Twins Claim Utility Man Vidal Brujan from Braves; Mickey Gasper DFAd

[Seth Stohs]

Image courtesy of © Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

On Wednesday afternoon, the Minnesota Twins announced that they claimed utilityman Vidal Brujan from the Braves organization. 

To make room on their 40-man roster, the Twins Designated Mickey Gasper for assignment. 

In 2025, Vidal Brujan played 61 games in the big leagues. He got time with the Cubs, the Orioles, and then the Atlanta Braves. Prior to 2025, he spent three seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, and he played in 102 games for the Miami Marlins in 2024. 

In his big-league career, he has hit .199/.267/.276 (.543) with 26 doubles, two triples, and five home runs. He has some speed. He's stolen 16 bases, but he's been caught 15 times. 

His "value" comes from his ability to play all over the diamond. In the big leagues, he has played 84 games at second base, 41 games in right field, 56 games at shortstop, 36 games at third base, 17 games in center field, and 10 games in left field. He's played one game at first base (1/3 of an inning). He's also pitched 3 2/3 innings over four appearances. 

Brujan will turn 28 next month. 

The Twins acquired utilityman/catcher Mickey Gasper last offseason in a Christmas Eve trade from the Red Sox (for Jovani Moran). He went 0-for-18 with the Red Sox over 13 games late in the 2024 season. He spent the majority of the 2025 season with the Twins, though he played in just 45 games. He hit .158/.257/.232 (.488) with a double and two home runs. 

In 47 games with the Saints, he hit .285/.385/.531 (.915) with 14 doubles and 10 home runs. 

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[sweetmusicviola16]

These are the kind of moves that teams who intend to compete for 5th place in the Central make after finishing in 4th place the year prior. 

[AceWrigley]

Would I trade Mickey Gasper for Vidal Brujan. Yes I would.

[sweetmusicviola16]

4 minutes ago, AceWrigley said:

Would I trade Mickey Gasper for Vidal Brujan. Yes I would.

Sure. But I don't get not moving out of the sucky end of the pool. The 60 win team moves continue.

[IndianaTwin]

8 minutes ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

These are the kind of moves that teams who intend to compete for 5th place in the Central make after finishing in 4th place the year prior. 

Were you thinking they would get more for what amounts to a trade for Gasper (but that could also still result in keeping Gasper around in AAA)? 

[sweetmusicviola16]

1 minute ago, IndianaTwin said:

Were you thinking they would get more for what amounts to a trade for Gasper (but that could also still result in keeping Gasper around in AAA)? 

Of course not, Gasper has no value. But trading a player that sucks for another player that sucks keeps you in the same position. 

[Seth Stohs]

1 minute ago, IndianaTwin said:

Were you thinking they would get more for what amounts to a trade for Gasper (but that could also still result in keeping Gasper around in AAA)? 

Correct, And, an argument could be made that all teams - maybe with some examples as I've never really quantified it - should be more willing to 'tinker' at the bottom of the 40-man roster. 

[dberthia]

It's funny (or sad) when you realize Brujan's putrid numbers (.199/.267/.276) are still 50 points higher than Gasper's. There's no stopping us now.

[TJSweens]

Whoopee! We swapped AAAA players.

[CRF]

The only good thing about this deal...is that it hopefully gets the Mick outta here. 

[mikelink45]

The Twins inspire again - Let me count the ways

1. Vidal Brujan replaces Mickey Gaspar
2. We claim Eric Wagaman and let go of Ryan Fitzpatrick
3. We get Alex Jackson and release Kiersey
4. We sign Eric Orze 
5. We get Ryan Kreidler off wavers

Are we just getting different names so we can brag that our bench is different and the FO actually did something.  

Letting go of Gaspar, McCusker, Keirsey, Eeles will not hurt the club - the question is - will the new names help the club?

[AceWrigley]

18 minutes ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

Sure. But I don't get not moving out of the sucky end of the pool. The 60 win team moves continue.

 

[DJL44]

I'm not saying this will turn into another Willi Castro move, but this is about exactly as well as Willi Castro performed before he came to the Twins. Castro was a couple years younger then than Brujan is now, but Brujan is young enough to have a career year performance.

Good job getting younger, more athletic and better on defense. If someone better becomes available, they can send him on waivers again.

[whosafraidofluigirussolo]

I'm trying to squint and see this as comparable to acquiring Willi Castro a few years ago (because I assume the Twins imagine Bruján starting out in a role like Castro did with the team.)

The comparison doesn't quite work. Castro was a better hitter with the Twins than before, but was also a meaningfully better hitter than Bruján has been prior to joining the team, and was a couple years younger than Bruján is now.

Bruján does have just 600-some PAs over 5 years in the majors (Castro had almost 1100 before joining the Twins), if that adds any glimmer of hope for him making real improvements, unlikely as that is.

In any case, if the Twins think Bruján can back up shortstop, then I imagine he is ticketed for the Castro role or at least has inside track on a bench spot over Ryan Kreidler and Orlando Arcia. Low bar to clear, but that seems fine.

[Riverbrian]

Nothing to worry about.

He will be moved off the 40 man roster after we sign Kyle Tucker this week. 

Due to his service time. He will have the option of refusing assignment. 

That would be risky for him because I believe he gives up guaranteed money on a split contract. I believe that's around $500,000 while he toils in St. Paul.    

 

[Dawgzilla]

Game changer!!!  Not!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DJL44]

11 minutes ago, Dawgzilla said:

Game changer!!!  Not!!!!!!!!!!!!

They promised no half measures. This isn't a half-measure.

[Brandon]

17 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

The Twins inspire again - Let me count the ways

1. Vidal Brujan replaces Mickey Gaspar
2. We claim Eric Wagaman and let go of Ryan Fitzpatrick
3. We get Alex Jackson and release Kiersey
4. We sign Eric Orze 
5. We get Ryan Kreidler off wavers

Are we just getting different names so we can brag that our bench is different and the FO actually did something.  

Letting go of Gaspar, McCusker, Keirsey, Eeles will not hurt the club - the question is - will the new names help the club?

The Orza and Jackson moves are fine.  A back up C and 7th arm in one has value.  Someone who absolutely doesn't belong on the roster ....  The Twins have definitely tinkered much better in years past.  This is more about finding SS insurance as far as I can see.

[Brett]

Meh.

[JBK]

See ya Mick!!

[Rigby]

19 minutes ago, Brandon said:

The Orza and Jackson moves are fine.  A back up C and 7th arm in one has value.  Someone who absolutely doesn't belong on the roster ....  The Twins have definitely tinkered much better in years past.  This is more about finding SS insurance as far as I can see.

But who can put a value on a well seasoned quarterback....

[Danchat]

Gasper was always going to be DFA'd, it was just a matter of when not if. As for Brujan, I guess he might compete with Arcia for the backup SS job? Hard to get excited about him... a 16 for 30 SB rate is brutal!

[Riverbrian]

5 minutes ago, Danchat said:

a 16 for 30 SB rate is brutal!

Your spell check auto-fill thing changed Brujan to Brutal. 

 

[garn from vancouver]

where do i get in line for the playoff tickets?

[digging the dirt life]

The word "value" in the article is interpreted by this reader very loosely😁

[SteveLV]

Still pursuing their quest to accumulate ALL the sub .200 hitters possible on their roster.

We got another one!

[mickster]

1 hour ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

Sure. But I don't get not moving out of the sucky end of the pool. The 60 win team moves continue.

I see this as a slight increase for the club.   Nothing gained and nothing lost.   If Gasper gets through waivers they put him back in the minors

[Eris]

From FanGraphs. WRC+ of 75. Below average both offensively and defensively. A utility play who can’t hit should at least be able to play defense. Not sure I understand this move at all. 

[bunsen82]

How does Brujan compare to Fitzpatrick?   Gasper was a goner long ago, I have no idea why he was dumped before Fitzpatrick.   So Brujan is either replacing Fitzpatrick as an option - or more likely than not just some musical chairs.   

Marginally I do like Brujan and Wagaman compared to Gasper and Fitzpatrick.   

[stringer bell]

Every team makes these kind of moves. No, they aren’t earth shattering, but the move added some infield depth. Back after losing Fitzgerald. They may DFA Brujan at some point to try to sneak him off the 40-man or they may give him the inside route to claim the utility infield spot on the roster.

The Twins still need to do something after roster imbalance, but that doesn’t mean acquiring Brujan was wrong or a mistake.