Twins acquire solid lefty reliever Minter from Mets

SEATTLE -- The Twins know that in adding veteran left-handed reliever A.J. Minter in a trade with the Mets, they strengthened their roster in an area where it was badly needed. They also believe they added the kind of person and teammate they’re looking for as well.

In a late-night deal on Thursday, not long after the team arrived in Seattle for a weekend series against the Mariners, Minnesota began addressing its biggest need with the trade for Minter. The return is a couple of intriguing, but not highly rated prospects – infielders Billy Amick and Bruin Agbayani, the son of former Mets outfielder Benny Agbayani. The deal was formally announced by both teams on Friday morning.

Trade details
Twins receive: LHP A.J. Minter
Mets receive: INF Bruin Agbayani, INF Billy Amick

Minter, 32, has been one of the steadiest lefty relievers in the game for years now, though he’s done things a little differently since returning from a left lat injury he suffered early in 2025. He adds an experienced late-inning option for manager Derek Shelton to deploy along with, or in front of, his back-end pairing of righties Yoendrys Gómez and Andrew Morris.

Also noteworthy to the Twins, he’s a highly regarded teammate who not only has pennant race and postseason experience, he has a World Series ring. He’s the only member of the active roster who has played in a World Series that his team won (Alex Jackson was also on the 2021 Braves but was traded before the postseason).

“There’s a difference when a player has been on the field when the last out of the year is made -- and not the last out of the regular season, the last out of the year,” said manager Derek Shelton. “There’s a different feeling there, and yeah, any time you can add those guys into your group, it’s really good for your group.”

The other key aspect of the acquisition is what it signals. By moving four days before the Trade Deadline, the Twins’ front office signaled that it intends to make additional moves to bolster the roster, a welcome thought for a team that sold heavily in 2025 and made only a nominal addition in 2024.

While it's been a difficult two years for Minter in a Mets uniform, he's healthy at just the right time to help a contender.

A stalwart of Atlanta's bullpens from 2017-24, Minter is playoff-tested, with a 2.88 ERA over 20 career postseason appearances and a World Series ring in 2021. During the regular season, he produced a 3.28 mark over 384 appearances during his time with the Braves.

But a month into the two-year, $22 million contract Minter signed to join the rival Mets before the 2025 season, he tore his left lat muscle off the bone, necessitating surgery. It took Minter until this May to make it back, and when he did, his velocity was down a couple ticks from his pre-surgery form.

Still, Minter managed to record outs even with diminished stuff, going his first 14 outings without allowing an earned run. He is a pure rental who can be a free agent after this season.

Minter is signed for $11 million this season, meaning that if no money changes hands in the deal, the Twins are on the hook for a little more than $3.5 million. He essentially fills the void left when lefty Anthony Banda’s season came to a premature end, also due to a serious left lat injury.

Minter joins a bullpen that has been in flux just about all season, with its two best late-inning options being pitchers who weren’t even on the roster when the season began. It’s not clear when Minter will join the team, or what the corresponding move will be.

Taylor Rogers, Kody Funderburk and Kendry Rojas are currently the lefties in Minnesota's bullpen, and the Minter addition provides them a few options. They could option Funderburk, who has pitched well in July after an inconsistent first half. They could return Rojas to Triple-A St. Paul, perhaps with the idea of stretching him out to be a starting option later this season. And they could conceivably go with four lefties for a while, at least until they’re done making moves as Monday's 5 p.m. CT Trade Deadline approaches.