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Tigers Acquire Chris Paddack

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The Tigers turned to a division rival for rotation help on Monday afternoon. Detroit acquired righty Chris Paddack and took on the contract of minor league pitcher Randy Dobnak in a deal that sent catching prospect Enrique Jimenez to the Twins. Detroit placed Reese Olson on the 60-day IL with a shoulder strain, shedding some extra light on their decision to acquire a back-end starter.

Paddack, 29, has had an up-and-down career and has been inconsistent this year as well. He debuted with the Padres back in 2019 and had arguably his best season that year. He tossed 140 2/3 innings with a 3.33 earned run average, 26.9% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate. In the next two seasons, his strikeout rate fell to 23.7% and then 21.6%. His ERA climbed to 4.73 and then 5.07. He was traded to the Twins but then Tommy John surgery in May of 2022 wiped out most of that year and the following season.

He was back on the mound last year but made multiple trips to the injured list due to ongoing issues with his throwing arm. He logged 88 1/3 innings over 17 starts with a 4.99 ERA, 20.6% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate.

This year, Paddack has at least avoided the IL. Though as mentioned, his results have been wobbly. Overall, he has a 4.95 ERA in 111 innings over 21 starts, with a 17.6% strikeout rate and 5.7% walk rate. He got out to an atrocious start, allowing nine earned runs to the White Sox in his first outing, lasting just three and a third innings. His second start wasn’t much better, allowing three earned runs in four innings against the Astros. He had a 14.73 ERA after those two starts.

From there, he got in a nice groove. Over his next 11 starts, Paddack tossed 64 innings with a 2.25 ERA. His 19.2% strikeout rate in that time was still subpar, but he limited walks to a 6.4% clip. He got a little help from a .218 batting average on balls in play and 84% strand rate, so his 3.60 FIP and 4.28 SIERA were a bit skeptical of his ERA in that span. He then allowed eight earned runs in a start against the Astros last month. Since then, he has a 6.31 ERA in seven starts, though the most recent one was great. He allowed one run over six innings against the mighty Dodgers, striking out eight.

The results haven’t been outstanding but Paddack seemingly got a decent amount of interest. Jon Heyman of The New York Post says the Rays were involved while Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Yankees pursued him as well.

That might be a reflection of the league-wide conditions. Very few teams are clearly out of contention in the expanded playoffs. Some of the clubs that are buried in the standings don’t have much to sell. It all adds up to a seller’s market. Paddack isn’t an ace but he’s been healthy and has decent control. He’s also affordable, making just $7.5MM this year while many other reliable vets are making double or almost triple that. There’s only $2.5MM of Paddack’s salary left to be paid out in the remainder of the season. That seems to be enough to get several teams on the phone.

For the Tigers, adding some starting depth is a sensible move. Alex Cobb has been on the IL all year due to hip issues and it’s unclear if he’ll be able to contribute anything. Jackson Jobe had Tommy John surgery. José Urquidy is still trying to return from last year’s Tommy John and hasn’t yet started a rehab assignment. Sawyer Gipson-Long and Ty Madden are also on the shelf.

The Detroit rotation currently consists of Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize. Olson was the arguable #2 starter behind Skubal before his injury. They recently called up Troy Melton but he allowed six earned runs in his first big league start. Adding Paddack could perhaps allow the Tigers to send Melton back down to the minors. Paddack might not be in the club’s playoff rotation if the postseason started today, but he fills in some depth that has been lost to injuries and could step up if further injuries arise over the remainder of the season.

Dobnak’s inclusion is presumably about his contract. He signed an early-career extension with the Twins which hasn’t panned out. Since the end of the 2021 season, he has mostly been in the minors, with less than 15 big league innings on his ledger. In 60 2/3 Triple-A innings this year, he has a 7.12 ERA.

As part of that aforementioned extension, he is making a $3MM salary this year, leaving about $1MM left to be paid out. There’s also a $1MM buyout on a $6MM 2026 club option. Presumably, the Tigers are taking on the remaining $2MM commitment in exchange for a lighter prospect return than Paddack would have otherwise required.

Jimenez, 19, is an intriguing prospect but he’s a long-term play. He’s only 19 years old. The Tigers signed him out of Venezuela in the 2023 international signing period, giving him a $1.25MM bonus. A switch-hitter, he has appeared in 137 minor league games thus far, having slashed .255/.363/.413 for a 114 wRC+. Baseball America lists him as the #17 prospect in the Tigers’ system with a 50 grade on the 20-80 scale, but he’s characterized as an extreme risk. FanGraphs ranked him #28 in the system back in March, noting that his small stature and poor blocking skills are areas of concern.

For the Twins, this is likely the first of a few sell-side moves. They have fallen to 50-55, which puts them 5.5 games back of a playoff spot. FanGraphs only gives them an 11% chance of cracking the postseason. It was reported about a week ago that they were more seriously considering trades of rental players. Paddack is the first go, but Willi Castro, Harrison Bader, Danny Coulombe, Ty France and Christian Vázquez could follow. The larger question is if they will move interesting controllable pieces such as Jhoan Durán, Griffin Jax or Joe Ryan. All reports have suggested the asking prices on those three are high, so the Twins would have to be blown away for a trade to come together.

Dobnak’s inclusion in this deal perhaps suggests the Twins could look to cut costs in the coming days. They didn’t appear to have a huge budget to work with in the winter, limiting themselves to modest one-year deals for Bader, Coulombe and France. The franchise is actively for sale, with an ownership change expected in the coming months. Perhaps they will look to have other clubs absorb as much of the money owed to their impending free agents as possible, even though eating some of the money would lead to a greater prospect return. It’s possible the Pohlad family, which still owns the club for now, will look to save themselves a few million bucks in the coming days.

Time will tell on that. For now, the Twins have already saved a few million and added a young catching prospect to their system. The Tigers, meanwhile, have added some rotation depth as they hope to cruise to a division title. Despite a recent rough patch, they have an eight-game lead over the Guardians in the Central.

Ken Rosenthal and Dan Hayes of The Athletic first reported the Tigers were nearing an acquisition of Paddack for a prospect. Rosenthal was first to note a Paddack trade was in place. Robert Murray of FanSided reported the Twins were receiving Jimenez in return. ESPN’s Jeff Passan had Dobnak’s inclusion.

Photos courtesy of Jesse Johnson, Matt Krohn and Tom Vizer, Imagn Images

Twins Outright Randy Dobnak

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The Twins sent righty Randy Dobnak outright to Triple-A St. Paul after he went unclaimed on waivers, relays Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star-Tribune. As expected, Dobnak will accept the assignment and report to the minors.

Minnesota has shuttled Dobnak on and off the 40-man roster a few times over the past couple years. They can comfortably do so because of his contract. Dobnak signed a $9.25MM extension back in 2021. He’s playing on a $3MM salary and is guaranteed a $1MM buyout on a ’26 club option. Another team would need to assume that contract to claim him off waivers. As a player with less than five years of service time, Dobnak would need to forfeit the salary to decline the outright assignment in favor or free agency.

Neither situation is likely, so the Twins can continuously outright him off the roster when they want to send him to Triple-A. Dobnak has made one big league appearance this year. He worked 5 1/3 innings of mop-up relief, allowing only one run on two hits and a pair of walks. He pitched in five MLB games last season, his first big league work since 2021. Dobnak spent the rest of the season working out of the St. Paul rotation. He posted a 4.25 ERA with a solid 22.7% strikeout rate across 28 appearances. He’ll stick around as non-roster rotation or long relief depth.

Twins Select Darren McCaughan

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The Twins announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of righty Darren McCaughan from Triple-A St. Paul and designated fellow right-hander Randy Dobnak for assignment to clear space on the 40-man and active rosters. Dobnak’s DFA was first reported last night.

McCaughan, 29, will give the Twins some length in the bullpen after Dobnak was pressed into 5 1/3 innings yesterday when Bailey Ober lasted just 2 2/3 innings as he pitched through an illness. McCaughan, a former Mariners draftee and longtime farmhand in Seattle, has pitched in parts of three big league seasons previously. He’s logged only 56 MLB frames and carries a 6.43 ERA in that time.

Similar to Dobnak, he’s a soft-tossing righty with good command but below-average strikeout and swinging-strike rates. He’s been a durable starter at the Triple-A level but carries a 5.14 ERA in 546 frames there. McCaughan is also out of minor league options, so it could be a brief stay on the 40-man roster if the Twins opt for another fresh arm at some point in the near future.

The DFA for Dobnak is a bitter pill for the righty to swallow but not exactly unexpected. The right-hander signed a five-year, $9.25MM extension back in March 2021, which hasn’t panned out as the team has hoped. That’s due in part to injury, but Dobnak’s standing on the team has slipped as the Twins have churned out various young arms who’ve surpassed him on the rotation depth chart (e.g. Ober, Joe Ryan, Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa, Zebby Matthews).

Since Dobnak has under five years of service, he can’t reject an outright assignment and still retain the entirety of his guarantee. He’s earning $3MM in 2025 and is owed a $1MM buyout on a club option for the 2026 campaign. Because of that guaranteed sum, he’s overwhelmingly likely to both pass through waivers and to subsequently accept an outright assignment to St. Paul. While Dobnak could always pitch his way into a more stable long relief role with more outings like yesterday’s — 5 1/3 innings, two hits, one run, two walks, one strikeout — he could ride this DFA/outright cycle several times this season since all involved parties know the outcome is something of a foregone conclusion that provides the Twins with some roster flexibility.

Twins To Designate Randy Dobnak For Assignment

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The Twins will designate right-hander Randy Dobnak for assignment prior to tomorrow’s game, as first reported by Ted Schwerzler of Minnesota Sports Fan.  The corresponding move isn’t yet known.  The DFA comes on the heels of an impressive long relief outing for Dobnak, as he allowed one run over 5 1/3 innings of work in Minnesota’s 9-2 loss to the Cardinals today.

Removing Dobnak from the roster allows the Twins to get a fresh arm into the bullpen, and it speaks to Dobnak’s unusual contractual situation.  The righty is in the last guaranteed season of his five-year, $9.25MM contract, though since signing that extension in March 2021, Dobnak has appeared in only 20 MLB games, and he didn’t pitch in the majors at all in 2022-23 due to injuries and time spent in the minor leagues.

Since Dobnak has been outrighted off the Twins’ 40-man roster in the past, he has the right to reject another outright assignment and become a free agent if he clears waivers.  However, he doesn’t have enough big league service time to reject an outright assignment and still keep the remaining $4MM ($3MM in 2025 salary and the $1MM buyout on a $6MM club option for 2026) owed on his contract.  As such, Dobnak is sure to again accept an assignment to Triple-A in order to retain his salary, and that same price tag makes it unlikely that another team would claim him on waivers.

This all gives Minnesota a bit of flexibility when it comes to moving Dobnak relatively freely through the waiver wire, as it seems likely that he could face the “contract selection/DFA/waivers/outright” cycle more times whenever the Twins need a spot start, a piggyback starter, or a bulk pitcher behind an opener.  Having Dobnak available came in handy for the Twins today, as Bailey Ober came into his start recovering from a virus, and was rocked for eight runs over 2 2/3 frames before Dobnak came in to handle the rest of the game.

Even with the sting of the 9-2 loss, Dobnak can take solace in his best performance in the majors in quite some time.  He posted a 7.31 ERA over 19 appearances and 60 1/3 innings with the Twins from 2021-24, and he struggled in Triple-A in 2022-23 before having a bit of an uptick in St. Paul last year.  Dobnak posted a 4.25 ERA, 15.6% strikeout rate, 11.1% walk rate, and 57% grounder rate over 133 1/3 Triple-A frames in 2024, starting 24 of 28 games.

Randy Dobnak Will Make Twins Roster

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Over the weekend, the Twins told reporters (including Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press) that Rule 5 draft pick Eiberson Castellano would not make the Opening Day roster. That decision meant Minnesota would soon have an open spot on the 40-man – the Twins can’t keep Castellano if he isn’t on the active roster or the IL. It also meant the team had one more spot to fill in the Opening Day bullpen. Today, Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune reported that both of those spots will go to Randy Dobnak. The right-hander will take on a long relief role to begin the year (per Nightengale).

Dobnak, 30, has spent his entire career in the Twins organization. He signed with the club as an undrafted free agent in 2017 and made his big league debut just two years later. The righty earned a regular role in the rotation the following season, making 10 starts with a 4.05 ERA and 4.56 SIERA during the shortened 2020 campaign. Although he failed to miss many bats (13.5% strikeout rate), Dobnak led all pitchers (min. 40 IP) with a 62.1% groundball rate. He faced 200 batters and allowed just three home runs.

That performance earned Dobnak a nice little extension ahead of 2021, a five-year, $9.25MM guarantee with escalators and club options that could increase the total value of the contract to $29.75MM over eight years. Yet, the Twins put him back in the bullpen to start the season, and while he ultimately made it back to the rotation for a handful of starts, he struggled in both roles. Across 14 games (six starts) and 50 2/3 innings, he pitched to a 7.64 ERA, though his 4.53 SIERA was almost identical to his SIERA from the year before.

Things continued trending downhill for Dobnak in 2022, and he ended up sitting out most of the season with a right middle finger strain, an injury that had also given him trouble in 2021. While he was healthy again in 2023, he did not make his way back to the big league roster, spending the season with the Triple-A St. Paul Saints. Dobnak finally returned to the majors in 2024, albeit briefly, tossing 9 2/3 innings in relief. He gave up six runs on 11 hits and five walks, while striking out seven. All told, he has a career 4.99 ERA and 4.43 SIERA over 135 1/3 innings, including 21 starts and 17 games out of the ’pen.

The Twins initially reassigned Dobnak to minor league camp two weeks ago, but evidently, he pitched well enough over there to change the team’s mind. Now in the final guaranteed year of his contract, Dobnak is a useful depth piece for Minnesota. He has experience as both a starter and a reliever, and he has thrown at least 125 innings in each of the past two seasons. What’s more, the Twins can add him to the 40-man and subsequently outright him as much as they would like with little risk of losing him. He does not have the necessary MLB service time to reject an outright assignment without forfeiting his remaining salary.

Twins Outright Five Players

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The Twins have outrighted right-handers Scott Blewett, Randy Dobnak, Josh Winder, and Daniel Duarte as well as first baseman Yunior Severino off their 40-man roster, as noted by Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune. While none of the quintet were previously announced as having been designated for assignment, all five has cleared waivers and been sent outright to the minors. The club also triggered a $1.5MM club option for right-hander Jorge Alcalá, per Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic on X.

Today is a big roster churn day, as the 60-day injured list goes away and doesn’t come back until spring training. Since players on the 60-day IL don’t count against a club’s 40-man roster count, this leads to roster crunches around the league. As such, the Twins have removed five players from the roster and passed them through waivers.

Dobnak has been passed through waivers a couple of times before, a reflection of his contract and service time status. Going into 2021, he and the Twins agreed to a five-year, $9.25MM extension but his results failed to live up to that deal. Players need to have at least five years of service to both reject an outright assignment and keep all the remaining money on their contracts. Dobnak was and is well shy of that, meaning he has continually turned down chances to elect free agency, allowing him to keep collecting his paychecks on the deal. That is likely how this will play out. He got back to the big leagues this year for the first time since 2021 but posted a 5.59 earned run average over his five outings, bringing his career ERA up to 4.99.

Blewett, 29 in April, signed a minor league deal with the Twins in the winter and ultimately tossed 20 1/3 innings for them with a 1.77 ERA. However, he wasn’t going to continue stranding 90.5% of baserunners, which is why his FIP was 4.00 and his SIERA was 4.05 for the year. He has been outrighted before in his career so he has the right to elect free agency.

Winder, 28, was drafted by the Twins and has been on the roster since November of 2021. Since then, he has tossed 110 2/3 innings with a 4.39 ERA, 18% strikeout rate, 7% walk rate and 37.2% ground ball rate.

Duarte, 28 next month, was claimed off waivers in the offseason and made two appearances for the Twins this season before requiring season-ending elbow surgery. His timeline for returning to play is not currently clear. He has a previous career outright and is therefore eligible to elect free agency.

Severino, 25, was added to the club’s 40-man roster a year ago to keep him out of the 2023 Rule 5 draft. He put up a solid line of .254/.342/.434 in Triple-A this year but the offensive environment was strong in the International League this year, leading that to translate to a roughly league average wRC+ of 101.

As for Alcalá, he and the Twins avoided arbitration last year by agreeing to a $790K salary with a $1.5MM club option for 2025 that came with a $55K buyout. He went on to toss 58 1/3 innings for the Twins this year with a 3.24 ERA, 24.7% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate. Based on that performance, MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Alcalá to get a raise to $1.7MM through the abr process. The Twins have instead gone for the lower price of the club option to bring him back next year.

Twins Select Randy Dobnak

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The Twins announced this morning that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Randy Dobnak. In a corresponding move, right-hander Diego Castillo was designated for assignment.

Dobnak, 29, signed an ill-fated extension with the Twins prior to the 2021 season on the heels of a 2020 campaign where he showed promise as a potential mid-rotation starter with a 4.05 ERA and 3.96 FIP through ten starts. After a strong rookie campaign in 2019, that gave Dobnak a career 3.12 ERA and 3.56 FIP across 75 innings of work in the majors at the time of the deal. Unfortunately, things quickly went off the rails for the right-hander as he surrendered a ghastly 7.64 ERA in 50 2/3 innings of work during the first year of his extension. Those lackluster results led to the club outrighting him off the 40-man roster in September of 2022.

Since then, Dobnak has remained in the Twins organization while primarily pitching at Triple-A. He’s done fairly well for himself in the minors this year, with a 4.25 ERA in 133 1/3 innings of work that earned him another look at the big league level. That stint back in the majors earlier this year didn’t go over very well, however, as Dobnak surrendered a 5.87 ERA in 7 2/3 frames before being shipped back to the minors. He’ll now finish the season in the Twins bullpen and on the 40-man roster. He remains under contract with the club through the end of the 2025 season, and does not yet have enough service time to reject an outright assignment without also forfeiting the remainder of his contract.

Making room for Dobnak on the club’s 40-man roster is Castillo, who signed with Minnesota on a minor league deal over the offseason and was first selected to the roster at the end of May. Since then, he’s posted a solid enough 2.70 ERA in 10 innings of work but hasn’t been able to stick on the Twins roster due to shaky peripherals, including more walks (eight) than strikeouts (six) in the majors. When at Triple-A with the Twins this year, Castillo has struggled badly with a 5.59 ERA in 40 appearances.

Despite those deep struggles, however, it’s not impossible to imagine the right-hander continuing to draw attention from clubs as a minor league depth option this winter. After all, Castillo excelled with the Rays and Mariners earlier in his career with a 3.12 ERA and 3.69 FIP in 250 appearances from 2018 to 2022. Any club that believes they can unlock that form in Castillo will surely have interest in bringing him into the fold and seeing what he has next spring. Of course, before Castillo can officially reach free agency he’ll need to clear waivers sometime in the next week.

Twins Outright Randy Dobnak

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Twins right-hander Randy Dobnak passed through waivers unclaimed and has been assigned outright to Triple-A St. Paul, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. He was designated for assignment earlier this week when Minnesota claimed lefty Cole Irvin off waivers from the Orioles.

Dobnak has been outrighted in the past and thus has the right to reject the assignment, but he’s a lock to accept. Because he has fewer than five years of service time, he’d need to forfeit the remainder of this season’s $2.25MM salary and the $4MM he’s still owed beyond the current campaign ($3MM salary in ’25, $1MM buyout on a ’26 option) in order to elect free agency. There’s obviously no chance he’d do so, meaning he’ll head back to the Saints and remain with the Twins organization as a depth arm both for the remainder of this season and at least the 2025 season as well.

The 29-year-old Dobnak was a remarkable story back in 2019, when in just over a year’s time he rose from indie-ball pitcher and Uber driver to the Twins’ big league roster, even pitching in the playoffs that season. From 2019-20, Dobnak logged 75 innings of 3.12 ERA ball with a 15.7% strikeout rate, 5.7% walk rate and massive 58.8% ground-ball rate. On the back of that performance, Minnesota inked him a five-year, $9.25MM contract extension that contained a trio of club options. It was a low-cost move that provided the Twins ample contractual upside if Dobnak proved capable of sustaining anything close to that pace, but injuries and a decline in his performance have rendered the deal underwater.

Dobnak was clobbered for a 7.64 ERA in 2021 after signing that deal. He hit the 60-day injured list late that season with a strained pulley tendon in his right middle finger and missed much of the 2022 campaign with a similar issue. He pitched just 25 minor league innings that year and none in the majors. The Twins removed him from the 40-man roster and passed him through waivers that September. Dobnak was healthy again in 2023 but struggled to a 5.13 ERA in 126 1/3 Triple-A frames.

The 2024 season has been something of a rebound campaign, at least in the Triple-A ranks. Dobnak has made 23 starts and four relief appearances for the Saints, working to a 3.90 ERA with a 22.5% strikeout rate, 10.4% walk rate and 57.4% grounder rate in 129 1/3 innings. That performance earned him another look in the big leagues, but he was tagged for five runs nine hits and five walks in 7 2/3 innings before being designated for assignment once again.

Twins Claim Cole Irvin

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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.

Minor 40-Man Moves: Twins, A’s, Blue Jays, Red Sox, White Sox

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With the trade deadline behind us, here’s a look at a handful of smaller 40-man transactions from throughout the day that weren’t previously covered:

  • The Twins selected the contract of right-hander Randy Dobnak and designated Josh Staumont for assignment. Dobnak, 29, signed a five-year extension with Minnesota prior to the 2021 season following a strong start to his career where he posted a 3.12 ERA (142 ERA+) with a 3.56 FIP in 75 innings of work across 19 appearances (15 starts). Unfortunately, things haven’t gone well since he inked that deal as he struggled to a 7.64 ERA in 14 appearances in 2021 and hasn’t appeared in the majors since. He was outrighted off the club’s 40-man roster in September of 2022 but has put up a decent 3.61 ERA in 99 2/3 innings of work at Triple-A this year. Staumont, meanwhile, signed a big league deal with the club over the winter and has posted decent numbers with a 3.70 ERA and 3.53 FIP this year but has struggled badly in recent weeks with 11 runs (10 earned) surrendered in his last 5 1/3 innings of work.
  • The Athletics selected the contract of right-hander Gerardo Reyes. The 31-year-old made his big league debut with the Padres back in 2019 but struggled to a 7.62 ERA in 26 innings of work. More recently, he’s pitched for the Angels in each of the past two seasons with a 6.94 ERA in ten appearances. Despite those lackluster numbers, he’s struck out a solid 27% of batters faced during his big league career and has a solid 3.82 ERA in 33 innings of work at the Triple-A level this year. He’ll step into the Oakland bullpen after the club dealt Lucas Erceg to Kansas City earlier today.
  • The Blue Jays selected the contract of infielder Luis De Los Santos today in order to replace Isiah Kiner-Falefa on the active roster following his trade to Pittsburgh. The 26-year-old initially signed with the club out of the Dominican Republic back in 2015. He’s bounced between the Double- and Triple-A levels in recent years with a career .217/.342/.375 slash line at the highest level of the minors, although this year he’s managed to flash a bit more offense with a solid .243/.393/.400 line and 16.7% walk rate in 28 games. The youngster has experience at all four infield spots and figures to step into the club’s bench mix.
  • The Red Sox designated right-hander Trey Wingenter for assignment today. Wingenter was acquired by Boston earlier this month in a trade with the Tigers after he triggered an assignment clause in his contract, prompting the club to add him to their 40-man roster. Wingenter made just two appearances for the Red Sox and struggled badly in each of them, allowing a combined seven runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three in 2 1/3 innings of work. Prior to that rough tenure in Boston, Wingenter had a career 5.28 ERA and 3.82 FIP in 90 games with the Padres and Tigers. His career 31.9% strikeout rate stands out from his otherwise lackluster results and could garner him some interest from bullpen-needy clubs on the waiver wire.
  • The White Sox selected the contract of left-hander Fraser Ellard today. Ellard, 26, was an 8th-round pick by the club back in 2021 and climbed the minor league ladder to reach the Triple-A level this year. In 40 2/3 innings of work this season, Ellard owns a 3.76 ERA with an eye-popping 33.5% strikeout rate against an elevated 11.6% walk rate. That big-time strikeout stuff should get Ellard plenty of opportunities in a Chicago bullpen that has been brutally bad this year with a collective 4.79 ERA, including a league-worst 6.22 ERA in the month of July. He’ll step into the lefty spot in the bullpen vacated by Tanner Banks earlier today, joining fellow southpaws Jared Shuster and Sammy Peralta.
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