Emilio Pagan accepts to deal with the Reds, meaning the Twins lose another pitcher.
The Minnesota Twins are tearing through free agents, the Winter Meetings are quickly approaching, and the stove is getting hot.
Three free agents that the Twins utilized heavily as pitchers have left for other teams in the last four days. The two biggest players to leave Minnesota are Kenta Maeda and Sonny Gray; Maeda signed a contract with Detroit and Gray signed a $75 million deal with St. Louis.
The bullpen is now included in the exodus.
Rumors began circulating on Wednesday morning that Emilio Pagan was closing on a deal that would make him the third pitcher to leave the Twins in the previous 48 hours. After Pagan and the Reds reached an undisclosed agreement, that became official.
Fans of the Twins don’t need to be reminded of how unpredictable physicals can be, but Pagan is expected to pass and sign with the Reds.
Although losing Pagan doesn’t hurt as much as seeing Meada and Gray go, it does free up a spot in the bullpen and add something else to the Twins’ offseason wish list.
Pagan was sometimes the scourge of Twins supporters during the previous season, as it seemed that bad things would always seem to happen when he entered the field. He was lit up pretty bad during Spring Training, but he was able to pull through for the World Baseball Classic, albeit in a very small sample size.
Pagan’s replacement will probably come from within the Twins, as there are a number of starters who were converted to relievers and were used in the previous season. It’s possible that someone like Jordan Balazovic or Simeon Woods Richardson could fill that position and make the Opening Day roster, but it’s still possible to find someone in free agency at the right price.
