Twins spring training roster cuts: 3 pitchers, 3 position players

Following a big round of spring cuts on Friday, led by Jose Berrios and Alex Meyer, this morning's group of six is largely predictable. The biggest surprise is left-hander Taylor Rogers, who was seen as Fernando Abad's primary competition to make the club as the bullpen's second southpaw reliever.

Here's today's group:

#MNTwins made 6 roster cuts today: Taylor Rogers, J.R. Graham, Buddy Boshers, Carlos Paulino, Buck Britton, Wilfredo Tovar

— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) March 23, 2016

Players reassigned

Carlos Paulino was one of the many depth options the Twins had at catcher coming into camp. He recorded just seven at-bats officially, getting into three games and reaching base once on a walk. The 26-year old split 2015 between Double and Triple-A, hitting .262/.328/.337. He'll be one of the catchers the club uses to pad the upper levels of the system until guys like Stuart Turner or Mitch Garver are ready for the next level.

Buck Britton had a really nice spring, but there just isn't a spot for him on the Major League side. With 13 official games under his belt since games got underway, only Darin Mastroianni (16), Ryan Sweeney (15), James Beresford (15), and Oswaldo Arcia (14) have appeared more often. He was 6-for-20 (.300) with a pair of doubles, and picked up 50 defensive innings split between third and second base.

Wilfredo Tovar was this spring's "The Guy My Dad Really Likes," and for that I'm sorry to see him go. He saw time at all three positions on the left side of the infield, mostly at shortstop, and he was good enough to see five starts. The 24-year old had cups of coffee with the Mets in 2013 and 2014, but now looks like organizational depth. This spring he hit .292/.346/.333 in 24 at-bats.

Moving onto the pitchers, Buddy Boshers was one of Minnesota's non-roster bullpen options - meaning he always had a big hill to climb. He outlasted some of the other left-handed options. In six appearances he put in seven innings, striking out three and walking four. For what it's worth, opponents hit just .208 off of him in a small sample size.

Players optioned

J.R. Graham, Minnesota's Rule 5 pick in December of 2014, stuck with the club's bullpen for all of last year - barring a few nicks and bruises - and ended up giving the Major League club 63.2 innings of 4.95 ERA baseball. His commitment was evident over the winter, dropping serious pounds and entering spring training looking like a new man, but as the Twins now have the option to send him down they've taken advantage. Graham was largely healthy in 2015, which was good considering his recent history, but the Twins want to see a more aggressive pitcher. He needs to improve his off-speed offerings to help that mid-90s fastball flash, and if he can do that there's no reason he can't be a very good middle innings option in the near future. But his spring wasn't great.

Finally there's Rogers, who made one start and five relief appearances this month. He should get an opportunity to be a member of the Red Wings' rotation, along with Jose Berrios, Alex Meyer, and Pat Dean, but right now his only path to the Majors with the Twins appears to be through the bullpen.

With these six moves today, the Twins are down to 37 players in camp. Our "Who's still in camp?" tracker has be updated, so be sure to check that out to get a current breakdown by position. Fernando Abad and Ryan Pressly seem to have the inside track on the remaining bullpen spots still up for grabs.