Twins release reliever Cody Laweryson after DFA and Garrett Acton activation

The Minnesota Twins released right-handed reliever Cody Laweryson on Thursday, according to the MLB transaction tracker, closing a case that had lingered beyond the trade deadline. The move came shortly after the club designated Laweryson for assignment, a procedural step Minnesota took when it needed roster space to activate Garrett Acton from the 60-day injured list.

Laweryson had been in the organization’s injured-list pipeline for much of the summer. He had been on the minor league injured list since mid-July with an issue that has not been publicly detailed in the transaction reporting. While the Twins kept his status unsettled for several weeks, their need to add Acton to the active mix ultimately pushed the organization to clear space.

Minnesota’s decision reflected the practical reality of the roster timeline. Once a player remains designated or in limbo past a certain point, the club’s options narrow, especially when it is also trying to integrate an available pitcher back into the major league bullpen picture. In this case, the activation of Acton from the 60-day injured list triggered the roster squeeze that led to Laweryson’s release.

Laweryson’s major league work with the Twins has included 20 appearances across the past two seasons, based on the same transaction reporting. As a reliever, that usage suggests he had been a depth option capable of entering games on short notice, but the combination of time away and the roster math left him without a clear path back in Minnesota.

Garrett Acton’s return mattered because it was not simply a routine promotion. A 60-day injured list activation requires a corresponding opening on the 40-man roster, and it also affects the structure of late-inning roles and bullpen availability. Acton’s availability likely forced Minnesota to make a choice between keeping Laweryson within the organization long enough for a return path or using the spot for a pitcher already cleared to resume contributing at the major league level.

For Laweryson, the release ends his Twins contract and makes him eligible to sign elsewhere, either for another opportunity in the majors or to rebuild innings from another organization’s system. The specifics of his injury status were described only broadly, so any new club’s evaluation will likely hinge on medical updates that are not contained in the transaction write-up.

The Twins, meanwhile, are left with a bullpen mix that will now rely on other options for depth and matchups. The next question is how Minnesota structures its relief corps after Acton’s activation, particularly which internal pitchers will cover the immediate gap created by Laweryson’s exit.

As roster decisions continue to play out at the end of the season, moves like this often serve as indicates about which arms a team believes it can count on. With Acton activated and Laweryson released, the Twins have effectively shifted resources toward a more immediate bullpen plan, leaving Laweryson to find his next landing spot.