After waiting all winter to make a move, the Minnesota Twins can't stop turning in transactions.
Last Monday the Twins traded Jorge Polanco to Seattle, a move that ended up being the linchpin to the team finally being active in the open market. Minnesota ended the week by signing veteran slugger Carlos Santana to a one-year deal, but ended up signing journeyman reliever Jay Jackson before the weekend was over.
All of this was in addition to two MLB players the Twins acquired from Seattle in the Polanco deal -- Anthony DeSclafani and Justin Topa -- which meant there weren't enough 40-man roster spots to go around.
In order to add Santana and Jackson, the Twins needed to make some tough decisions on who to remove from the 40-man roster and designate for assignment with the potential of losing that player to another team.
One of the players the Twins ended up DFA'ing was the once-promising Jordan Balazovic. He was a
Twins DFA Jordan Balazovic to help clear 40-man roster space
On Wednesday the Twins finally made the corresponding moves to clear space in order to officially add Carlos Santana and Jay Jackson.
Balazovic was part of the trio of players who were DFA'd, as he was joined by the recently acquired Bubba Thompson and Daniel Duarte. If you're doing the math, that's three spots for just two players; Minnesota quietly claimed Zack Weiss off waivers from Boston and added him to the 40-man roster as well.
All in all, it was a three-for-three swap.
The Twins DFA'd Jordan Balazovic as part of their moves today to make the Carlos Santana and Jay Jackson signings official. They also claimed RHP Zack Weiss off waivers from the Red Sox.
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) February 7, 2024
Recent waiver claims Daniel Duarte and Bubba Thompson also DFA'd to make room.
This doesn't officially mean it's the end of the road for any of the three players the Twins DFA'd. If they clear waivers, they can be added back to the minor league system. That's how Minnesota ended up with Thompson and Duarte, who the team both claimed off waivers from Texas.
Balazovic didn't develop as quickly as the Twins needed him to, but it could be argued that he now falls into that category that Thompson and Duarte in where a team could take a flier on him.
Back in 2019 he was a Top 100 prospect who posted a 2.69 ERA while striking out 129 batters in 93 2/3 innings at Single-A. He hit some turbulence after that promising start, though. Across 21 starts and 70.2 innings for the AAA St. Paul Saints, he posted a 0-7 record alongside a bloated 7.39 ERA, 1.939 WHIP, 35 walks, and 21 home runs allowed.
To make matters worse, he drew the ire of Rocco Baldelli last spring when he needed to miss time after breaking his jaw in an altercation during a night out.
There's a chance he sticks around, but it's pretty clear at this point that the Twins don't really see him factoring into future plans and his best route to success might be to rebuild himself with another team.