Toronto claims Twins' Burnett off waivers

By foxsports
Published

Alex Burnett was fighting for a spot on the Minnesota Twins' Opening Day roster. Now, he's on a different roster entirely. Burnett was claimed off waivers Friday by the Toronto Blue Jays as the Twins looked to make room on their 40-man roster for outfielder Wilkin Ramirez. Burnett posted a 7.57 ERA this spring, allowing seven earned runs in 8 1/3 innings with six walks and one strikeout.  The 25-year-old Burnett spent three seasons with Minnesota, making 174 career relief appearances. In 67 games last season, Burnet had a 3.52 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 26 walks in 71 2/3 innings of relief. After being claimed by Toronto, Burnett tweeted: "I'd like to say thank you to Minnesota Twins organization for everything they've done for me since I was drafted in 05, it's been an honor." The Twins now have 39 players on the 40-man roster, but Ramirez will be added before the season starts. The 27-year-old outfielder from the Dominican Republic earned a spot as a bench player on the 25-man roster. Ramirez has played 35 games in the majors with Detroit and Atlanta, but not since 2011. Last year he split his time between High-A Fort Myers, Double-A New Britain and Triple-A Rochester. In 98 games with Rochester, Ramirez hit .276 with 15 home runs and 54 RBI.

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