Twins remove six players from 40-man roster, including a once promising prospect

We've officially reached the offseason, as the World Series is over and all 30 teams are looking at ways to change things up to make a run next season. It's a gap the Minnesota Twins are going to try and close this winter, even if there remains uncertainty about just how much ownership will be willing to invest in the franchise.

Free agency and the chaos of the Winter Meetings are still on the horizon, but the Twins are slowly starting to move pieces around its board -- in the case of a few players remove them altogether.

On Monday the Twins outrighted six players and removed them from the 40-man roster, including Alex Kirilloff who made the the stunning decision to retire last week. Kirilloff walking away from the game creates a need for Minnesota to figure out what the future looks like at first base, but the team made it clear that one potential option won't be in the picture.

Twins drop Yunior Severino and five other players from 40-man roster

Last offseason the Twins added prospect Yunior Severino to the 40-man roster in order to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. That's what makes the team's decision to remove him more peculiar than some of the other players who are joining him in their assignment.

Here are the six players Minnesota dropped from the 40-man roster to kick off the offseason:

• Yunior Severino, 1B
• Scott Blewett, P
• Randy Dobnak, P
• Daniel Duarte, P
• Josh Winder, P
• Alex Kirilloff, 1B/OF

The good news is that they all cleared waivers, which means they'll remain with the organization for the time being.

Severino is really the only surprise, although it seemed he wasn't as close as some other rising prospects to making the MLB roster. He was viewed as a potential option to fill the void created by Kirilloff retiring, but that now seems less likely after he was taken off the 40-man roster.

He hit .254/.342/.434 last season in 128 games at Triple-A St. Paul, which means he might still be in the plans if he can keep working on his offense.

It also raises the question of what the Twins are clearing space for, which could be an indication that they intend to once again protect a handful of players from the Rule 5 Draft this year.

There's a case to be made for as many as seven players the Twins should protect, a list headlined by pitcher Marco Raya. Before anyone gets too excited, this is likely the reason for so much housecleaning with the 40-man roster, even if thinking about potential free agent additions is a lot more fun to imagine.

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