 mph on his four-seamer, mixing in a cutter and changeup to round out a three-pitch repertoire.
That marked the end of a quality all-around season for the Maine native. He split the remainder of the season between Double-A and Triple-A, working to a combined 2.86 ERA with a 24.6% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 46.3% ground-ball rate in 44 innings of minor league relief.
Laweryson was only added to the 40-man roster after Minnesota gutted its bullpen at this year’s trade deadline, shipping out five relievers for a series of prospects and controllable young big leaguers. Minnesota will likely trim several more names from the 40-man roster in the days ahead, as the bullpen for the final couple months was composed almost entirely of journeyman stopgaps to get through the end of the season.
Twins Select Cody Laweryson
The Twins announced that right-hander Justin Topa has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a left oblique strain, retroactive to September 9th. Fellow righty Cody Laweryson has been selected to take Topa’s place on the roster. The Twins had just 37 men on their 40-man, so no other corresponding move is required as this brings their count up to 38.
It’s unclear how serious Topa’s injury is but this presumably ends his season. Even with the backdating of the move, he could only come back for the final few days of the schedule. With the Twins buried in the standings, there’s not much motivation for him to rush back. Assuming he’s done, he finishes the year with a 3.90 earned run average in 60 innings. His 18.3% strikeout rate was subpar but his 6.7% walk rate and 47.7% ground ball rate were good figures.
The Twins will have to decide whether or not to trigger a $2MM club option for 2026 or go for a $225K buyout. Even if they go for the buyout, they could still keep Topa for next year via arbitration. Assuming they want Topa back next year, the decision would simply come down to which path they expect to be cheaper.
His injury allows Laweryson to get up to the majors for the first time. Now 27, Laweryson was drafted with a 14th-round pick back in 2019. He worked both as a starter and a reliever as he climbed the minor league ladder but has been working exclusively out of the bullpen in recent years.
On the most recent FanGraphs list of top prospects in the system, Laweryson got an honorable mention, with the report noting that his deception helps him get better results than one would expect from his middling stuff. He has thrown 44 innings this year between Double-A and Triple-A with a 2.86 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 46.3% ground ball rate. Laweryson will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. Since this is his first time cracking a big league roster, he has a full slate of options.
Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images