Twins Add Veteran Lefty Andrew Chafin on Minor League Deal

[Cody Christie]

The Minnesota Twins continued reshaping their bullpen on Saturday by signing veteran left-hander Andrew Chafin to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training. As camp opens in Fort Myers, the organization is clearly investing in relief depth and experience. Chafin’s addition may seem modest on paper, but in what figures to be a tightly contested American League Central race, reliable left-handed options could quietly influence the team’s postseason outlook.

News of the agreement was first reported by Jon Heyman, who noted that Chafin will report to Minnesota’s big league camp to compete for a bullpen job. According to Darren Wolfson, Chafin would earn $2 million if he makes the active roster, with an additional $1.25 million available through incentives.

Chafin enters his age-35 season, and what would be his 13th year in professional baseball. While the deal does not guarantee him a spot on the Opening Day roster, it immediately throws him into legitimate competition for a role. This is less of a speculative flyer and more of a calculated depth play by a front office intent on fortifying the relief corps after last season’s midyear bullpen turnover.

The veteran split the 2025 campaign between the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels, posting a 2.41 ERA across 33 2/3 innings. He struck out 36 hitters against 19 walks and limited left-handed batters to a .136 average. That type of platoon effectiveness remains especially valuable when navigating late-inning matchups against division rivals built with left-handed thump throughout the middle of the order.

Even with strong run prevention on the surface, some of Chafin’s peripherals told a more complicated story. His elevated walk rate, paired with an 81.9 % strand rate, pushed his SIERA to 4.11, a number that sat well above his actual ERA. Outside of the command concerns, many of his underlying indicators remained encouraging, though durability remained his biggest hurdle. A right hamstring strain and later inflammation in his left triceps each led to injured-list stints that cost him more than five weeks of the season.

This also marks the second consecutive offseason in which Chafin has signed a non-guaranteed contract. He followed a similar path last year after agreeing to a minor league deal with the Detroit Tigers in February. Chafin exercised an opt-out near the end of April and soon secured a major league opportunity with the Washington Nationals, making 26 appearances before being dealt to the Los Angeles Angels at the trade deadline.

Minnesota has now added three left-handed relievers in the past month. Taylor Rogers signed earlier in free agency, and Anthony Banda arrived via trade. Minnesota also already had Kody Funderburk on the 40-man roster. Chafin’s presence intensifies competition while expanding the Twins’ flexibility against left-handed heavy lineups within the division.

Across 12 major league seasons, Chafin owns a 3.35 career ERA while pitching for eight different organizations. If he can replicate anything close to last season’s surface-level results, this minor league deal could evolve into meaningful in-season value rather quickly.

The message from Minnesota’s front office is straightforward. The Twins are stockpiling experienced arms in an effort to stabilize the late innings and create internal competition before Opening Day decisions are finalized. With multiple non-roster invitees and recent acquisitions now in camp, the bullpen battle is shaping up to be one of Spring Training’s defining storylines.

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[AceWrigley]

There's a new Sheriff in town.

[AceWrigley]

I think we've found a distinguishing factor between Derek Falvey and Jeremy Zoll as General Manager:

Falvey: "Lefties? Lefties? We don't need no stinkin' lefties."

Zoll: "Lefties, lefties, I like lefties."

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Glut of Lefty DHs, meet glut of washed up lefty relievers

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, AceWrigley said:

There's a new Sheriff in town.

He looks more the bailiff than the sheriff. ⭐ 

[Vanimal46]

I've liked this guy for a while purely because of his look. If I ran into someone at a bar with Chafin's physique, long hair, and mustache, I know I'm in for a wild time. 

[Doctor Wu]

 Good signing.  And I would be shocked if he doesn't make the team. Chafin has been consistently solid for several years. I'm happy that the Twins finally got him. The bullpen is finally starting to take shape, but I'm still nervous about some of these vets and how their arms will hold up over the season. 

[Whitey333]

Let's face the fact that these pitchers the Twins have been getting are, for the most part are rejects that other teams discarded. It's the same old thing.  Hoping that one or two of them make the roster and maybe make it through the season.  It's just the way it's done here in Twins Territory.  Sign players off the scrap pile and try to sell it to fans as a big deal. The so called closely contested American League central race will in all likelihood will be competitive for the Twins.  Competitive for last place

[Otaknam]

This is what any team has to do when their bullpen has been traded away. Sign a whole bunch of scrap heap free agents in the hope that a couple of them still have something left. It’s not unprecedented for baseball players, especially pitchers, to rebound after a poor season by developing a new pitch, better velocity, or more movement. 

[Jim H]

17 minutes ago, Otaknam said:

This is what any team has to do when their bullpen has been traded away. Sign a whole bunch of scrap heap free agents in the hope that a couple of them still have something left. It’s not unprecedented for baseball players, especially pitchers, to rebound after a poor season by developing a new pitch, better velocity, or more movement. 

There is something in what you say here. But, expecting 30 something dfa relievers to develop more velocity and movement on their pitches seems more hopeful than realistic.

[saviking]

I'm a Earned Run Average guy. His 2025 ERA tells me he still has gas in the tank. 

[Jose Herrera]

I applaud our front office. I remember thinking in January we need left handed relief pitchers with high leverage experience. In less than a month we acquired Banda, Chafin and Rogers. 

[bunsen82]

At this point it appears they are going with the quantity approach.  See who is performing well and healthy this year.   Most of these guys have some experience.  Those with lots of experience, Hendriks, Chafin, Rogers -  Those still younger and improving Of the arms - to me it appears they are hoping Hendriks is healthy and the velocity is back to 95 mph by the end of the Spring Training and at this point has the closer experience.  

Right now it appears to me we will be running with 4 lefties- inevitably 1 will get injured or underperform.  

Chafin, Rogers, Banda Funderburk, Topa, Sands, Orze, Hendriks.     

You have the younger pitchers to develop at AAA along with what is an assortment of AAA invites.  With a bunch of old relievers and some untested relievers, there will be ample opportunities in my opinion.   

[KirbyDome89]

2 hours ago, saviking said:

I'm a Earned Run Average guy. His 2025 ERA tells me he still has gas in the tank. 

You have to be if you're trying to paint this move in any sort of positive light. 

[bunsen82]

16 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

You have to be if you're trying to paint this move in any sort of positive light. 

We get it,  you don't think any reliever that doesn't have elite stuff or metrics is worth it.  The end game is the amount of runs.  If a player is able to achieve that I could care less how they baked the cake.   This contract only becomes active if he makes the team,  hence it has no downside.   

[Danchat]

I didn't think we'd see another lefty with a real chance of making the team get added. Walks are the main concern, but unlike other relievers we have that's about it, he's still good at getting swings and misses. I like his odds of making the pen, and there's a decent chance he's closer. I trust him more than Banda.

[stringer bell]

Good move in most every respect. I do think this means that Funderburk no longer has a spot in the bullpen written in ink.

Now for the commentary on the transactions the last couple of weeks: The Twins and their GM are obviously limited in payroll. It does look like $110M is all they are allotted to spend. The last few signings are in the $1-3M range with easily attainable bonuses for both Hendriks and Chafin. They could have brought in one $10M player instead of signing Rogers, Hendriks, Chafin etc., but I don't think $10M is the kind of money a truly key guy will even consider. They had a huge need in the bullpen and have added enough guys that they can actually put out eight guys with over a year's experience if they want. 

The overabundance of lefty DH/corner guys has been knocked down by only one (Julien trade) and so far the utility infielder/backup shortstop is still a huge deficit particularly when the assumed starter is both unproven and injury prone. I hope a trade is made to take care of both issues.

[KirbyDome89]

43 minutes ago, Danchat said:

I didn't think we'd see another lefty with a real chance of making the team get added. Walks are the main concern, but unlike other relievers we have that's about it, he's still good at getting swings and misses. I like his odds of making the pen, and there's a decent chance he's closer. I trust him more than Banda.

He's Banda with half the SS.

Terrible against RH hitters, walks way too many guys, and an ERA that significantly outperformed his FIP and xFIP. 

I wouldn't trust either of them anywhere near high leverage, but that's not how bullpens work over a 162 game season, and given the still awful state of this pen one or both may still find themselves thrust into leverage roles early and/or often. 

[KirbyDome89]

1 hour ago, bunsen82 said:

We get it,  you don't think any reliever that doesn't have elite stuff or metrics is worth it.  The end game is the amount of runs.  If a player is able to achieve that I could care less how they baked the cake.   This contract only becomes active if he makes the team,  hence it has no downside.   

Spare me the strawman here, this guy is on his 7th team since 2023....

If you want to play the results, i.e. champion the ERA of a RP with 30ish IPs, and ignore the process that screams unsustainable, don't let me stop you. Any moderately forward thinking FO likely cares about "how the cake is baked."

The idea that there's no downside to packing these incredibly limited arms into a bullpen that already lacks quality is also false. 

[bunsen82]

3 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

Spare me the strawman here, this guy is on his 7th team since 2023....

If you want to play the results, i.e. champion the ERA of a RP with 30ish IPs, and ignore the process that screams unsustainable, don't let me stop you. Any moderately forward thinking FO likely cares about "how the cake is baked."

The idea that there's no downside to packing these incredibly limited arms into a bullpen that already lacks quality is also false. 

1st off does he have a spot in the bullpen?   Thats not a strawman argument - its a simple question and you know the answer.    He hasn't been promised a spot yet hence why it is a minor league contract now if he makes the team it is a higher contract that what we are paying Rogers.  

You do realize he's played for Detroit, Texas , Milwaukee and Arizona in 2023 and 2024.  All pretty successful and forward thinking organizations.   

[KirbyDome89]

1 hour ago, bunsen82 said:

1st off does he have a spot in the bullpen?   Thats not a strawman argument - its a simple question and you know the answer.    He hasn't been promised a spot yet hence why it is a minor league contract now if he makes the team it is a higher contract that what we are paying Rogers.  

You do realize he's played for Detroit, Texas , Milwaukee and Arizona in 2023 and 2024.  All pretty successful and forward thinking organizations.   

Buddy, the "any reliever who doesn't have elite stuff or metrics," part is the strawman....

Yep, minor league contract for a Major League bullpen that badly needs to raise the floor. We're not even talking about the roster spot here. This is about a team that decimated its own bullpen and attempted to patch things back together with an abundance of washed arms/waiver wire fodder. "Depth," and "no bad minor league deals," aren't really a defense when those guys make up over half the pen. 

Detroit let him walk last year.....

[Joe A. Preusser]

I feel like the idea almost everyone is missing is this:

We have a decent bullpen right now.  

I can already hear the sneers and loud protestations.  I understand.

But we have a decent (read average) bullpen right now.

It doesn't feel that way because we had a truly, legit ELITE bullpen prior to the trade deadline last year.  

Don't be mad we haven't replicated last year's opening BP potential.  Be happy we got a whole lot in trade for last year's pen and now have what really looks to be a new serviceable one. 

That, with a (hopefully) great starting rotation and a probably average offense could win quite a few games this year.  Also, don't discount the bump most teams get with a new coaching staff.   

[Danchat]

41 minutes ago, Joe A. Preusser said:

But we have a decent (read average) bullpen right now.

I don't think it is average, I'm not sure we have a single high leverage arm in the pen. Looking through our options, last year the only arm pitching in games with leads in the 7th inning and on was Rogers being a primarily 7th/8th inning reliever pitching about 50-50 the team winning or losing. Topa only started pitching in high leverage situations once the trades were made and Sands wasn't particularly good last year. It's a pen made up of a bunch of middle relievers, I don't know how that is better than 14-15 other teams'. They have the potential to reach average if some starting pitching prospects transition to the pen successfully but we can't factor that in.

50 minutes ago, Joe A. Preusser said:

probably average offense

Average would be a windfall for this offense.

[DJL44]

All of these lefties get their nice ERA because they're generally only asked to get lefties out. You can't LOOGY your way to a successful bullpen by burning through 6 relievers a game chasing the platoon advantage. Someone needs to be able to get both lefthanded and righthanded batters out.

[stringer bell]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

All of these lefties get their nice ERA because they're generally only asked to get lefties out. You can't LOOGY your way to a successful bullpen by burning through 6 relievers a game chasing the platoon advantage. Someone needs to be able to get both lefthanded and righthanded batters out.

I don't think I agree. With a 4-4 or 3-5 mix, yes, the lefties would have to face right handed hitters, but with the three hitter rule, they already do that. All four prospective lefty members of the 'pen faced more right handed hitters than left handed hitters last year, ranging from Chafin's 51.6% to Funderburk's 59.4%. For comparison purposes the Twins top four right handed setup relievers faced right handed hitters from Jax's 48.2% to Varland's 54.1%. 

[Fred]

On 2/15/2026 at 9:44 AM, Jim H said:

There is something in what you say here. But, expecting 30 something dfa relievers to develop more velocity and movement on their pitches seems more hopeful than realistic.

Twin's fans, at the start of every season, are more hopeful than realistic. 🫣

[Fred]

On 2/15/2026 at 11:09 AM, saviking said:

I'm a Earned Run Average guy. His 2025 ERA tells me he still has gas in the tank. 

I am old school, too, but when a reliever comes in with a runner on second, and that guy scores, it doesn't go on the reliever's ERA

[saviking]

You can say that about all relievers ..

[Fatbat]

By august, all these 35yo’s will be bench coaches or we will be 25 games over .500 with an absolute shut down bullpen. 

[KirbyDome89]

20 hours ago, stringer bell said:

I don't think I agree. With a 4-4 or 3-5 mix, yes, the lefties would have to face right handed hitters, but with the three hitter rule, they already do that. All four prospective lefty members of the 'pen faced more right handed hitters than left handed hitters last year, ranging from Chafin's 51.6% to Funderburk's 59.4%. For comparison purposes the Twins top four right handed setup relievers faced right handed hitters from Jax's 48.2% to Varland's 54.1%. 

Which is a problem when the three newcomers all posted an OPS at or near .800 vs RHs. Last year the bullpen could afford the luxury of carrying a modern day LOOGY in Coulombe. They could burn a RP to get 2 outs because they had at least 3 arms at the top end that they trusted to get through innings (sometimes more than one) without intervention. That top end security blanket is gone. Coulombe was also far better vs. RHs than Banda/Chafin/Rogers. 

SWR + one of Festa/Matthews/Abel/Bradley aren't going to sniff getting through a batting order for a third time. Ober is coming back from injury too.