Twins Trade for Eric Wagaman, Designate Ryan Fitzgerald for Assignment

[TNtwins85]

1 hour ago, Parfigliano said:

So they are not going big and are going home.

Oh they’re going home. First pulling the wool over the common fans eyes and then pulling the rug out come end of July and selling the wool and the rug for top dollar. Then going home. 

[TNtwins85]

1 minute ago, GNess said:

I am squinting hard to see the logic behind this move which creates a 1B "pool" of Bell, Wagaman and Clemens? Not very exciting. 

The Twins continue to fiddle around the margins which can only help the team in a marginal way ultimately. 

Going for 1B depth!

[D.C Twins]

[D.C Twins]

1 hour ago, TNtwins85 said:

Going for 1B depth!

   Live Action Shot of '1B depth'

[SteveLV]

4 pages of comments on picking up this guy?  We must be all off work and bored out of our minds......

[DocBauer]

II HOPE Wagaman improves 10-15% in 2026, fills a solid role, and makes me eat all of my next words. (Not crossing my fingers).

I don't like this move for MANY reasons! I'm stupified by it, and downright p*ssed off by it! Where do I even begin?

1] A mediocre hitter...so far in his career...even one who hits LHP decently...not a great SSS history so far...who never even mashed in MILB, as a short side platoon at 1B does what exactly? Other than 25% of games played against LHP, how does he really add to the construction of the 13 man roster? It allows Bell to DH more and allows another mediocre/bench player in Clemens to play MORE on a daily basis?

2] Not only did Larnach need to be moved before hand, but he's absolutely dead weight now on the roster more than ever.

3] I mentioned veteran utility player, switch hitting with almost neutral career splits, Ramon Urias in a recent thread from Seth about roster construction. While he's more POP than POWER, he DOES hit dingers. He's a better OB% batter than Wagaman in his brief career, plays a decent 1B, and can also cover 2B and 3B. His arbitration number is around $4.5M, which makes him almost an exact match to replace Larnach, and provide MUCH BETTER roster depth and versatility. But we add a platoon RH 1B/DH instead?

4] Not only does Wagaman limit the bench BIG TIME vs someone like Urias, but the ENTIRE IDEA of playing Keaschall in the OF is COMPLETELY misguided! Why? So Clemens can play 2B? He's at best a LH power bat off the bench who MIGHT play well with Wagaman at 1B. But now you want to play Clemens more at 2B? 

Keaschall has the athleticism to be a solid 2B, if not better. His arm SHOULD FINALLY be healthy for throws he has to make. Does he need to smooth out his mechanics at 2B? You bet! But how does he do that WITHOUT actually playing 2B? 

Furthermore, what about Martin and Roden in LF? We've just decided not to give them opportunity? Or does Roden move to RF? Then what do you do with Wallner when DH is suddenly filled almost daily by Bell? And TWO of your TOP 1-4 prospects are AAA LH hitting OF in Rodriguez and Jenkins. So even forgetting giving Roden an actual chance to perform and contribute, those TOP TWO prospect are ready to debut anywhere from Opening Day to June or July 1st. So then where does your TOP young player Keaschall fit if you start playing him in the OF? And let's not forget Gonzalez is ALSO a TOP prospect OF from the RH side of things.

Keaschall playing the OF, as ANYTHING but an occasional option to set a RH dominate lineup against LHP is absolutely ridiculous in roster construction. Not only should he be playing 2B DAILY for 2026 to just let him develop there...his offense is just that more important as a 2B...but AFTER 2026, if you aren't satisfied, he could still be a hell of an offensive player with a move to 1B.

Dare I say playing him a lot in the OF in 2026 is not only misguided, but downright lunacy! 1B with some OF come 2027 if you really think that's the right move. (Small chuckle). But WHY IN THE WORLD would you give such a long leash for Julien but NOT Keaschall?

5] Even WITH the Wagaman trade factored in, why on earth do you dump Fitzgerald ahead of Outman, or Julien, or Gasper, or Pereda? IDK that he's almost 32yo and is a journeyman. The INF depth is non existent until K-Pepper is ready. Fitzgerald has been around as long as he has been because he's a solid defender who doesn't embarrass himself at the plate. Despite reported defense and some speed, Kreidler barely hit at the MILB level, and has hit at the ML level at the level of a PITCHER pre DH days. I'd take a small step down defensively for a guy who could at least hit in the .200 range with some pop and speed vs a .150 fill in.

6] I get moving Bragg. For those that don't follow the Twins MILB system closely, he was a late round pick who was either injured when drafted, or injured just after being drafted, I'm not sure. But he missed time. He had a BAD AFL season post 2024. But he rebounded with a really great 2025 between A+ and AA. He put up some really solid numbers and good K rates, and was probably really close to either starting 2026 at St Paul, or maybe getting some AA time before a AAA promotion. He's not just a "throw away" LH pen arm.

I'm not upset about trading a possibly interesting arm in Bragg. I'm upset about a misguided roster construction that brought in a 28yo platoon 1B that really restricts the 13 man player roster for 2026. 

And I'm p*ssed because even as a fan who likes to play the "if I was the GM" game, I can see a very different example of a more versatile player being added for a BETTER roster fit that a 25% useful player. And it makes me frustrated that I can see a better fit over those in charge.

Again, I'll HOPE Wagaman turns a corner and is even better than he was in 2025, or closer to his reported late season production.

But TODAY, I find this addition to be poor. Maybe even comical considering options I think a semi-intelligent fan like myself might have done better.

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, Hashim said:

He was really good in the last two months of the season. Hit for average and extra base hits. I think the power is there. 

This explains his team DFAing him.  😀

As for the platooning possibilities, the nature of the game limits the effectiveness of that strategy.  Bring in your right hand bat against the other team's mediocre middle innings LHP, and now you're stuck with him for the rest of the game against a parade of righties.  Saw more than enough of that with Margot.

[ashbury]

1 hour ago, Hashim said:

 

Site user-interface got me again.

[DJL44]

49 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Saw more than enough of that with Margot.

Manny Margot had a much more impressive career than Wagaman has had to date and was coming off a more productive previous season when the Twins acquired him.

[palmspringstwinsfan]

I want to salute all the loyal, diehard Twins fans who wrote in about this extremely low wattage move. It’s obvious they care more about the team than Falvey and Pohlad do. I wonder sometimes if Falvey makes these moves just to pull the fans’ chains. 

[Dave Borton]

Quote

He's not much of an athlete...

I know what you are trying to say but find it an odd way to discuss defensive limitations for a person who has ascended to MLB status.

[Danchat]

2 hours ago, DocBauer said:

Even WITH the Wagaman trade factored in, why on earth do you dump Fitzgerald ahead of Outman, or Julien, or Gasper, or Pereda? IDK that he's almost 32yo and is a journeyman. The INF depth is non existent until K-Pepper is ready. Fitzgerald has been around as long as he has been because he's a solid defender who doesn't embarrass himself at the plate.

They probably want him in AAA and don't envision him as anything more than emergency depth. I guess they see Kreidler as marginally better. Fitzgerald's September in the majors probably didn't change how they see him.

2 hours ago, DocBauer said:

Furthermore, what about Martin and Roden in LF? We've just decided not to give them opportunity?

Would it be that surprising for this team to fill the major league lineups with placeholders over prospects? I think Martin will get plenty of chances, Roden less likely even though he has nothing more to establish in the minors. I still bet that Larnach gets moved but it's even more puzzling if he stays.

[twinsfansd]

Check out his splits and you will get what they are seeing. He hits LHP very well and with power.

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

A Move i dont quite understand. Hoping Fitzgerald can stick around. I guess I'll wait and see how it works out. 

[twinstalker]

He looks like Jose Miranda did.  It's a weird profile.  Low BB rate, low-ish K rate, meh slash.

Teams don't drop guys who are good.  Not often enough, anyway, where it can be a hope.

 

[JADBP]

9 hours ago, shimrod said:

A month ago I expected a $70M payroll or less this year. Now I think you're right. Pretend to contend for half a season, trade everyone making more than the minimum, and enter the lockout at $60M MLB payroll and a ton of prospects.  

Right...but remember the goal of the Pohlads is to make money.  

This trade doesn't confuse me as much as spending $7 million on Bell.  He locks up 10% of the payroll to do what?  Both field and hit poorly?  Don't we have enough of these unplayable players already (Gasper, Larnach, Julien, etc)?  

I keep saying this:  Joe painted this team into a horrific corner.  They have only two choices:

1.  The can either go big--get the payroll up and field a contending team.  

2.  Or, the alternative--go full on rebuild.  Dump all the salaries, trade Buxton, etc, and bring up all the kids.  

The problem is the make money goal don't allow either of these paths.  The Twins have been bleeding losses and the banks are pissy, so they can't run out and spend big bucks to fill the stadium and excite the fan base. 

Nor can they go full on rebuild because the fans will abandon the team completely, and for years to come--which will run up huge losses.   

So what can they do?  Just exactly what Falvey is indelicately trying to do...thread the needle with just enough signings/trades to build some hope.   BUT HOW will this make money for the Pohlad family ? 

It won't because its not enough to contend.  Its that simple.   

Sadly, every other team in the Central Div has already figured this out.  I am sure they are laughing at Falvey's flailing away with these nonsense acquisitions!  THEY are spending money wisely to make their teams better.  We are just signing more 1/2 tool players.  

[mikelink45]

Another amazing addition.  Poor defense - check, a position already filled - check, a DFA candidate - check, remove from the 40 man a player who can field an important position - check.  Wow this fits our profile.

[TL]

13 hours ago, shimrod said:

A month ago I expected a $70M payroll or less this year. Now I think you're right. Pretend to contend for half a season, trade everyone making more than the minimum, and enter the lockout at $60M MLB payroll and a ton of prospects.  

If we are not contending at the break then I’m all for trading everyone who is not part of the post-lockout future. Feels to me like the front office is trying to give (within budget constraints) this core of players in their mid to late 20s one more chance to prove they can contend.

If they can, then we are loaded with prospects reinforcements, some of whom will actually make it, to keep it going into the future.

If it doesn’t work then we are on to the next core of Jenkins, Culpepper, Keaschall, E-Rod, Tait and the bevy of young starters. Plus whatever other prospects we pick up after the fire sale and our #3 pick in this draft.

That actually seems like a plan to me and I’m all for it. 

[Fatbat]

Still filling out our roster with AAAA types. Does this move in any way make the roster better? 

[Whitey333]

Yawn, yawn, yawn.  Another exciting Twins move.  Im sure there is more like these to come.  Just 6 morr weeks to spring training.  Can't wait to see out Twins 26 man roster of has been, misfits, hopefuls, look like in 2026.  Just another dumpster diving move.  I just don't see the Wagaman move as a good one.

[Patzky]

10 hours ago, ashbury said:

Site user-interface got me again.

Actually it's kind of the perfect comment for how many fans feel about Wagaman. 

 

It's too early to notice that Bader and Santana signings were also roundly criticized here too. 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

12 hours ago, IndyTwinsFan said:

Not that I disagree with your premise, but I sure hope you don't trust Falvey to be able to do that!  I certaintly don't. 

Saving money on the roster rules the roost here, not baseball ability. 

I was just trying to understand the mechanics of Nick’s proposal. This team is riddled with chaff. I don’t know what to think of Falvey. His organization has done a good job of identifying, acquiring, and developing pitchers. Hitters, not so much. This team needs an entire bullpen and 6 position players. I think Falvey can rebuild the bullpen over the next couple years. Less so the hitters.

this is a multi-year process no matter what euphemism they use to call it.

[Old Crow]

17 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Truth. 

How does he fit on the roster? He's a bad defender. He didn't hit well last year. I really don't understand what's going on here at all. 

Don't forget not much of an athelete.

[Brandon27]

Twins still could trade him 

[TNtwins85]

14 hours ago, Doc Lenz said:

Keaschall can and will get better at second base. We have plenty of outfielders.

Agreed. The guy could barely throw coming off of TJ which he hadn’t even finished his throwing program when he broke his arm. Judging from his quick call up after not really hitting good at AAA the Twins were desperate to save the season when he was called up and they thought his dynamic play could boost the team. He didn’t get the call cause he forced his way at all. The scouting on him simply thought that he wouldn’t flop in MLB. In reality if the team was going good he doesn’t get called up until September of last year. He got thrown to the wolves and succeeded. With a fully healed arm and legit time at 2B this spring I believe he’ll be fine there. I do expect him to struggle a bit though. I don’t expect him to be a 4.5WAR player which is what you could extrapolate his season to over a full year. But a 2.5-3WAR player and plays a serviceable 2B would be great. 

[TNtwins85]

1 hour ago, TL said:

If we are not contending at the break then I’m all for trading everyone who is not part of the post-lockout future. Feels to me like the front office is trying to give (within budget constraints) this core of players in their mid to late 20s one more chance to prove they can contend.

If they can, then we are loaded with prospects reinforcements, some of whom will actually make it, to keep it going into the future.

If it doesn’t work then we are on to the next core of Jenkins, Culpepper, Keaschall, E-Rod, Tait and the bevy of young starters. Plus whatever other prospects we pick up after the fire sale and our #3 pick in this draft.

That actually seems like a plan to me and I’m all for it. 

That’s what I see as well. It’s becoming plain as day now. To what length do they give this current core a runway? As in do they make another mid range move via trade or FA or do they run this group as is and supplement the back end of the depth? If the latter is the case they’re expecting Buxton to have another monster year. Jeffers to go to another level playing for a big contract. Lewis to be closer to an MVP we’ve seen glimpses of instead of a 1-1 flop. Lee to be a solid 2-2.5WARstarting SS. Wallner to provide pop and not be an automatic K. Lopez, Ryan, Ober to be themselves and SWR to simply be average but still improving. As far as the bullpen… I guess out of the prospects and whoever doesn’t make the rotation you find a couple inconsistent yet electric shutdown guys in Festa/Matthews/Bradley, Adams and Ohl take a step forward and you find a Brock Stewart or 2 with your NRI guys this spring. I see a glimpse of “compete”, but it’s not a slam dunk and a lot of “If’s”.

[JD-TWINS]

18 hours ago, Permanent Twins Fan said:

It is always nice to get some major league talent for a low level prospect. I don't like DFAing Fitzgerald however. He was decent in his time with the Twins even with limited upside. The Twins really don't have anybody else to back up Lee at short unless they plan on bringing up Culpepper early which I would support. I'm not entirely sure what to think of Wagaman, but it sounds like the Twins now have three major league first basemen instead of just one in Kody Clemens. This likely means that Bell will see a bunch of DH time which even furthers the need to trade Trevor Larnach. I'm intrigued to see how new manager Derek Shelton manages this.

Kriedler and Fitzgerald were redundant. Am assuming that Kriedler is still on the 40-Man.

To me, this is a minor depth move in case of injury with Bell/Clemens. He may not still be on the roster by the time April rolls around.

[JD-TWINS]

13 minutes ago, TNtwins85 said:

That’s what I see as well. It’s becoming plain as day now. To what length do they give this current core a runway? As in do they make another mid range move via trade or FA or do they run this group as is and supplement the back end of the depth? If the latter is the case they’re expecting Buxton to have another monster year. Jeffers to go to another level playing for a big contract. Lewis to be closer to an MVP we’ve seen glimpses of instead of a 1-1 flop. Lee to be a solid 2-2.5WARstarting SS. Wallner to provide pop and not be an automatic K. Lopez, Ryan, Ober to be themselves and SWR to simply be average but still improving. As far as the bullpen… I guess out of the prospects and whoever doesn’t make the rotation you find a couple inconsistent yet electric shutdown guys in Festa/Matthews/Bradley, Adams and Ohl take a step forward and you find a Brock Stewart or 2 with your NRI guys this spring. I see a glimpse of “compete”, but it’s not a slam dunk and a lot of “If’s”.

Not a “slam dunk” & a lot of “ifs” ……. describes Twins and about 24 other clubs.

If Lee is a 1.25 WAR guy I’d be ecstatic! Lewis just performing to expectations (not some lofty MVP thoughts) gets the Team to competitive. Wallner needs to hit .230 and the rest of his stats will fall in line.

A bat of some sort via FA along with a couple support relievers from FA market would reduce the “ifs” needed……fingers crossed.

[karcherd]

It is past time to realize Falvey is just not that good at his job.  Every GM or POBO has budget limitations except 4 or 5.  It is what you do with the resources given and he has not done a good job with this.  He gave $11m to Gallo when he had no other offers near that amount and he had two good weeks for that amount.  

It seems every move they make, they see something in the player they will unlock.  This would be fine if you weren't counting on these players to be contributors on your major league roster.  Trying this periodically is one thing but they are bringing in 4 to 6 players every year with the same mantra with limited success and then they do not cut bait when the performance isn't there.  If your development of players is so good, develop the prospects that you have invested in and make them into major league contributors, if not move on from them.  

He has no plan, find players who can be contributors on a regular basis and can be competent at one position and try to field a competitive team.  If this move means Keaschall sees more time in the OF, that is just sheer stupidity and a dereliction of duty.  Having one maybe two players with versatility helps a team but not every player can move around or is comfortable with doing that.

This is where I blame the Pholads, get someone competent to run the baseball side of the operation that can at least show us they have a plan.  And at a minimum give us some reason to watch this team.  Watching all these AAAA types or past their prime vets is just getting old.

[rv78]

Unless major moves are made before spring this team is just a mess. Sorry, there's just no other way to look at it. The biggest head-scratcher to me is the desire to move Keaschall to the outfield for some of his playing time. It's not like we have another solid defender guy that can hit consistantly to play 2B and with outfielders, Buxton, Martin, Wallner, Larnach, Outman, Roden, already positioned there and add in 3 legit prospects, Jenkins, Rodriguez, Gonzalez, that should get called up sometime in 2026 there should be ZERO need for Keaschall in the outfield. Now Falvey is creating a glut of incapable players for 1B that don't move the needle 1 degree. He is infatuated with players that had 1 or 2 months of stellar performance and completely ignores the fact that they totally blew chunks of puke the rest of their career. I also don't buy into the Pohlad wishes of saving money when you throw $7M at a player like Josh Bell who is a DH on his best days and shouldn't play any fielding position period. Moves like this prove that Joe has decided to go home in his "go big or go home" plan. This Falvey run Twins team has become so laughable that they are now like another A's or Pirates team. Compare 2019 to 2024, 2025, 2026, pick one of the latter 3 and see how Falvey has run this team into the ground.