Twins DFA former Blue Jays reliever, clears waivers, elects free agency ahead of series in Toronto

According to Dan Hayes of the Athletic, Jose Urena has been designated for assignment, cleared waivers, and has elected for free agency.

Urena started three of his four appearances in a Twins uniform, and took a 2.13 ERA into Friday's action, though neither his 12.8% strikeout rate or his 10.3% walk rate were anything impressive.

It was almost exactly two months ago that Urena signed a minor league contract with Minnesota, continuing a nomadic season that has seen the veteran log big league innings for four different teams.

Urena has a 5.00 ERA over 36 combined innings with the Mets, Dodgers, Blue Jays, and Twins, with a 12.5% strikeout rate and 8.1BB%.

In all three of his previous stops, Urena was designated for assignment, outrighted off the 40-man roster, and he then elected free agency rather than accept that outright assignment to Triple-A.

With more than eight full years of MLB service time, Urena has more than enough experience to allow him to turn down outright assignments in favor of return trips to the open market.

It seems probable that he'll elect free agency again here in the likely event that he clears waivers, though Urena might prefer some stability after bouncing around the league in 2025, and his options are more limited given the lack of time remaining in the regular season.