{"id":129945,"date":"2025-12-13T13:27:46","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T13:27:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=129945"},"modified":"2025-12-13T13:27:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T13:27:46","slug":"%f0%9f%9a%a8-roster-alert-the-twins-rule-5-shuffle-wasnt-random-and-it-wasnt-harmless-sources-say-deeper-strategy-and-looming-pressure-forced-minnesotas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=129945","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udea8 ROSTER ALERT: The Twins\u2019 Rule 5 shuffle wasn\u2019t random \u2014 and it wasn\u2019t harmless. Sources say deeper strategy and looming pressure forced Minnesota\u2019s hand at a critical moment."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Why Did the Twins Go Through That Rule 5 Roster Shuffle?<\/h3>\n

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Photo Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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The Minnesota Twins\u2019 off-season is moving slowly but surely, and fans have been treated to some better news lately. On Monday, President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey and General Manager Jeremy Zoll\u00a0shared with reporters\u00a0at the Winter Meetings that they no longer intend to trade their big three stars:\u00a0Byron Buxton,\u00a0Pablo L\u00f3pez, and\u00a0Joe Ryan.<\/p>\n

With their stars off the trade market, the Twins intend to spend a little more than previously stated.<\/p>\n

They now\u00a0hope to sign\u00a0a mid-tier first baseman along with two relievers with more high-leverage experience.<\/p>\n

However, before they can do all that, the Twins need to make some moves to clear up some roster space.<\/p>\n

The first of these moves was granting outfielder\u00a0Carson McCusker his release for an opportunity to play overseas in Asia, making one spot available on the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 Draft<\/p>\n

Minnesota also made a selection in the Rule 5 Draft, taking catcher\u00a0Daniel Susac\u00a0from the Athletics organization. What happened next was a surprise. The Twins immediately flipped Susac to the San Francisco Giants for another catcher,\u00a0Miguel Caraballo, a 17-year-old in the Dominican Summer League, and cash.<\/p>\n

The route the Twins decided during the Rule 5 was a bit peculiar. Many anticipated they would select one of the available pitchers not protected on other teams\u2019 40-man rosters. More surprising was the immediate trade of an MLB-ready backup catcher for one who had just played his first season in professional baseball.<\/p>\n

To be fair, if the Twins had kept Susac, his role for playing time would not have been too different from\u00a0Alex Jackson\u2019s,\u00a0whom they just acquired. The two of them would split the duty of backup catchers, playing a third of the time while\u00a0Ryan Jeffers plays the other two-thirds.<\/p>\n

By acquiring one catcher to flip him immediately for another, much younger one, the Twins still have some desire to bolster their catching depth in the lower levels of the minors, as they did during the trade deadline.<\/p>\n

Between Caraballo and\u00a0Enrique Jimenez, whom Minnesota acquired in the\u00a0Chris Paddack-Randy Dobnak deal\u00a0with the Detroit Tigers, the Twins are taking a bet on one of them being a potential backup with\u00a0Eduardo Tait, their top catching prospect. Regardless of who backs up Tait, he\u2019s likely to play 60% of the games.<\/p>\n

Caraballo demonstrated strong strikeout and walk rates in his first season in pro ball. He drew 28 walks and struck out 38 times over 169 plate appearances, good for a 16.6% walk rate and 22.5% strikeout rate. The strikeout rate is still a little higher than most teams would like at most levels, but for any player in the DSL or Complex Leagues, it\u2019s not as alarming compared to those with strikeout rates of 25% or higher.<\/p>\n

The walk rate helped Caraballo boost his on-base percentage to an impressive .432 mark, with five home runs, 22 RBI, and eight stolen bases over 41 games. Caraballo demonstrated impressive enough numbers that the Twins are willing to take a chance on a 17-year-old kid whose odds of making the majors are still a long shot.<\/p>\n

On the minor-league side of the Rule 5 Draft, the Twins acquired two players while two of their pitchers were claimed by other teams. They claimed rightfielder\u00a0Garrett Spain\u00a0from the Milwaukee Brewers farm system and right-handed pitcher\u00a0Sam Ryan\u00a0from the Los Angeles Angels. The Twins lost right-handed pitcher\u00a0John Stankiewicz\u00a0to the Detroit Tigers, and left-handed pitcher Savage, Minn. native, and Burnsville High School graduate,\u00a0Aaron Rozek, to the New York Mets.<\/p>\n

After trading Susac to the Giants, the 40-man roster spot that the Twins had previously opened up by parting ways with McCusker remains open. Where the Twins go next with their off-season plans is a bit unclear.<\/p>\n

Over the previous two off-seasons, the Twins have waited out the free-agent market until a few weeks before pitchers and catchers report for spring training before making any signings or trades. In 2024, they didn\u2019t make their first big move of the off-season until Jan. 29, when they\u00a0traded\u00a0Jorge Polanco\u00a0to the Seattle Mariners. This past year, they didn\u2019t sign\u00a0Harrison Bader\u00a0and\u00a0Danny Coulombe\u00a0to 1-year deals until Feb. 7.<\/p>\n

In light of recent news that the Twins are willing to spend more than previously anticipated this off-season, they probably won\u2019t make any big moves or signings before the New Year. The Twins are expected to announce their new limited partners in ownership before the calendar flips to 2026, and that might be the only big news from the organization ahead of the New Year<\/p>\n

But that won\u2019t stop the Twins front office from pursuing their ideal candidates in either trade or free agency. After the Baltimore Orioles\u00a0signed\u00a0Pete Alonso\u00a0to a five-year, $155 million deal, the first base market may shake out quicker than most for the rest of the offseason.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why Did the Twins Go Through That Rule 5 Roster Shuffle? Photo Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images The Minnesota Twins\u2019 off-season is moving slowly but surely, and fans… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":129946,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n\ud83d\udea8 ROSTER ALERT: The Twins\u2019 Rule 5 shuffle wasn\u2019t random \u2014 and it wasn\u2019t harmless. 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