Inside The Twins

Why did Twins DFA Randy Dobnak after he pitched well vs. Cardinals?

Dobnak's contract makes it highly unlikely any team will claim him on waivers.

Will Ragatz

Mar 30, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Minnesota Twins pitcher Randy Dobnak (68) throws a pitch in the fifth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
Mar 30, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Minnesota Twins pitcher Randy Dobnak (68) throws a pitch in the fifth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. / Tim Vizer-Imagn Images
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Randy Dobnak saved the Twins' bullpen in Sunday's sweep-completing 9-2 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. After Bailey Ober — who was apparently battling illness coming into the game — allowed eight runs on eight hits and three walks over 2.2 innings, Dobnak came in and threw the final 5.1 frames, surrendering one earned run while giving the rest of the 'pen the day off.

Then he was designated for assignment a few hours later. Harsh world. A couple reporters had the news on Sunday evening, and the team confirmed it Monday morning. In his place, the Twins have selected the contract of veteran reliever Darren McCaughan from Triple-A St. Paul, adding him to the 40-man and 26-man rosters.

Why would the Twins DFA a guy who was one of the lone bright spots of an awful season-opening series in St. Louis? The answer has to do with Dobnak's unique contract and the unfortunate nature of MLB roster shuffling.

Dobnak is in the final year of the five-year, $9.25 million deal he signed with the Twins before the 2021 season — a deal that did not age well for Minnesota. By designating him for assignment, the Twins are removing him from the 40-man roster and assuming (correctly, no doubt) that no team is going to claim him on waivers and take on the $3 million he's making this year.

Essentially, it's a way to send down a player who is out of traditional minor-league options. Dobnak doesn't have the MLB service time to reject the assignment. He could elect free agency instead, but he'd presumably rather remain with the Twins organization than take a minimum salary elsewhere.

DFA'ing Dobnak allows the Twins to bring McCaughan up as a fresh arm for their bullpen in this week's series against the White Sox. The 29-year-old has 56 career MLB innings with the Mariners, Marlins, and Guardians. After Dobnak's strong season debut, there would seem to be a good chance he's back with the Twins at some point this year. He just wasn't going to be available for this series, given that he threw 79 pitches in St. Louis.

Dobnak, now 30 years old, is a former undrafted free agent who played D-II baseball in college, played independent ball after graduating, and used to drive for Uber and Lyft. The Twins signed him to a minor-league deal in 2017 and he was in the major leagues two years later, where he pitched well enough to strangely find himself starting Game 2 of the 2019 ALDS at Yankee Stadium (which went poorly).

After a solid 2020 season that helped him earn the five-year contract, Dobnak struggled mightily in 2021, got hurt in 2022, and spent the '23 and '24 seasons pitching for St. Paul. He made his return to the majors late last season and then made the Twins' Opening Day roster this year, largely due to injuries to Brock Stewart and Michael Tonkin.

McCaughan will be available for the Twins' game against the White Sox today, which begins at 1:10 p.m. central time.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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