Randy Rosario, Daniel Palka claimed off waivers

‘Tis the season for clearing the 40-man roster, and the Twins are doing just that, apparently.

Outfielder Daniel Palka and pitcher Randy Rosario were both claimed off waivers yesterday, by the White Sox and Cubs respectively. The Twins had placed both players on outright waivers as they start making space on the 40-man roster to re-add all of their players on the 60-day DL and other prospects they wish to protect from the Rule 5 draft.

Palka, 26, came to the Twins from the Diamondbacks before the 3016 season in exchange for catcher Chris Hermann. He hit a whopping 34 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A in 2016, but only hit twelve last year due to missing a lot of time with a broken finger. Some thought Palka would get a September call-up in 2017, but the Twins declined, meaning he has yet to make his major league debut. He also told me in an exclusive Twinkie Town interview that he believes an Oreo is a sandwich. That blew my mind.

Rosario, 23, is probably the bigger loss for the Twins. The left-hander made two spot appearances for the Twins last year, going all of 2.1 total innings while giving up eight earned runs. Yikes. Rosario spent most of 2017 with the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts, where he posted a 4.08 ERA with 45 strikeouts and 23 walks over 57.1 innings.

Still, Rosario probably the bigger loss here because he’s younger and the Twins need pitching, gosh darn it. While I’m a little sad about losing Palka, it’s also not clear he will ever be a real major leaguer with his bat-first style—he seems an awful lot like another Adam Brett Walker II. Frankly, though, the Twins need 40-man roster spots, and these were probably two of the most expendable players.

Still, good luck to both in all their future endeavors!