FORT MYERS, FLA. – Randy Dobnak was scheduled to pitch five innings in a minor league spring training game Sunday until the plan changed the night before.
“They told me, ‘You’re only going to throw two [innings] just to keep your arm ready in case we need you,‘” Dobnak said.
That was Dobnak’s first hint, after he was cut from big-league camp on March 9, that he could be on the Twins’ Opening Day roster.
On Monday night, one day before the Twins broke camp, Dobnak learned he was headed with the team to St. Louis, filling the last open spot in the bullpen. He will serve as the club’s long reliever at the start of the season.
“It was a pleasant surprise,” said Dobnak, who made his first Opening Day team since 2021.
The Twins opted to send non-roster relievers Scott Blewett and Anthony Misiewicz to Class AAA because they are out of minor league options once they are added to the 40-man roster. It’s expected to be a short-term absence for Brock Stewart, who will start the season on the 15-day injured list, so the Twins didn’t want to potentially lose an out-of-options reliever in early April. Stewart pitched an inning in a minor league spring training game Tuesday, and he’s expected to begin a Class AAA rehab assignment next week in Columbus.
Dobnak, 30, is out of minor league options, but a team would have to assume the prorated amount of his $3 million salary, plus a $1.2 million buyout for future club options, if he was claimed off waivers, making it likely he can clear waivers and remain in the organization.
It has been a solid spring for Dobnak. He pitched six scoreless innings in the Grapefruit League with seven strikeouts and three walks. When he pitched two innings against Boston’s minor leaguers Sunday, he struck out three across two scoreless innings with a 92-mph fastball while generating several whiffs with his 85-86 mph changeup.
