11:51am: The Twins have to pay Zumaya his full $850K salary because he was injured prior to the start of the season, reports Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter). GM Terry Ryan confirmed this to Twins reporters at camp.

7:41am: The Twins announced that they have officially released right-hander Joel Zumaya (Twitter link). Zumaya will miss the 2012 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow. The move creates 40-man roster space for the Twins.

The Twins signed Zumaya to a low-risk Major League deal that would have guaranteed him $850K for making Minnesota's Opening Day roster. The hard-throwing 27-year-old hasn't pitched in the Major Leagues since June of 2010, but has a career 3.05 ERA with a 9.0 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 in 209 2/3 innings.