Wary of losing some of their brightest prospects to next month's Rule 5 draft, the Twins on Tuesday added a trio of minor league pitchers and a second baseman to their major league roster.
Righthanders Matt Canterino and Casey Legumina, lefthander Brent Headrick and infielder Edouard Julien, each of whom was drafted by the Twins in 2019 and spent the majority of the 2022 season with Class AA Wichita, are now officially Twins and will be in major league camp next spring.
Canterino, however, won't be able to pitch that soon. The second-round pick from Rice, after experiencing elbow pain during each of the past two seasons, underwent Tommy John ligament-replacement surgery in August and will miss the 2023 season. But he showed enough promise — a 1.48 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 85 career minor league innings — to persuade the Twins to make sure he can't be plucked away by another team.
The other two pitchers aren't considered quite as promising as Canterino, but are projected as members of the big-league staff within a year or two. Legumina, an eighth-round pick from Gonzaga who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019, split time between the rotation and bullpen in 2023, and closed the season with 10 2/3 scoreless innings for the Wind Surge.
Headrick, a ninth-round pick from Illinois State, posted a 3.32 ERA at Class A Cedar Rapids and Wichita, making 23 starts and striking out 136 batters in 108 1/3 innings.
Julien, an 18th-round pick from Auburn, batted .300 at Wichita with a .931 OPS last season, then played even better against higher-caliber opposition over the past month in the Arizona Fall League. The second baseman was named the AFL's Breakout Player of the Year on Tuesday after hitting .400 with a 1.248 OPS in 21 games for the Glendale Devil Dogs.
The Rule 5 draft, scheduled for Dec. 7, allows teams to claim other teams' non-roster players who have been in the minor leagues for four or five seasons.
Tuesday's additions mean all 40 spots on Minnesota's offseason roster are now filled, so any further acquisitions must come with a corresponding departure by a current player.
Salary arbitration
The next significant date on baseball's offseason calendar is Friday, when teams must offer salary arbitration to eligible players, or allow them to become free agents. The Twins have eight such players, nearly all of whom are expected to receive contracts.
The lone exceptions that the Twins may consider releasing are Emilio Pagan, who blew seven of 16 save opportunities in 2022; Gio Urshela, whose solid defense and 13-homer power made him one of the more valuable Twins but whose potential $10 million contract may convince the team to move on; and Chris Paddack, who underwent a second Tommy John surgery in May and who won't be available until late next summer.
Friday is also the day that Byron Buxton, Luis Arraez, Joe Ryan, Jose Miranda and Jorge Polanco will model next season's new uniforms at a fashion show at 11:30 a.m. at the Mall of America rotunda.
