Goodbye, Duda

The Twins released Lucas Duda after informing the camp invitee that he wasn't going to make the roster. Presumably the camp invitee then informed the club that he would exercise his opt-out on Saturday, and they agreed to let him start looking for a new team immediately rather than wait a few more days.

None of this is surprising. Duda never seemed like a particularly good fit for the Twins roster. Like C.J. Cron and Tyler Austin, he's limited defensively to first base, he's older than either and he's been bouncing around the league. The Twins were his fifth organization since 2016.

But he had a three-year run -- 2015-2017 -- in which he hit 30, 27 and 30 homers, so I kept seeing superficial pieces that mentioned him as a key addition to the Twins. Those same pieces seldom mentioned Jonathan Schoop, who will be Minnesota's second baseman.

It was, in a sense, a useful barometer as a reader: If the writer thinks Duda a more significant piece than Schoop, it signaled a lack of knowledge.

The Twins also reassigned four prospects to minor league camp, so they are down to 36 in major league camp. None had a genuine chance of making the opening roster. Indeed, the only cut I can think of who had any realistic chance of coming north was Tyler Duffey, who was optioned out shortly after I listed him in the "Is there room" category of bullpen candidates.

But there was a development that figures to affect the opening roster. Lefty reliever Gabriel Moya has had some shoulder issues and appears destined for the injured list (new nomenclature for the disabled list). This would appear to enhance the status of Aldaberto Mejia and Tim Collins.