How Does A.J. Minter Slot into Minnesota’s Late-Inning Bullpen Mix?

[Greggory Masterson]

Image courtesy of Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

While other teams drag their feet toward the August 3 MLB trade deadline, the Twins got the festivities started early and pounced on a trade for Mets reliever A.J. Minter Thursday night. Minter is on an expiring deal, and is due approximately $3.5 million for the rest of the season.

Everyone and their mothers are aware that the Twins need relief pitching if they want to make a push for the postseason, even if their ragtag bullpen has been holding it together in the month of July. In fact, Minter joins a unit that's just hitting its stride. Their collective FIP was 4.19 in relief in March and April; 4.42 in May; and 5.61 in June, but it's 3.65 in July, and their bullpen ERA for the month is even lower.

Minter clearly fits into the Twins’ late-inning mix alongside Andrew Morris and Yoendrys Gómez, two right-handed pitchers who have been trusted with the eighth and ninth innings in most recent games. The Twins have not had a trusted lefty reliever to turn to since losing Anthony Banda for the season to a lat strain; this addresses the easiest and most urgent need in their pen.

Other left-handed short relievers who have seen action for the Twins include Taylor Rogers and Kody Funderburk, who have had some bright spots this season but have been marred by inconsistency. Rogers has an ERA of 5.03, and Funderburk has skated by with a 3.52 ERA despite walking 15% of the batters he’s faced. Rogers has struggled to find his command at times, as well.

Minter, on the other hand, has been excellent at limiting walks this year, only walking two batters in 23 innings. Limiting walks to this degree is probably unsustainable, but in his career, he’s issued walks at about half the frequency as Funderburk has this season.

Multiple injury issues have limited Minter to 67 2/3 innings since the beginning of 2024. However, he’s got a combined 2.37 ERA (about 80% better than the average pitcher) during that span. It's 2.35 this year and 3.18 for his career. Given the state of the Twins bullpen, he easily slots in as the top lefty and somewhere in the top three pitchers overall. Presumably, Derek Shelton will now feel empowered to play matchups with Morris, Gómez and Minter at the back ends of games, pending further additions to the group.

The Twins have had the 8th worst ERA in baseball from their lefty relievers at 4.21, and that figure includes Kendry Rojas’s 2.76 ERA in 16 1/3 innings as a long reliever. They desperately needed to improve their lefty relief corps, particularly in light of Banda being lost.

Minter's raw stuff has been eroded by injury and age (he's 32), and he doesn’t throw as hard as he used to. In his prime, he averaged about 97 MPH on his four-seamer, but it’s been slipping since 2022. In 2026, it’s averaging about 93 MPH, and his four-seamer has been hit hard, so that’s something to keep an eye on.

Minter throws almost exclusively fastballs, throwing a cutter over half the time and his four-seamer about a third of the time. Combine those two with a seldom-thrown sinker, and fastballs make up about 90% of his arsenal. At this stage in his career, his cutter is his dominant pitch to both lefties and righties, though slightly more frequently against lefties. There’s about five miles per hour of separation from his four-seamer, and it can play a bit more like a slider. He’s also got a changeup that he’ll use against righties as a chase pitch, throwing it about 15% of the time to them.

In contrast with the tall, lanky, east-west movers that are Rogers and Funderburk, Minter is a sturdy but shortish athlete who throws from a three-quarters slot and can work north and south. His four-seamer has lost a bit of carry this season; the Twins might work with him to restore it. Still, he can stretch the zone vertically better than either of his new lefty colleagues—assuming both of them remain part of the cohort. Minter's roster spot will have to come at someone's expense; it might be Funderburk or Rogers.

From a thousand-foot view, Minter is something of an ideal pitcher for the Twins to invest in for the stretch run. He's not one of the 10 top relievers on the market this deadline, which is reflected in the modest cost to acquire him early, but he has both playoff and late-inning experience aplenty, and he fills the gap left by Banda with more left-handed talent than the Twins have had from their bullpen this season. He slots in just fine throwing the seventh, eighth, or ninth inning, depending on the situation. And he allows the Twins to focus on adding more in the coming days, without worrying about checking the lefty reliever box off of their list.

It ain’t the sexiest, and there are injury and age questions, but it’s a quality addition for a team trying to sneak into the playoffs without selling the farm.

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[Coach Wheels]

Positive addition. Let's keep it up.

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

Injury risk is my biggest concern. Otherwise a solid arm to add to the bullpen. Another sub 95 fastball though. We were willing to pay the salary which seems to be the biggest benefit to the Mets. 

[mikelink45]

Happy to see movement and the prospect cost was low.

[CRF]

Nice addition...if he can stay healthy. No blazing FB, but another lefty is always a good thing. He's been around and knows how to pitch. Good move by Zoll...let's add some more!

[mickster]

10 minutes ago, Hawkeye Bean Counter said:

Injury risk is my biggest concern. Otherwise a solid arm to add to the bullpen. Another sub 95 fastball though. We were willing to pay the salary which seems to be the biggest benefit to the Mets. 

And we gave up low level prospects - good trade for the present without hurting the future

[JD-TWINS]

Nice start to the weekend - hopefully, a bit more activity by end of day Monday!

Minter’s experience should help him get through the drop in his stuff. He’s walked 2 guys in 23 innings this season. With the workload he’s had, he may only throw twice per week ………. 🤞. Gotta like the 1.00 WHIP!!

Who does he displace?

Adams is up & down with results - hit hard, even when getting outs ……. I’m not thrilled with Nance but “they traded for him” so there’s belief through organization. To me, Anderson has looked really good - not sure what his achilles might be?

Asking for 1 more arm with some durability. A starter that could push Matthews to the PEN would be sweet.

Seattle dropped to 4 games under .500 last night - if TWINS can get one Friday night, Mariners may be more open to the Hancock conversation? They are only 3.5 back in the West, so doubtful they will punt.

[mickster]

Fundy should go down for now.   Get Hancock on board with the offer of ERod, Martin and Wallner.   Hopefully they bite at this and then Zebby to pen.

[Chad93]

Personally if we add it should be for someone that is a multi year guy. I don't see the positive here we ain't winning a championship this year so why add a reliever that is a free agent at the end of the year plus look's like he has lost his stuff fastball down etc. when we tore our roster last year at the deadline specifically bullpen to build for the future and now we reverse and are trying to win now? 

[TopGunn#22]

This is a good start.  If Mintor can stay healthy, his track record is one of consistent effectiveness.  The loss of zip on his fastball is somewhat concerning, but he's a guy who "knows how to pitch."  The cost was minimal.  Amick never developed as the Twins had hoped.  

[Patzky]

Let's get him up and moving!

[rdehring]

Know nothing about him other than what I have read here and the Strib.  Sounds like a perfect move to me.  Solid reliever makes our pen stronger acquired at a minimal cost, i.e., two guys who are long shots to ever make it.  Another plus no one is mentioning is Tom Pohlad's commitment to add payroll to make the team better.  Understand he was in the second year of a $22,000,000 contract, with the Twins picking up around $3.5M.  Not Correa like dollars, but also not chicken feed. 

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Sounds like the fastball, post-injury, might not ever be what it was - or at least not this season. But, it is something you can live with. He doesn't walk people and he knows how to pitch in a big spot. Gomez, Morris and Minter. Three arms that you can trust.

In terms of what's next, they could use another righty to either replace Anderson or Adams - the latter has shown signs of breaking through and Anderson has intriguing stuff - but, if the goal is to sneak into the post-season, you probably need an upgrade over one of them.

Regardless, it is a nice conversation to have. I believe it's been one year exactly since the sell-off and we all know how much that sucked and what it said about the Twins. To be at .500 in a year where they lost Pablo for the season, Abel for most of it, dealt with injuries to Buxton - it says a lot about the job Shelton's done and the chemistry in the clubhouse.

[BaseballBob]

1 hour ago, mickster said:

Fundy should go down for now.   Get Hancock on board with the offer of ERod, Martin and Wallner.   Hopefully they bite at this and then Zebby to pen.

Why would Seattle bite on your offer?

[Jeff K]

Solid1 pick up that cost the twins no ml prospects.  I like it and hope for a couple more.

[nicksaviking]

Minter actually has reverse splits this year giving a .810 OPS against left handed hitters. Presuming the Twins were paying attention before they traded for him, it's possible he wasn't brought in to be a typical left handed specialist.

[LambchoP]

Like the deal a lot. Now if we could get a high end righty, ideally not just a rental, it'd be great. Would love to grab a controllable starter too.

[mickster]

17 minutes ago, BaseballBob said:

Why would Seattle bite on your offer?

They are looking for RH hitter.   Martin isn't a splash for them, but they may see the upside of Erod and Wallner.   May be a bit light and have to add another prospect, but I think they have pitching depth and might want to create room

[jmlease1]

13 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Minter actually has reverse splits this year giving a .810 OPS against left handed hitters. Presuming the Twins were paying attention before they traded for him, it's possible he wasn't brought in to be a typical left handed specialist.

Historically, he's run better against LH (as you would expect) but has always been more than solid against RH. I'm guessing they're not weighting this year's splits too heavily since it's such a small sample.

Have to wonder if the Twins will be able to help him find a few more mph with the 4-seamer, since it's been something they've had success with in the organization, or if it's too late in the year.

But I think he fits in well in the back end of the bullpen. I'm also expecting a lot of sturm & drang if he has even one bad outing in the first 2 weeks from arrival, so hopefully he's ready for that nonsense.

[Permanent Twins Fan]

Gomez, Morris, Minter, Nance, Rojas, Rogers, Anderson, Adams. Love the trade. This really solidifies the bullpen. Hopefully we can get 2025 and early 2026 Minter because he was one of the best in the game. Get one more reliever and a starter and I will be thrilled.

[tony&rodney]

Minter will fit into the role Banda served. It is a decent addition. 

One wonders if the Twins are talking with Preller (SDP).

The bullpen has been identified as the weak link for quite some time but the results in the last month for the pen are good. Many of the arms that were flammable are no longer on the roster. I'm still down for one addition but more concerned about the bats. 

[MMBoys93]

He might now be the top lefty, but he’s not the top lefty against lefties. Reverse splits this year 

[Hunter4848]

World Series here we come!!!!!!!

[Cris E]

He's not the guy from a couple years ago. That velo drop makes everything more vulnerable, and in the playoffs the good teams with sharp scouting are going to sit on the cutter. He'll need a second pitch that's not a 4 seamer on a tee.  The control is good and he's going to move a lot of weak lefty innings out of the end of games, but he's not the difference maker Zoll is looking for.  Keep going.

[nicksaviking]

1 hour ago, jmlease1 said:

Historically, he's run better against LH (as you would expect) but has always been more than solid against RH. I'm guessing they're not weighting this year's splits too heavily since it's such a small sample.

Have to wonder if the Twins will be able to help him find a few more mph with the 4-seamer, since it's been something they've had success with in the organization, or if it's too late in the year.

But I think he fits in well in the back end of the bullpen. I'm also expecting a lot of sturm & drang if he has even one bad outing in the first 2 weeks from arrival, so hopefully he's ready for that nonsense.

Yeah, the velocity and the ensuing strikeouts are the biggest question mark for sure.

I do like the track record over two teams and how infrequently he hands out free passes though.

[Captain John]

The opportunity cost to acquire a lefty like Minter is relatively low so the trade makes sense to me. 

[DocBauer]

I'm a little down on moving Amick. Still only his 2nd full season and a former 2nd rounder. He's shown he can make contact and hit without much power, and he's shown he can make poor contact with a lot of power. If he can put together bits of both the Mets might have a .240-.250 hitter with potential 30HR power. Still, he's not a primary prospect and he's behind a lot of other good bats. I like that the Twins seemingly didn't haggle over $, thus keeping the prospect cost down.

Minter basically replaces Banda. I like that. Rogers now goes back to the "Coulombe" role of 1 out or 1 inning in the middle portion of the game. I like that too. It deepens the entire pen.

I don't mind Nance as the 5th or 6th man in the pen, but that only happens with another addition, which I expect happens soon. I wouldn't mind if it was someone who had another season or two of control, but that also costs more to acquire. And that's fine if it happens. But I keep thinking back to Sergio Romo in 2019. He didn't cost much, still had some decent stuff, had tons of experience, and was brought back to help in 2020. Nothing says rentals can't be brought back next season if they're a good fit.

Banda is still under team control and can reclaim his spot in 2027. Minter back, replacing Rogers, in that middle innings role sounds intriguing to me.

But someone better than Nance not only deepens the pen, but maybe takes a little pressure off Morris and Gomez.

Not sure who goes though. Fundy has been much better lately, but do we need a 3rd LH? Adams has been the best I've ever seen him as if late, but is it for real? And while it's been SSSS, I like the couple of times I've watched Anderson throw.

We aren't where we need to be, but we're also miles from where we started. 

[Western SD Fan]

3 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

Nothing says rentals can't be brought back next season if they're a good fit.

IMO, this is the best argument to not be beholden to relievers that we have control of for future years.  See Justin Topa as a cautionary tale.  Our best multi-year relievers are always going to be the ones we can develop through our system.  In Minter's case, his recent injury history and diminished fastball will not generate the same type of contract that he is currently on.  He may be willing to come back at a reduced price for next year.

I believe this is a good trade because this is what the good teams in our payroll level does.  Take on short-term money while giving up a few prospects that they don't believe will impact the roster anytime soon.  I'd like to think of it as keeping your powder dry. 

 

[MGX]

I'm hoping for something more substantial.

Pre-injury Minter was an effective reliever & he may get back to that, but the injury has limited him to 35 IP in the last two seasons. He came back in May & was effective with 14 consecutive scoreless outings, but since the start of July he's been hit hard.

Hopefully, the Twins saw something that allows him to regain his pre-injury form. I'm cautiously optimistic for now.