Twins Trade for Eric Wagaman, Designate Ryan Fitzgerald for Assignment

[DJL44]

8 hours ago, twinfan said:

How many first basemen does it take to change a lightbulb? I don't see this guy helping us at all. He'll only take playing time away from someone we may need later on. Yuck!

This. The Twins now have three roster spots tied up in first base - Clemens, Wagaman and Bell. The projected performance range collectively is somewhere between 0 WAR and 2 WAR.

[Linus]

2 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

Did the Twins really sign Arcia to a minor league deal? I looked for an article or post about that and can't find anything. If they did, I think it's a good move. We need someone to backup Lee at SS and Arcia would be fine. 

Apparently. There is a thread titled no such thing as a bad minor league deal in the Twins talk forum. 

[Chembry]

3 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

Did the Twins really sign Arcia to a minor league deal? I looked for an article or post about that and can't find anything. If they did, I think it's a good move. We need someone to backup Lee at SS and Arcia would be fine. 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/01/twins-sign-orlando-arcia-to-minor-league-deal.html

[Fred]

On 1/2/2026 at 5:26 PM, Blyleven2011 said:

Maybe they see something in him and hope he becomes the next  Rooker ...

Do you mean "blossoming" after they send him on his way? Good point. They do seem to be good at that. 😀

[bean5302]

On 1/2/2026 at 4:39 PM, DJL44 said:

They have $12M tied up in Josh Bell and Trevor Larnach.

Perfect example of my biggest complaints about Falvey. Doesn't understand how to operate within a budget. Give him a budget and he'll use it, but he'll squander it with his desperate need to sign every name he possibly can. I can't imagine what the inside of his house looks like. Probably like a Big Lots exploded in there.

[bean5302]

I see some comments about Fangraphs and interacting with it. If you're devious enough, you can make stats or sites like Fangraphs say whatever you want them to say.

For 32 players with a "primary position" of 1B with at least 400 PA, Eric Wagaman put up the 2nd worst wRC+

For the splits argument, please take a look at the plate appearances last year. Players get a lot more plate appearances vs right handed pitching than left handed pitching. 

Then you look at 1B splits in general.

There were 28 primary 1B with 120+ plate appearances (SSS) vs left handed pitching last year. Wagaman's .783 OPS ranked 59th percentile for RHH, and 64th percentile for LHH (higher percentile is better). Basically, Wagaman was "above average" against left handed pitchers, but hardly elite. When you consider he's only going to see 25% of his plate appearances vs. lefties and he can't hit righties in a position where your performance at the plate is the most important thing in your profile, he's not a significant asset on paper.

On top of that, Baldelli v2.0 is our manager so we can expect the same kind of substitution nonsense we saw last year where opposing managers would feint a move, Baldelli would overreact and cripple the line up for the rest of the game using an ill-advised substitution trying to play the stupid platoon game.

Wagaman was terrible against 75% of the pitchers he played against.
Wagaman was "above average" but certainly not great against the 25% of the pitchers who were lefties.

[stringer bell]

46 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

I see some comments about Fangraphs and interacting with it. If you're devious enough, you can make stats or sites like Fangraphs say whatever you want them to say.

For 32 players with a "primary position" of 1B with at least 400 PA, Eric Wagaman put up the 2nd worst wRC+

For the splits argument, please take a look at the plate appearances last year. Players get a lot more plate appearances vs right handed pitching than left handed pitching. 

On top of that, Baldelli v2.0 is our manager so we can expect the same kind of substitution nonsense we saw last year where opposing managers would feint a move, Baldelli would overreact and cripple the line up for the rest of the game using an ill-advised substitution trying to play the stupid platoon game.

Baldelli did far less early pinch hitting in 2025, mostly due to roster inadequacy..

Platooning is used because it works, when done properly. Giving mediocre to decent left handed hitters the day off when a left hander starts makes good sense. Pinch hitting for every left hand hitter in the lineup when a left handed middle reliever comes into the game doesn't. 

Developing left handed hitter that are still above average against left handed pitching hasn't happened for this team since Mauer and Morneau. My hope is that at least one of Jenkins, Rodriguez or Roden can become such a hitter. As for the Wallners and Larnachs of the world, they should get their chances against the previously mentioned lefty middle relievers and if they succeed there, maybe they can have good at-bats against premium lefty relievers. 

Would Wagaman have a better chance than Bell or Clemens against Skubal, Ragans and Bubic? I think so. Is being a better hitter against lefties worth the roster spot, I'm not so sure. The other thing that points to adding a guy like Wagaman is the Twins lack of first base alternatives in the high minors.

 

[bean5302]

25 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

...Platooning is used because it works, when done properly...

 

In a vacuum, and when done properly. Baldelli didn't do it properly.

There is no legitimate use of a 26 man roster spot for a part time LHP-only platoon specialist DH on a well run team.

[Riverbrian]

20 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Baldelli did far less early pinch hitting in 2025, mostly due to roster inadequacy..

Platooning is used because it works, when done properly. Giving mediocre to decent left handed hitters the day off when a left hander starts makes good sense. Pinch hitting for every left hand hitter in the lineup when a left handed middle reliever comes into the game doesn't. 

Developing left handed hitter that are still above average against left handed pitching hasn't happened for this team since Mauer and Morneau. My hope is that at least one of Jenkins, Rodriguez or Roden can become such a hitter. As for the Wallners and Larnachs of the world, they should get their chances against the previously mentioned lefty middle relievers and if they succeed there, maybe they can have good at-bats against premium lefty relievers. 

Would Wagaman have a better chance than Bell or Clemens against Skubal, Ragans and Bubic? I think so. Is being a better hitter against lefties worth the roster spot, I'm not so sure. The other thing that points to adding a guy like Wagaman is the Twins lack of first base alternatives in the high minors.

 

The Twins are so thin at 1B that picking up Wagaman makes sense but... the question is... what really happens next. 

We can't assume health for anyone coming out of spring training... but what happens next if all the 1B options are healthy coming out of spring training. 

Possibility #1 - Josh Bell is our DH. Clemens (or Julien) platoon with Wagaman. Consequences of this alignment. The Twins will have one 26 man spot for either Clemens of Julien and neither of them have options. One of them was probably destined for this fate once Josh Bell was signed so the Wagaman signing doesn't change that pending decision.... Fitzgerald took care of that. Julien could be a trade consideration for a team like Colorado. 

However, this would put 2 1B's and another who will play 1B on the roster eating up a lot of space. I assume the Twins will break camp with Arcia or Kriedler. This leave space for 4 OF's on the roster and there are already 6 under immediate consideration with 4 other's knocking on the door (Roden, Erod, GG and Jenkins). This will force a trade of an OF. I assume with Bell handling DH... it would mean Larnach the most obvious candidate to be moved for a bullpen piece. They haven't really addressed the bullpen in free agency yet so I assume that a bullpen acquisition via trade is bound to happen. 

Possibility #2 - If everyone is healthy. Wagaman simply starts in AAA as depth. Needed depth. 

The Twins will still have to choose between Clemens and Julien for a multiple position role. Bell is our 1B and Larnach is our DH. 

Possibility #3 - The what happens next question will be solved via an injury removing the decision. 

I'll go with #3

 

[bunsen82]

On 1/3/2026 at 12:42 PM, ashbury said:

Even his August was a Tale of Two Halves.  First half of August his OPS was .639.  In the second half his OPS zoomed to 1.051 on the strength of a .391 BABIP and an uncharacteristic 3 home runs in 40 plate appearances.  He reverted to 0 HR in all of September. Two weeks of success is pretty short in baseball terms, and neither of these foundations (high BABIP, HR) would seem sustainable based on his track record, so I find it hard to count on the guy for anything much across a full season, which Miami did give him.

If the Twins have spotted something correctable in his fundamentals that the Yankees, Angels and Marlins all missed, and he turns in a productive 2026 at first base, I'll give them all the credit.

His numbers improved - even with no home runs in Sept he put the ball in play a lot and got on base.   

So what are we left with - what are the Twins trying to do with players like Gonzalez, Mendez, Jimenez in the minors and now Jackson, Bell, Clemens and Wagaman at the MLB level.  They are focusing on players who have hit the ball hard including an increase in swing velocity,  have decent hit tool - but hit too many grounders.  They are looking for players that are having increasing bat speed, and they are not afraid to buy into small sample sizes if a change in the fundamentals is causing the change in production.  

Now the Twins had some positive results with Clemens at the MLB level last year  Clemens increased his homeruns to 19, Gonzalez increased to 15, Mendez just increased a bit of everything with his OPS jumping to .900, and Jimenez drastically increased his power production (OPS of .983).  So I do think the Twins think they do have something to help unlock Bell, Wagaman and Jackson.   The question is will it work.  If 1 becomes an above average player it will be worth it.  If 2 do it, it will be a resounding success.   Remember how many chances it took for Rooker to figure it out.  Wagaman 1st and 2nd half were much different in my opinion.  However he was a player that was effectively cut for his 1st half production.  

Wagaman has the potential to be a 1st base option which we haven't really had.   If he produces he will be a nice option for the short term.   

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, bunsen82 said:

Remember how many chances it took for Rooker to figure it out. 

I do.  It's a tremendous burden on a team's roster to cycle through all the potential Rookers to find the one that clicks.  Very much a bottom-feeder strategy.

And look who it finally paid off for - when he emerged as a offensive weapon, it was for a squad that went 50-112 that season.

Just enough Rookers emerge in the course of a decade to support the dream that "there must be a pony in this pile here, somewhere."

Quote

However he was a player that was effectively cut for his 1st half production. 

That is you doing some mind-reading, since I've seen no comment by the Marlins.  And it assumes that their analytics staff is no better than the average fan-on-the-street who looks at season numbers and makes a thumbs-up/thumbs-down determination.  And/or, their coaches failing to notice something real behind the numbers in the second half. 

The simpler explanation: statistical fluke over a small sample.

Now, if the Twins do have some kind of special sauce that brings out the best in Wagaman and the others you allude to, I'll be suitably impressed.

[bunsen82]

4 hours ago, ashbury said:

I do.  It's a tremendous burden on a team's roster to cycle through all the potential Rookers to find the one that clicks.  Very much a bottom-feeder strategy.

And look who it finally paid off for - when he emerged as a offensive weapon, it was for a squad that went 50-112 that season.

Just enough Rookers emerge in the course of a decade to support the dream that "there must be a pony in this pile here, somewhere."

That is you doing some mind-reading, since I've seen no comment by the Marlins.  And it assumes that their analytics staff is no better than the average fan-on-the-street who looks at season numbers and makes a thumbs-up/thumbs-down determination.  And/or, their coaches failing to notice something real behind the numbers in the second half. 

The simpler explanation: statistical fluke over a small sample.

Now, if the Twins do have some kind of special sauce that brings out the best in Wagaman and the others you allude to, I'll be suitably impressed.

To be fair you cherry picked most of my prior statement.    I do agree relying on several players to have significantly better seasons is generally not a recipe for success.  For short term advantage if they have figured out something that works it can be an advantage for a year or two.  No different than moneyball, or Kansas City putting a lot of resources into relievers during their run.   Sooner or later other teams will pick up on this and you will no longer be able to get these type of players on the cheap.  There will be an additional premium.  

As to statistical fluke - how is swinging the bat harder or hitting the ball at a higher velocity a statistical fluke?  Seems to be a fundamental change.  How is inducing more fly balls that result in more home runs a statistical fluke due to swing path changes (ie Jimenez)? 

My comment on the marlins,  actually comes from Marlins fans on a couple of the reddit sites.  Here is my analogy,  They didn't have someone significantly better last year that they could have swapped out so they continued to run with him all season long (ie Vasquez).  Both teams had effectively removed the players from the long term plans but they continued to run them out for the remainder of the year.  He was let go for subpar defense - which the Twins seem to have a strategy on - and supbar hitting  but most of that was attributed to the 1st half.  Now its not to say that I see Wagaman suddenly becoming an All Star.  I could I see Wagaman locking down the 1st base position and becoming a 1-2 WAR player.  A success story similar to a Castro.   The Marlins let him go because they are going to use Morel for 1st base and they picked up Esteury Ruiz who they view as having a higher ceiling.   They actually seem to be doing a better job at roster construction also adding Pete Fairbanks, which was a good addition even if slightly expensive as he could only go to warm climate teams.  

Look I am not stating this is going to work out.   To me its the only rational thing I see with the marginal players they have acquired so far.  If they are going to have success,  this is the likely strategy they are employing.  I think you are better off getting higher quality players, in this case its just not going to happen so if the Twins are going to have success this year it will have to occur from a different method.  

[ashbury]

43 minutes ago, bunsen82 said:

To be fair you cherry picked most of my prior statement.    

Not really, when viewed in the context of someone (not you to start with, I'll acknowledge) cherry picking Brent Rooker as a reason to hold out hope for our new acquisition.

I certainly wasn't going to attempt to write up responses to every line in your post.  Life is short, and neither your posts nor mine are. 😁  I picked a thing or two to explore in response.

Quote

As to statistical fluke - how is swinging the bat harder or hitting the ball at a higher velocity a statistical fluke?

I looked again at his splits, and noticed something new to me: he lost his everyday starting job, somewhere around mid-season. There wasn't a stint on the IL to account for this.  What happens when a guy goes from playing nearly every day to being a bench player?  For one thing, the manager has the luxury of trying to cherry-pick (heh) opportunities where he feels the player may succeed.  It's entirely possible that the measured higher velocity correlated with facing pitchers he was more likely to handle.  I have no specific information, but am throwing it out there as one possibility - namely that his old team ultimately may have decided that getting the best out of him wasn't worth the trouble in terms of roster management.

Quote

My comment on the marlins,  actually comes from Marlins fans on a couple of the reddit sites. 

You know the classic logical fallacy called Appeal To Authority?  I am pleased to note that you didn't fall into that particular trap here. 😁

Quote

Look I am not stating this is going to work out. 

Ah! Common ground at last! 😁

All in good fun, I hope.

[bunsen82]

16 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Not really, when viewed in the context of someone (not you to start with, I'll acknowledge) cherry picking Brent Rooker as a reason to hold out hope for our new acquisition.

I certainly wasn't going to attempt to write up responses to every line in your post.  Life is short, and neither your posts nor mine are. 😁  I picked a thing or two to explore in response.

I looked again at his splits, and noticed something new to me: he lost his everyday starting job, somewhere around mid-season. There wasn't a stint on the IL to account for this.  What happens when a guy goes from playing nearly every day to being a bench player?  For one thing, the manager has the luxury of trying to cherry-pick (heh) opportunities where he feels the player may succeed.  It's entirely possible that the measured higher velocity correlated with facing pitchers he was more likely to handle.  I have no specific information, but am throwing it out there as one possibility - namely that his old team ultimately may have decided that getting the best out of him wasn't worth the trouble in terms of roster management.

You know the classic logical fallacy called Appeal To Authority?  I am pleased to note that you didn't fall into that particular trap here. 😁

Ah! Common ground at last! 😁

All in good fun, I hope.

And effectively shows you just really don't think much of him or the front office strategy.   That seems to be where this ends at which I am fine with.  As I have stated I am more curious how well this strategy works and whether it completely falls apart.  I do think there is a plausible chance it works out - but I am not holding my breathe.   It was more than I was seeing an actual trend or strategy that up to this point I don't believe has been fully brought up - other than single stippets in article.  That it appears all 3 players have similarities  (Wagaman, Jackson and Josh Bell) seems statistically interesting on my front.  All 3 performed better at the end of the season whether SSS, managers putting them in better situations ect. All 3 also have struggled with high ground balls rates yet they all tend hit the ball relatively hard or were seeing increase in swing velocity.   Alas we will see during the season.  

[Jose Herrera]

 

On 1/2/2026 at 6:14 PM, karcherd said:

He helped out so much, that they decided to DFA him after one season.  So we have added another bat first player who is not even a good bat.  And all the domino moves make us worse.  We now will have at least 4 players that should be the 13th man on the roster on this team as best case scenario, Wagaman, Clemens, Gasper and Kriedler.  And Outman if he makes the team.

We traded Bragg for him. We'll see what happens.

 

[jorgenswest]

Wagaman was a rookie last year. He was given the playing time of a regular. He played better in the second half. He has options. They need players with options on the 40 in AAA. Seems like he has a better chance to be helpful to the organization than Kade Bragg. Give a chance to win a job in the spring but don’t write him on the roster. I don’t have any issue with this minor trade.

[bunsen82]

32 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

Wagaman was a rookie last year. He was given the playing time of a regular. He played better in the second half. He has options. They need players with options on the 40 in AAA. Seems like he has a better chance to be helpful to the organization than Kade Bragg. Give a chance to win a job in the spring but don’t write him on the roster. I don’t have any issue with this minor trade.

Wagaman has options and has upside, with a bit of a flash at the end of the season.  He played about as well as Lee so I can understand fan frustration with him.  Similar to the lack of catcher depth,  Wagaman has more value to us and a situation where we are willing to give him more chances.  

As to @karcherd concerns on the bench.  I think it will resolve itself.   Wagaman, Clemens, Kreidler, Gasper and Outman.  In reality we have minimal invested in all the players.   I see Clemens as a utility for 1st, 2nd and 3rd.  I am wondering if we give Lewis some reps at SS.  If Lewis is the backup we don't necessarily have to carry a Kriedler or try to sign an IKF.   Gasper was DFA'd and I expect the same outcome for Outman.  

Martin/Roden, Buxton/Martin, Wallner -  for now is my expect outfield.  

Bench - Martin/Roden, Clemens, Caratini, Kriedler/IKF?/Arcia/Brujan   

I can live with that. That is some ample pop.  I would prefer the SS option is a bit of a speed option as well to pair with Martin.    It likely means Larnach is traded.    I still don't know why they tendered him.  Maybe there is more value for him than I think.  We do know Kepler got suspended.  So I guess its 1 less option out there.  If he can get us a usable reliever I guess it would be worth it.