Rocco Baldelli must trim down the group of men on the roster, and tighten up his clubhouse. After a game against the Baltimore Orioles today (Mar 9), Minnesota began the process of whittling down their options.

Nine players optioned to minor league camp for Minnesota Twins

There are a handful of Minnesota Twins players that were never going to make the major league club. Invited to big league spring training for a myriad of reasons, their time to be optioned was always going to come. A handful of veterans and minor league prospects are now among the group sent to the back fields.

Most notable of the cuts would be Cory Lewis. He looked sharp in two innings of Grapefruit League action and picked up a pair of strikeouts. His knuckleball pitch may be a record-breaking offering in speed at the big league level. He’ll be part of a talented rotation at Triple-A St. Paul, and should appear at Target Field at some point this season.

Twins prospect Cory Lewis throws a mid-80's knuckleball. It has reportedly reached 87-mph this spring.

It has a chance to be the fastest knuckleball ever recorded in MLB history.

Here it is on display, striking out Gleyber Torres. pic.twitter.com/L7v2xxylm8

— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) February 26, 2025

Related: Minnesota Twins Provide a Bunch of Injury Updates

Last season, Randy Dobnak made his way back up to the big leagues, and finished with a 5.59 ERA over 9.2 innings, for the Twins. Mot recently, he pitched six scoreless innings, including a three-inning outing on Sunday. Dobnak picked up seven strikeouts in the outing. No longer on the 40-man roster, Dobnak is in the final year of a five-year extension worth $9.25 million.

Minnesota brought Erasmo Ramirez in as a late addition to compete for a bullpen spot. He was an easy choice to option after suffering a significant tear that could threaten his season as a whole.

Related: Minnesota Twins Bullpen Harboring Dark Horse Stud Nobody is Talking About

Both Alex Isola and Yunior Severino are Triple-A depth pieces. The former will rotate time at catcher alongside Jair Camargo, and the recently acquired Diego Cartaya. The latter was previously on the 40-man roster but his .254/.342/.434 slash line at Triple-A across 128 games last year played himself out of the picture.

MN Twins 40-man talent headed to St. Paul

The Saints rotation should have plenty of talent in it this year, and they will all be depth pieces that the Minnesota Twins can rely on. Marco Raya and Travis Adams were added to the 40-man roster this offseason. Now, each is looking for the opportunity to make their big league debut.

Emmanuel Rodriguez hit Triple-A last season despite an injury-plagued campaign. He had thumb surgery this offseason, and was already behind schedule after suffering an ankle injury. But, he should be running this week and will get in minor league action before the season kicks off.

Matt Canterino also is among the 40-man group that was optioned. He is dealing with a shoulder injury that will sideline him for months, after making just one Spring Training appearance. It’s a tough blow for a prospect that needs to make it work this season. His injury may make it difficult for the Twins to keep him on the 40-man over others over the course of the year.

After trimming down the group by nine spots, the Minnesota Twins still have 48 players in big league camp. They have 17 days to make the final 22 roster moves.

Erasmo Ramirez joins Minnesota Twins bullpen competition

Erasmo Ramirez is a 34-year-old right-hander who will turn 35 during the 2025 regular season, and he will get his shot to make that happen down in Fort Myers with the Twins. This is Ramirez’ 14th year of big league baseball. He spent the 2024 season pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Twins signed righty reliever Erasmo Ramírez to a non-roster deal with an invite to big league camp. He had a 4.35 ERA in 20 2/3 innings for the Rays last year.

— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) February 15, 2025

The MN Twins appear as though they will have one of baseball’s best bullpens. They also have a significant amount of candidates on the bubble to fill out the final spots. Erasmo Ramirez’ 4.35 ERA came across 20 2/3 innings for Tampa last season. He has never been a big strikeout guy, and the 6.8 career K/9 is reflective of that. Last season he had just a 15/10 K/BB in the work he did get in.

In 2023 Ramirez threw 60 1/3 innings split between the Washington Nationals and Rays. Both places produced ugly results with an ERA north of 6.00. In 2022 with Washington however, he owned a 2.92 ERA in 86 1/3 innings. He didn’t punch tickets in bunches, but walked just 14 batters that season.

As you may expect with the low strikeout rate, he averages just over 90 mph (90.6 in 2024) on his fastball. He relies heavily on a cutter and sinker to get opposing batters out.

Twins bullpen looking good

Securing a bullpen spot for Ramirez appears as though it will be a tall task. Multiple bullpen spots are locked in for key contributors like Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Brock Stewart. The deal is of the minor league variety and he will work alongside other non-roster arms such as Ryan Jensen and Scott Blewett.

Ramirez likely has an opt out date in which he could seek another opportunity should the writing be on the wall with the Twins. He may also have interest in sticking around at Triple-A St. Paul to earn an opportunity. Minnesota used 32 different pitchers last year, of which 22 were relievers.

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Outside of potential injuries to take place down in Florida, the bottom of the Twins bullpen group includes names such as Michael Tonkin and Jorge Alcala. The former was designated for assignment once by Minnesota last season. The latter was sent back to St. Paul on multiple occasions.