Twins, Tyler Beede Agree To Minor League Deal

Right-handed pitcher Tyler Beede has reportedly agreed to a minor league contract with the Twins, per Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. He will suit up for Minnesota’s Triple-A affiliate, the St. Paul Saints.

Beede, 32 in May, was once a highly promising pitching prospect. He was selected in the first round of the draft twice, first in 2011 by the Blue Jays (with whom he did not sign) and again in 2014 by the Giants. The righty impressed as he worked his way up San Francisco’s system, with Baseball America ranking him as one of the top three prospects in the organization each year from 2015-18. Yet, Beede started to show signs of weakness following his promotion to Triple-A in 2017, and he continued to struggle upon reaching the majors. After giving up seven runs over 7 2/3 big league innings in 2018, he pitched to a 5.08 ERA and 4.71 SIERA in his first extended run of MLB action the subsequent year. Tommy John surgery kept him out of commission in 2020, and he made just one MLB appearance in 2021 before converting to a swingman role for the 2022 campaign. Over 61 1/3 innings for the Giants and the Pirates (he was DFA’d and claimed off of waivers mid-season), he put up a 5.14 ERA and 4.94 SIERA.

After being DFA’d once again that September, Beede elected free agency in the fall and took his talents to Japan in 2023. In his lone season with NPB’s Yomiuri Giants, he made 30 appearances (six starts) and pitched to a 3.99 ERA. His 16.4% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate were mediocre, even by the different standards of NPB, and he did not look meaningfully better over 25 1/3 innings with the Giants’ minor league club in the Eastern League. Nevertheless, he pitched well enough overseas to catch the eye of the Guardians, who signed him to a minor league deal over the 2023-24 offseason and ultimately gave him a spot on their Opening Day roster. He made 13 appearances for Cleveland before he was DFA’d at the beginning of May, producing an unfortunate 8.36 ERA through 14 innings of lower-leverage work. With that said, he did manage to collect a win and two holds, and his 26.5% strikeout rate was above average, as was his 29.7% whiff rate. All that to say, he wasn’t entirely ineffective.

Beede spent the remainder of the 2024 season with Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate, the Columbus Clippers. Between and around two stints on the injured list, he pitched to a ghastly 11.28 ERA in 12 games (five starts). He walked 16 batters and gave up five home runs in just 22 1/3 innings of work. His second injury, an elbow strain, ultimately ended his season in August. Despite all of those reasons for concern, Beede drew interest from the Astros and Royals over the offseason and has now landed an opportunity with the Twins.

Given his uneven track record and rough numbers at both the MLB and Triple-A levels last season, Beede is facing an uphill battle back to the majors. Then again, the Twins don’t have much relief depth on their 40-man roster beyond the pitchers already in the big league bullpen. Beede could be a candidate to eat some low-leverage innings in the case of an injury to another Minnesota reliever, though he will have to compete with other depth arms on minor league contracts, such as Darren McCaughan, Richard Lovelady, and Anthony Misiewicz.