The Twins will designate right-hander Randy Dobnak for assignment prior to tomorrow’s game, as first reported by Ted Schwerzler of Minnesota Sports Fan. The corresponding move isn’t yet known. The DFA comes on the heels of an impressive long relief outing for Dobnak, as he allowed one run over 5 1/3 innings of work in Minnesota’s 9-2 loss to the Cardinals today.
Removing Dobnak from the roster allows the Twins to get a fresh arm into the bullpen, and it speaks to Dobnak’s unusual contractual situation. The righty is in the last guaranteed season of his five-year, $9.25MM contract, though since signing that extension in March 2021, Dobnak has appeared in only 20 MLB games, and he didn’t pitch in the majors at all in 2022-23 due to injuries and time spent in the minor leagues.
Since Dobnak has been outrighted off the Twins’ 40-man roster in the past, he has the right to reject another outright assignment and become a free agent if he clears waivers. However, he doesn’t have enough big league service time to reject an outright assignment and still keep the remaining $4MM ($3MM in 2025 salary and the $1MM buyout on a $6MM club option for 2026) owed on his contract. As such, Dobnak is sure to again accept an assignment to Triple-A in order to retain his salary, and that same price tag makes it unlikely that another team would claim him on waivers.
This all gives Minnesota a bit of flexibility when it comes to moving Dobnak relatively freely through the waiver wire, as it seems likely that he could face the “contract selection/DFA/waivers/outright” cycle more times whenever the Twins need a spot start, a piggyback starter, or a bulk pitcher behind an opener. Having Dobnak available came in handy for the Twins today, as Bailey Ober came into his start recovering from a virus, and was rocked for eight runs over 2 2/3 frames before Dobnak came in to handle the rest of the game.
Even with the sting of the 9-2 loss, Dobnak can take solace in his best performance in the majors in quite some time. He posted a 7.31 ERA over 19 appearances and 60 1/3 innings with the Twins from 2021-24, and he struggled in Triple-A in 2022-23 before having a bit of an uptick in St. Paul last year. Dobnak posted a 4.25 ERA, 15.6% strikeout rate, 11.1% walk rate, and 57% grounder rate over 133 1/3 Triple-A frames in 2024, starting 24 of 28 games.