RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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SEATTLE — Days after general manager Jeremy Zoll declared the Twins would be buyers at the trade deadline and hours after Kody Clemens’ walk-off grand slam sent the Twins to one of the more memorable wins in recent memory, the Twins’ front office swung a trade to improve the bullpen.
The Twins are acquiring reliever A.J. Minter from the New York Mets, one of the top bullpen arms expected to be moved before Major League Baseball’s 5 p.m. CDT trade deadline on Monday, and sending out a prospect package of Billy Amick and Bruin Agbayani, per reports.
Minter, whose start to the season was delayed after undergoing lat surgery last year, has a 2.35 ERA in 23 games this year for the Mets. He’ll join Yoendrys Gomez and Andrew Morris in the Twins’ late-inning mix, and should take over the role previously held by Anthony Banda, who himself recently had lat surgery, as the top lefty in the Twins’ bullpen.
A 10-year veteran, the 32-year-old Minter has a 3.18 ERA across 420 career games. He brings with him a plethora of postseason experience, having won a World Series ring with the 2021 Atlanta Braves.
The southpaw had signed a two-year, $22 million deal with the Mets ahead of the 2025 season and will be a free agent following the end of this season.
He becomes the second trade addition the Twins have made to their bullpen this month. Previously, they swapped minor league catcher Ryan Sprock for right-hander Tommy Nance, who has made six appearances since the trade with Toronto, most coming in the sixth or seventh inning.
Upgrading the bullpen, which has been better of late but has been among the worst in the majors this season, was the Twins’ clearest priority and something that Zoll mentioned explicitly on Tuesday.
In acquiring Minter, the Twins parted with Amick, their No. 21 prospect, and Agbayani, their No. 29 prospect, per MLB Pipeline.
Amick, an infielder, was a second-round pick in 2024. The 23-year-old is currently at Double-A Wichita, where he has slashed .217/.338/.482 with 23 home runs and 72 RBIs in 86 games this season.
Agbayani, 19, has played in just 10 games this season for Class-A Fort Myers as he has been slowed by thumb and shoulder issues. The infielder is the son of Benny Agbayani, who played for the Mets from 1998-2001.
The Twins have three more games before the deadline on Monday and will kick off a big series in Seattle against the Mariners, another team that is fighting for a postseason berth, on Friday night. The Twins are currently 55-55 on the season and are three games behind the Chicago White Sox in the division and one game behind the Cleveland Guardians for the third wild card berth.
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