3 ways Twins can free up 40-man roster space for Carlos Santana and Jay Jackson
The Twins need to figure out a way to free up some space to add their latest signings to the roster.
We’re just weeks away from the Minnesota Twins fully reporting to Spring Training, but there’s still work that needs to be done on the roster.
Minnesota waited months to start making moves, but finally opened the floodgates last week. All-Star Jorge Polanco was traded to Seattle in exchange for four players and cash, some of which the Twins used to sign Carlos Santana. Before the week was over the team had added journeyman reliever Jay Jackson as well, meaning there are more players ready to be added to the lineup than available roster spots.
At least two 40-man roster spots need to be cleared to add Santana and Jackson, and the question is who will be on the unlucky end of the deal?
3 ways the Twins can free up some 40-man roster space for Carlos Santana and Jay Jackson
Waive Bubba Thompson and Daniel Duarte
Minnesota’s 40-man roster feels pretty solid the way it is, and it’s hard to find any sort of wiggle room even at the margins. Bubba Thompson and Daniel Duarte might find themselves on the outside looking in simply because they were the last guys in the door before the Twins started making bigger free agency moves.
A case could be made to keep either player, as they each have lottery ticket upside that Minnesota loves to gamble on. Thompson was clocked as one of the fastest players in the league last year and could fill the Michael A. Taylor role in terms of adding defensive depth in center behind Byron Buxton.
Thompson can play all three outfield spots, which also bodes well for him but also runs the risk of making him a redundancy. At that point the Twins have to ask themselves if he offers more than Willi Castro or Nick Gordon — neither of whom are getting DFA’d over Thompson.
Duarte is an underrated reliever who isn’t going to blow anyone away with strikeouts but has the stuff to be a reliable middle innings guy out of the bullpen. Injuries hampered his development with the Reds, but he showed enough for them to protect him in the Rule 5 Draft a year ago. The problem there is that the Twins have one of the deepest bullpens in baseball, and Duarte is on his third team in a few months after having been claimed from Texas.
One upside here would be that neither Thompson nor Duarte were lighting the market on fire when they were available, which could mean the Twins have a chance to outright them to Triple-A if they clear waivers. That’s a gamble, but it might be the safest one to make in order to fit Santana and Jackson on the roster.
DFA a reliever
If the Twins decide that Thompson and Duarte aren’t going to be DFA’d to make room on the 40-man roster, then the next logical place to look is somewhere in the bullpen.
FanGraphs recently ranked the Twins bullpen as one of the strongest in the league, and it’s a deep unit as well. Minnesota has 16 relievers on the 40-man roster right now, which feels like a number that can get cut down to make room for Santana and Jackson.
Not for nothing, but Jackson would be a one-for-one, as he’s a middle-to-late innings reliever who will replace whoever gets DFA’d from the bullpen group. Duarte is also in the bullpen, which makes him the ripest candidate to get plucked.
For the sake of this argument, let’s assume Duarte stays. Who would be next on the pecking order that subtracting them doesn’t counteract the addition of Jackson?
Jordan Balazovic is an interesting candidate, as he’s already seemingly been on thin ice for a while Rocco Baldelli failed to protect him and called the reliever out after he broke his jaw last spring after getting punched during a night out. He threw 24.1 innings for the Twins last season, posting a 4.44 ERA and a 1.562 WHIP. He walked 12 batters while striking out 17, which leaves a lot to be desired but perhaps there’s reason to see if he can find his footing this season.
Jorge Alcalá also makes sense as a potential candidate to lose his spot, especially since he underwhelmed in his return from injury last season. Both players aren’t currently on the 26-man roster or projected to be on the Opening Day roster which also works in favor of replacing them.
Make a 3-for-1 trade
This one is the most unlikely option, but it’s on the table until it’s not. After trading Jorge Polanco, it feels like the Twins still have one more big move left in them before settling in for Spring Training.
Max Kepler has been closely tied to trade rumors this winter, and Minnesota could find a pair of players elsewhere on the 40-man roster to package with him and acquire another starting pitcher. There are a few problems with that plan, not the least of which being it sounds like the Twins are happy with the way the rotation looks now. Fans seem to feel differently — and they’re not wrong — but the front office doesn’t seem interested in adding another starting pitcher.
The other challenge is that if the Twins were going to land a star pitcher like Jesus Luzardo, it would likely cost Brooks Lee. He’s not on the 40-man roster right now, so that doesn’t really do much in making a trade to open up a roster spot.
However, that would work in Minnesota’s favor. Lee is the second-highest prospect in the farm system behind Walker Jenkins and he projects to get called up at some point this season. Emmanuel Rodriguez is the third Top 100 prospect the Twins have, so perhaps he could be packaged with Kepler and another player to land a top starter.
Trading E-Rod is still a tough pill to swallow and it’s also a very convoluted plan for trying to free up 40-man roster space. It does fall in line with the Twins making one more big move, though, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility — even if it seems highly unlikely this is the route the team will go.
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