November 20, 2020

Official Minnesota Twins Press Release

Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn. – The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have added right-handed pitchers Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.) and Bailey Ober, and catcher Ben Rortvedt to their major league 40-man roster.

Balazovic, who spent part of the 2020 season at the Twins’ alternate training site in St. Paul, split the 2019 campaign between class-A Cedar Rapids and class-A Advanced Ft. Myers, combining to go 8-5 with a 2.69 ERA (93 2/3 IP, 28 ER), 25 walks, 129 strikeouts, an opponent batting average of .193 and a 0.98 WHIP in 19 games (18 starts). The Mississauga, Ont., native pitched for the World Team in the 2019 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Progressive Field. The 22-year-old entered the 2020 season ranked as the fifth-best prospect in the Twins system by Baseball America (95th in baseball) and fourth-best by MLB.com (86th in baseball). The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Balazovic was drafted by the Twins in the fifth round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of St. Martin Secondary School in Mississauga.

Ober, 25, pitched at three different levels of the Twins organization in 2019 (GCL Twins, class-A Advanced Ft. Myers and double-A Pensacola), going 8-0 with a 0.69 ERA (78 2/3 IP, 6 ER), nine walks, 100 strikeouts, a .194 opponent batting average and a 0.81 WHIP in 14 games (13 starts), leading all of minor league baseball in ERA and WHIP (min. 75 innings pitched). The 6-foot-9, 260-pound right-hander has gone 17-3 with a 2.38 ERA (181.2 IP, 48 ER), 21 walks, 223 strikeouts, a .223 opponent batting average and a 0.94 WHIP in 34 games (31 starts) over three minor league seasons. The Huntersville, N.C. native was drafted by the Twins in the 12th round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of the College of Charleston in S.C.

Rortvedt, who was a non-roster invitee to major league spring training in 2020, split the 2019 season between class-A Advanced Ft. Myers and double-A Pensacola, combining to hit .238 (66-for-277) with 16 doubles, seven home runs, 29 RBI, 35 walks and a .334 on-base percentage in 79 games, missing time with a left knee injury. The 23-year-old finished the 2019 season playing in nine games with Salt River in the Arizona Fall League. Following that season, the 5-foot-10, 205-pound backstop was named Best Defensive Catcher in the Twins system by Baseball America. The Madison, Wisc., native was drafted by the Twins in the second round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Verona High School.

The Twins now have 37 players on their major league roster: 19 pitchers, four catchers, six infielders and eight outfielders.