Twins Targeting Right-Handed Relievers, Have Room To Further Add To Payroll

The Twins have made a pair of trades in the past 48 hours, adding lefty reliever A.J. Minter and right-handed starter Dean Kremer in deals with the Mets and Orioles. In doing so, they took on the remainder of both players’ salaries — about $5.1MM in total. Minnesota’s focus now shifts to adding a right-handed reliever to work the late innings, per reports from ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez and Ken Rosenthal and Dan Hayes of The Athletic. Both indicate that the Twins have room to further add to the payroll. Neither of those developments should register as a surprise. The Twins traded five relievers from a strong bullpen at the 2025 deadline and made little effort to restock the relief corps over the winter. Their bullpen has been one of the worst in the league for much of the season. Meanwhile, they continued a multiyear reduction in payroll. Minnesota established a new franchise record with a payroll approaching $154MM back in 2023 but cut that sum by roughly $50MM over the next few offseasons. They entered the 2026 campaign just north of $100MM. The Twins did see a notable shift in the organizational structure over the winter. After the Pohlad family, who have owned the club for more than 40 years, explored a sale but didn’t find a buyer, they instead pivoted to bring in three new minority stakeholders back in December. That new influx paid down a substantial portion of the reported $400MM+ in debt the club had accrued, which had understandably thrown a wrench into the sale efforts. The ownership shuffle also saw former control person Joe Pohlad ousted by his older brother Tom, who has since pledged to be more aggressive in adding to the club as he seeks to win back the fan base. Longtime president of baseball operations Derek Falvey subsequently stepped down and left the organization, turning the front office keys over to general manager Jeremy Zoll. Given how dramatically the payroll has been reduced since that 2023 peak, it’s only natural that there’s room to add. That flexibility does give the Twins an advantage over some clubs like the Rangers and Astros, both of whom are known to be working to add without much financial wiggle room. Hayes and Rosenthal write that despite having made one deal with the Mets already, a second shouldn’t be ruled out. They list Luke Weaver as one potential target for Minnesota, also adding names like Huascar Brazoban (Mets), Jeff Hoffman (Blue Jays), Riley O’Brien (Cardinals), Jeremiah Estrada (Padres) and old friend Emilio Pagan (Reds) as possible considerations. It’s not clear if Zoll and his staff have had extensive conversations on any of those names to this point, but the Twins have surely checked in on a broad range of targets. Weaver would be the prize of the bunch. He’s been dominant in the first season of a two-year, $22MM contract, working to a 1.88 ERA with plus strikeout and walk rates. Hoffman — who was in spring training with the 2023 Twins prior to his breakout with the Phillies — misses the most bats but has a pedestrian 4.02 ERA thanks to an enormous .391 average on balls in play. Like Weaver, he’s signed through 2027 on a deal paying him $11MM annually (in his case, a three-year pact signed in the 2024-25 offseason). Each of O’Brien, Estrada and Brazoban are controllable via arbitration through 2029 (Estrada, Brazoban) or 2030 (O’Brien). Estrada has been a steady, excellent presence at the back of San Diego’s bullpen dating back to 2024. He’s had IL stints this season due to tendinitis in his elbow and inflammation in his knee but is healthy now. O’Brien and Brazoban are late bloomers who’ve found their way into leverage roles. The 31-year-old O’Brien has been closing games for the Cards this season, piling up 26 saves with a 3.50 ERA in 43 2/3 innings. The 36-year-old Brazoban has a 2.61 ERA in 51 2/3 frames, though he’s a bit too prone to walks (10.8%) and will be 37 in October. Pagan is in the first season of a two-year, $20MM contract that allows him to opt out at season’s end. He missed nearly two months with a hamstring strain and currently has a 4.63 ERA in 23 1/3 innings. He’s one of the most homer-prone relievers in the sport, so the fit with Cincinnati (one of the game’s most homer-friendly parks) always looked a little dicey. Pagan struggled with the Reds in 2024, was great in 2025, and has struggled again since re-signing this past winter. The long ball has been his downfall, as he’s still sporting strong strikeout and walk rates. In three seasons as a Red, he has a 4.60 ERA and 1.87 HR/9 at home but a 2.50 ERA and 0.78 HR/9 on the road.