Journeyman reliever Héctor Carrasco pitched for 12 seasons in the Major Leagues, which included two stints with the Minnesota Twins. He also played for the Reds, Angels, Royals, Red Sox, Nationals, and Orioles.

Carrasco first came to Minnesota through waivers just before the 1998 season. The Diamondbacks had selected him from Kansas City in the expansion draft that winter, but he waived right before Opening Day and the Twins picked him up. He went 4-2 with a 4.38 ERA and a save over 63 relief appearances in 1998. His 1.719 WHIP was the worst among any big league pitcher with at least 60 appearances that season. 1999 and 2000 weren’t that much better for Carrasco. His biggest highlight in a Twins uniform might be surrendering Cal Ripkin’s 3,000th hit early in the 2000 season.

Minnesota was able to trade Carrasco to Boston late in 2000. The return was a lottery ticket Single-A outfield prospect who had been a 12th round pick. Nobody really expects much from a trade like this. There are zero expectations for these moves to wind up producing a big league player. But this one did. The lottery ticket prospect was Metrodome fan favorite Lew Ford.

After pitching just eight games with the Red Sox, Carrasco returned to the Twins as a free agent that next offseason. He posted a 4.64 ERA over 56 appearances with the Twins in 2001. Over four seasons in Minnesota, Carrasco had a 4.53 ERA with four saves across 219 games.

He would keep pitching in the Majors through 2007. His career year came in 2005, when he had a 2.05 ERA over 64 games with the Nationals. Carrasco continued to pitch professionally until 2012, spending time in the Atlantic League and the Mexican League.