FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Twins made five roster moves on Sunday, granting outfielder Robert Stubbs his unconditional release and reassigning right-hander Drew Rucinski to Minor League camp. Additionally, the club announced following a 7-2 loss to Boston that non-roster infielders Ben Paulsen, Matt Hague and Benji Gonzalez were told they will start the year at Triple-A Rochester, but remain in Major League camp in the short term.
It brings the roster down to 38 players, and Twins manager Paul Molitor said more roster cuts are expected before Monday night's game in Bradenton against the Pirates. The Twins could also name the winner of the fifth-starter competition between Tyler Duffey and Adalberto Mejia as well.
Stubbs, competing for a role as a backup outfielder, struggled to make contact this spring, hitting .139 with 15 strikeouts in 36 at-bats. He was due a $100,000 retention bonus if kept on the roster past Tuesday's deadline as an Article XX(B) free agent.
"He handled himself very well," Molitor said. "He had a fair amount of opportunity to play. It didn't go particularly well. It wasn't a fit for him. With the date looming in a couple days, we wanted to give him a chance to jump on that in case something comes up."
But Stubbs, an eight-year Major League veteran, was informed Sunday morning he wasn't going to make the roster, and asked for his release so he could try to sign with another club. Stubbs, 32, could re-sign with the Twins on a Minor League deal if he doesn't latch on elsewhere.
Rucinski, on a Minor League deal, posted a 6.48 ERA, and allowed six runs on nine hits over 8 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts and four walks. He'll add relief depth at Triple-A Rochester.
Paulsen, competing for the designated hitter/first baseman role, hit .306/.390/.444 with a homer and five RBIs in 18 games. Gonzalez hit .371/.405/.514 with five doubles and six RBIs, while Hague batted .359/.444/.590 with a homer and seven RBIs.
Molitor added that injuries to players such as Kennys Vargas, Ehire Adrianza and Robbie Grossman have complicated things late in camp, and are a reason why the Twins still have so many roster moves to come with Opening Day a little more than a week to go on April 3.
"We're a little behind," Molitor said. "Injuries have disrupted it, and a lot of competition disrupted it. But we've got some ideas here as we're finalizing stuff."