Austin Voth is already out of John Schneider's bullpen picture and into Minnesota's pitching depth.
The Twins signed Voth to a minor league deal, and St. Paul listed him active right away. He was set to start Thursday night for the Saints.
The move came fast. Voth elected free agency on June 1 after the Blue Jays outrighted him off the 40-man roster.
Toronto had designated him for assignment on May 30, which told you the club was ready to turn the page on its latest rotation depth experiment.
His big league look with the Blue Jays never settled in. Voth allowed 6 runs in 6.0 innings across 2 relief appearances.
The command drift made it worse. He walked 5 and struck out 1, which is not a workable line for a long reliever trying to hold a roster spot.
Minnesota is betting on the Triple-A version
That is the part Minnesota is buying. Voth posted a 2.90 ERA over 8 starts for Triple-A Buffalo before Toronto cut him loose.
He also gave the Bisons usable length, throwing 31.0 innings with 23 strikeouts. That is not overpowering stuff, but it is enough to keep a depth starter in play.
The Twins had a reason to move quickly. They had just designated Simeon Woods Richardson for assignment, then traded him back to Toronto for cash.
Bailey Ober's injury tightened the need even more. Minnesota says he has a mild right flexor strain and will be shut down for 10-14 days.
So this is not about Voth becoming a headline arm overnight. It is about a 33-year-old with 209 MLB games giving a thin staff another option.
In practice, the timing makes this look almost like a slow roster swap. Toronto took back Woods Richardson, and Minnesota grabbed the pitcher Toronto had just dropped.
For the Blue Jays, it is a quick reminder of how little margin there is on the back end of a staff. For the Twins, Austin Voth is now the next arm worth a look.
Did the Blue Jays give up on Austin Voth too quickly?
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