The Twins announced Friday that right-hander Ian Gibaut went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A St. Paul. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to righty Matt Shoemaker, whose previously reported one-year, $2MM deal is now official. Gibaut will be in Major League camp as a non-roster invitee for Spring Training.
Minnesota claimed Gibaut, 27, off waivers from the Rangers back on Oct. 30 and held onto him throughout the winter before utilizing his roster spot for a late-offseason addition to the 40-man. He’s spent time in the big leagues both with Texas and Tampa Bay over the past two years, pitching to an ugly 6.08 ERA in 26 2/3 frames. However, Gibaut has also fanned nearly a quarter of the batters he’s faced while showing a heater that averages 95.3 mph. He’s also pitched to a combined 2.53 ERA with a 30.7 percent strikeout rate in 124 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A.
Gibaut is the third offseason waiver claim the Twins have now managed to pass through waivers in the past week, joining righty Ian Hamilton and lefty Brandon Waddell. That’ll help keep the Twins’ upper minors stocked with some depth that has experience at the big league level to call upon as needed throughout the season. If he ends up being added back to the 40-man roster, he does have a minor league option remaining, which will allow the Twins to shuttle him from Target Field to their new Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul without being required to place him back on waivers.