The Twins have signed lefthanded pitchers Tim Collins and Justin Nicolino, both former major leaguers, to minor league contracts and announced pitcher Chase De Jong has cleared waivers.
De Jong will attend the team's training camp, which starts next week in Fort Myers, Fla., as a nonroster invitee.
Collins, 29, pitched for the Washington Nationals and Class AAA Syracuse last season. He relieved in 38 games for Nationals, had a 4.37 ERA and struck out 21 in 22⅔ innings. He missed 2015 and 2016 after Tommy John surgery.
Collins pitched in 228 games for the Royals from 2011-14. He was 12-17 with a 3.54 ERA and struck out 220 batters in 211 innings.
Nicolino, 27, was 6-6 with a 4.69 ERA at Class AAA Louisville last season after being claimed off waivers from Florida.
He was 10-13 in three seasons with Miami in 50 games (33 starts) with a 4.65 ERA.
De Jong, a 25-year-old righthander who posted a 3.57 ERA in four starts for the Twins last season, was designated for assignment on Jan. 30. That move was made in order to add Martin Perez to the 40-man roster.
De Jong was acquired in a trade-deadline deal that sent reliever Zach Duke to Seattle in July. He made a promising Minnesota debut, holding the Royals to one hit over four shutout innings on Sept. 9, and he finished the season with 13 strikeouts in 17⅔ innings for the Twins.
