Twins make first cuts of spring training

The Twins made their first cuts of spring before their game against the Red Sox today, optioning four pitchers and two catchers down to the minors. None of the moves were a big surprise, and a lot of it was done to help the pitchers get stretched out in minor league camp.

The four pitchers sent down were:

• Dietrich Enns — One of the two pitchers the Twins got from the Yankees last season in the Jaime Garcia trade was optioned to Triple-A Rochester. Enns, 26, gave up four earned runs over 3.2 innings in big league camp this spring.
• Felix Jorge — The 24-year-old righty from the Dominican Republic gave up one earned run over 3.0 innings so far this spring. He was also optioned to Triple-A Rochester.
• Lewis Thorpe — The 6’1” left hander from down under missed both the 2015 and 2016 season due to Tommy John surgery. He’s the highest rated prospect of this group, coming in at 12th on MLB.com’s Pipeline prospect rankings for the Twins. He was optioned to Double-A Chattanooga.
• Zack Littell — The other (better) pitcher the Twins got from the Yankees last season in the Jaime Garcia trade. Littell, 22, was optioned to Double-A Chattanooga.

Also sent down were catchers Brian Navarreto and Wynston Sawyer, presumably to help work with the added influx of pitchers.