Gant (groin) cleared outright waivers Monday and has elected free agency, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
Gant finished the season on the Twins' 10-day injured list due to a right groin strain, but he should be back to full health well in advance of spring training. The 29-year-old opened 2021 as a member of the St. Louis rotation and was sitting on a sub-2.00 ERA through early June, but poor underlying ratios hinted that a reckoning was coming. Over his 29 appearances (11 starts) between St. Louis and Minnesota spanning 59.1 innings, Gant went 1-8 with a 6.22 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 6.0 K-BB%. His decent track record prior to 2021 could be enough for Gant to earn a major-league deal this winter, but any team that signs him would likely envision him serving as a swingman or reliever rather than as a mainstay of the rotation.