Old Friend Makes Minnesota Twins Final Opening Day Roster
The Minnesota Twins enter the final game of their 2025 spring training Tuesday vs the Colorado Rockies with a 12-15-3 record in Grapefruit League play. Their rotation has been set for over a week and position players were put in place Monday.
Rocco Baldelli set the Twins’ starting rotation over a week ago, the position players were determined shortly after, on Monday. That left one final spot up for grabs in the bullpen, mostly thanks to injuries that have disrupted the reliever plans, entering the season.
Randy Dobnak earns Twins’ final bullpen spot
Brock Stewart and Michael Tonkin are starting the year on the injured list. That opened a temporary spot int he bullpen that will initially be filled by Randy Dobnak (long relief), who had previously been cut from Minnesota Twins camp. He pitched six innings this spring and did not allow a run, posting a 7/3 K/BB.
Randy Dobnak was told he’ll handle a long relief role in the Twins bullpen to begin the season.
— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) March 25, 2025
His slider has looked good throughout the spring.
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Last season was Dobnak’s first in the big leagues since 2021. That’s when he suffered a season-ending injury to his middle finger that completely derailed his effectiveness as a pitcher. Last season, Dobnak threw 133 1/3 innings at Triple-A St. Paul, posting a 4.25 ERA and 1.448 WHIP.
Randy Dobnak pitched in five games for the MN Twins last season, tallying a 5.59 ERA across 9 2/3 innings. He’ll be in a similar role this time around and look to parlay his spring success into continued momentum at the big league level. Dobnak is in the final year of a five-year, $9.25 million extension he signed with the club prior to the 2021 season.
Minnesota Twins Opening Day roster is set
With Dobnak taking the final bullpen spot, the Minnesota Twins Opening Day roster is now finalized. Rocco Baldelli has 26 players that will make the journey north. Minnesota starts the year with three games in St. Louis and three against the White Sox before kicking things off at Target Field.
| Catchers (2) | Infield (6) | Outfield (5) | Starters (5) | Relievers (8) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Jeffers | Ty France | Byron Buxton | Pablo Lopez | Jhoan Duran |
| Christian Vazquez | Jose Miranda | Matt Wallner | Joe Ryan | Griffin Jax |
| Edouard Julien | Trevor Larnach | Bailey Ober | Cole Sands | |
| Mickey Gasper | Harrison Bader | Simeon Woods Richardson | Justin Topa | |
| Willi Castro | DeShawn Keirsey Jr. | Chris Paddack | Danny Coulombe | |
| Jorge Alcala | ||||
| Louie Varland | ||||
| Randy Dobnak |
Baldelli is certainly hoping that Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee can get healthy sooner rather than later. Their absence gives players like Edouard Julien and Mickey Gasper an opportunity to shine however. Tonkin and Stewart being out paved the way for Varland and Dobnak to start the year at the big league level.
There isn’t a ton of ambiguity on the big league roster. Many of the starting roles have consistent options. The MN Twins bullpen, even down a key arm, is projected to be one of the best in baseball. The position player group has plenty of solid talent that is capable of producing a 90-win season.
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On the mound Minnesota has a strong top three, and a pair of back-end starters with safe floors. The Minnesota Twins experienced some late injuries during Spring Training, but the roster is in a relatively good spot to open the season.
Baldelli will be hoping his team is ready to hit the ground running and put their late-season collapse from 2024 behind them. Minnesota is currently projected to win the AL Central division. All of that goes out the window once the games start to count though. It’s time to get it done on the field.
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