Twins Designate Alex Jackson For Assignment

The Twins have designated third catcher Alex Jackson for assignment, reports Dan Hayes of The Athletic. Minnesota’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.

The unconventional timing of the move relates to this afternoon’s Field of Dreams Game. The Twins and Phillies were each permitted to carry a 27th man for one day, akin to a doubleheader. Philadelphia recalled outfielder Kameron Misner, who didn’t play and will likely be returned to Triple-A. Minnesota activated Byron Buxton from the 10-day injured list.

While Buxton served as the extra man for today’s game, the Twins need to go back to a 26-man roster tomorrow. That squeezed Jackson, who is out of options and therefore needs to be dropped from the 40-man to take him off the big league club. He has felt superfluous on this roster for a month, making him an unsurprising cut.

The Twins called Jackson up in mid-May when Ryan Jeffers suffered a hamate fracture. He backed up Victor Caratini until Jeffers returned around the All-Star Break. The Jeffers/Caratini combination is among the better catching duos in MLB. The Twins are fighting for a playoff spot and want their best players in the lineup as often as possible. Jackson hasn’t been in the starting lineup since July 30. He has taken one at-bat this month.

This is Jackson’s seventh partial season at the MLB level. He hit .303 with one home run in 69 trips. It’s decent production on the surface, but his ugly 23:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio hints at the hit tool issues that have plagued the former sixth overall pick throughout his career. Jackson has fanned in nearly 40% of his plate appearances and has a .174/.252/.305 slash line in 189 games.

Minnesota will place Jackson on waivers in the next couple days. There’s a decent chance he clears and accepts an outright assignment back to Triple-A St. Paul. Jackson is playing on a $1.35MM salary and can’t elect free agency without forfeiting the remaining $300K or so.