Twins Spring Training Update: Walker Jenkins & others cut, Joe Ryan's status, Byron Buxton leaves for WBC, more

Walker Jenkins among 6 Minnesota Twins players reassigned to minor-league camp

Top prospect Walker Jenkins, who suffered a Grade 1 left hamstring strain on Saturday, is among the players who were cut from the Twins' big-league camp today, the team announced. The other players reassigned to minor-league camp are catcher/first baseman Andrew Cossetti, catcher/outfielder Ricardo Olivar, left-handed pitcher Christian MacLeod, and right-handed pitchers Andrew Bash and Raul Brito.

The cuts weren't surprising. It's still a bummer to see Jenkins' name on the list, as the outfielder likely would've had a longer leash at big-league camp if he weren't hurt. If he returns in time for the St. Paul Saints' Opening Day game, the highly-touted prospect should be in the big leagues mid-season if he remains healthy.

Joe Ryan replaced on WBC roster for pool play

Team USA has replaced Twins right-handed starting pitcher Joe Ryan on its roster with New York Yankees left-handed pitcher Ryan Yarbrough for the World Baseball Classic (WBC), which begins tonight with a matchup between Taiwan and Australia. While Ryan won't pitch in pool play, he's hopeful to join the team for later rounds, according to MLB.com's Matthew Leach. If Ryan ends up being cleared to pitch in later rounds, he'll likely be used as a reliever in the quarterfinals or semifinals, or start the championship game.

At the very least, Ryan, who was scratched from his first Grapefruit League start due to lower back inflammation, will luckily be ready for Opening Day barring any more setbacks. The righty threw live batting practice today, according to the Twins.TV's broadcast, after he threw a bullpen session on Saturday.

Byron Buxton leaves Twins' big-league camp to join Team USA for WBC

Buxton departed Twins spring training to join Team USA for the 2026 WBC. Additionally, Gio Urshela left for Team Colombia, and right-handed pitchers Dan Altavilla and Matt Bowman joined Team Italy and Team Israel, respectively.

Buxton started in center field for Team USA's exhibition game against the San Francisco Giants, which was broadcast live on ESPN Tuesday.

Alan Roden continues spring training hot streak as Twins defeat Team Puerto Rico

Alan Roden is making it tough for Minnesota to justify keeping him off its Opening Day roster. He started in center field and went 3-for-3 with a triple en route to the Twins' 6-3 victory against Team Puerto Rico on Wednesday. Before that, Roden had gone 7-for-14 in five games this spring.

During Minnesota's win against the U.S. territory, utility infielder Orlando Arcia collected two RBI on a double and a sacrifice fly, catcher Austin Jackson hit a double, infielder Tristan Gray hit two singles, and outfielder Emmanuel Rodríguez hit a single and stole two bases.

Righty Zebby Matthews started the game, allowing one earned run on three hits and one walk while striking out three batters. John Klein, Andrew Chafin, Justin Topa and Marco Raya each hurled a scoreless inning.

Twins fans got to see numerous former Twins play for Puerto Rico during the game. Willi Castro played second base and hit a leadoff single in the first inning, Christian Vázquez played the whole game at catcher, Eddie Rosario went 1-for-2 with a single off the bench as a designated hitter, and righty Jorge López allowed a run over 1 1/3 innings of relief.

Twins set to play New York Yankees

The Twins are scheduled to play the Yankees at 12:05 p.m. CST on Thursday at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida. Righty Taj Bradley is slated to make the start on the mound for the Twins, and righty Paul Blackburn is the Yankees' scheduled starter. The game will be available to stream on Twins.TV.