Michael Tonkin

[Brock Beauchamp]

Michael Tonkin was born in Glendale, CA and was drafted out of Palmdale High School by the Minnesota Twins in the 30th round of the 2008 MLB Draft.

He entered the Twins' farm system where it quickly became apparent that Tonkin's arm was better suited for the bullpen than the rotation. After making 22 starts in the low minors from 2008-2010, Tonkin moved primarily to the bullpen in 2011 and started to show potential. He made his debut with the Twins on July 11, 2013 against the Tampa Bay Rays where he pitched 1.1 innings of scoreless ball.

From 2013-2017, Tonkin became a regular in the Twins' bullpen, pitching 146.1 innings with a 4.43 ERA. He was released by the Twins following the 2017 season, after which he went to Japan to play in the NPB for the Nippon Ham Fighters for one season. He returned to Major League Baseball in 2019, joining the Milwaukee Brewers' Triple-A affiliate.

From there, Tonkin began bouncing around baseball, playing in the Diamonbacks organization, the Atlantic League, the Caribbean Series, the Mexican League, and the Dominican Winter League. In 2022, he joined the Atlanta Braves' Triple-A affiliate and made it back to the majors with the Braves in 2023. He had a somewhat productive season with the Braves that year, posting a 4.28 ERA in 80 innings pitched.

He then joined the Mets organization and pitched in three games for them in 2024 before being placed on waivers. The Twins offered the Mets some money to jump the waiver line and traded for Tonkin, returning him full circle to the team that drafted him way back in 2008.

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