Twins Roster Moves: Outfielder Clete Thomas Clears Waivers, Headed To Triple-A

In an effort to try and uncover waiver wire gold at some point, the Minnesota Twins continued their roster reshuffling stage on Sunday as outfielder Clete Thomas cleared waivers and was designated for assignment at Triple-A Rochester.

Clete Thomas cleared waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Rochester. He will join the Red Wings tomorrow. #Twins

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) May 6, 2012

Thomas, who hit a two-run homer in his first game with the Twins, played just 12 games and batted .143 before getting the axe. Thomas previously spent the last five seasons fighting for time with the Detroit Tigers, and appeared to be a legitimate coup for Minnesota shortly after arriving in town with his solid bat and strong outfield arm.

But a lack of plate discipline ultimately doomed Thomas' chances for a full-time gig, as he struck out a whopping 13 times over his last five starts with the Twins alone, and quickly became expendable. The Twins originally swapped Thomas for recently acquired waiver pickup Erik Komatsu from St. Louis, and will hope that Komatsu can offer at least a comparable amount of short term hope as Thomas once did.

The 28-year-old Thomas is a career .246 hitter with nine homers and 52 RBI in just 419 big league at-bats. He will hope to regain his stroke at the plate in the minors, but it will take an impressive showing for the Twins to seriously consider him for summer call-up.

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Twins Roster Moves: Erik Komatsu Claimed Off Waivers, Designate Clete Thomas For Assignment

On Friday, the Minnesota Twins claimed Erik Komatsu off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals and designated Clete Thomas for assignment.