After meeting with the club this morning, righthander Ryan Vogelsong has asked for, and has received, his release from the Twins.

The Twins had hoped that Vogelsong's experience would help a pitching staff with several young arms. But he posted a 7.27 ERA in five appearances. He was given a chance to make two starts over the last week, but gave up five earned runs over that period.

Despite being a hit with teammates, his production wasn't good enough to be the clubhouse savant.

"We talked with Ryan this morning," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "It was one of those hard conversations to have. After the discussion and different things we talked about, we gave him some time to think about it. He's asked for his release and we are going to grant that.

"Can't say enough about what he brought to the camp. Had multiple players come in here and say being around him and Belisle and some of these people have really made their camp."

Some with the club felt Vogelsong could best serve the team as a long reliever. After coming out of the bullpen three times this spring, Vogelsong preferred starting. Indications are that might have been where the sides did not share the same vision. Arm strength - Vogelsong was touching 89 mph on the gun here - was also a concern.

With Vogelsong gone, the Twins now have Tyler Duffey, Adalberto Mejia, Nick Tepesch, Justin Haley and Jose Berrios in camp who could land in the No. 5 starter's role. Berrios has been with Team Puerto Rico at the World Baseball Classic, which hasn't helped his cause. Mejia has pitched well but gave up back-to-back home runs on Monday. Duffey fired five shutout innings on Monday. Tepesch will start Thursday in Vogelsong's place and be followed by Haley, a Rule 5 pick.

"We felt that right now we had a few people who were in front of him, in terms of that rotation situation," Molitor said. "Out of fairness to him we gave him time to see what else is out there, other clubs, opportunities, those type of things."

The Twins also reassigned righthanders Jake Reed and Raul Fernandez to the minor league camp.