Pirates Re-Sign Beau Burrows To Minor League Deal
The Pirates have signed right-hander Beau Burrows to a minor league deal, according to the transactions tracker on Burrows’s MLB.com profile page. Burrows had already spent the 2025 season in the organization on a minor league deal.
Burrows, 29, last pitched in the majors back in 2021. A first-round pick by the Tigers in the 2015 draft, Burrows was a one-time top 100 prospect in the sport who made his big league debut during the shortened 2020 season. The right-hander has just 11 MLB appearances on his resume between the 2020 and ’21 seasons. He posted an 8.64 ERA in six appearances for the Tigers at the big league level before being plucked off waivers from the Twins in 2021 and turning in a 12.54 ERA across 9 1/3 frames for Minnesota. Burrows has identical 12.5% strikeout and walk rates for his career and has allowed eight home runs in 17 2/3 career innings of work.
It’s an ugly big league resume, brief as it may be. Burrows hasn’t appeared in the majors since, but spent the next few years shuffling between various minor league systems. He pitched for the Dodgers’, Braves’, and Phillies’ Triple-A affiliates between 2022 and ’24 before he found himself released by the Phillies in June of 2024. He caught on in the independent American Association for the remainder of the 2024 campaign but struggled even at that level, leaving him with an uncertain path as 2025 began. Burrows managed to find an opportunity in the Mexcian League and signed on with the Tecos de los Dos Laredos for the 2025 campaign.
Burrows didn’t perform especially well in the Mexican League, but scouts at the time suggested that his velocity and quality curveball caught the attention of MLB clubs. That was enough to get Burrows a path back into affiliated ball, and he signed a minor league deal with the Pirates back in May. He pitched to a 2.94 ERA in 49 innings of work across four levels of the minors for Pittsburgh. While he struggled in his 16 appearances at Triple-A late in the season, he was utterly dominant at Double-A with a 0.44 ERA and a 28.4% strikeout rate. Now, Burrows is set to rejoin the Pirates and continue the development work he spent 2025 in the organization working on.
Burrows’s first task in 2026 will surely be to finally conquer the Triple-A level, where he’s posted a career 6.10 ERA. If the 29-year-old can show some mastery over the highest level of the minors this year, it wouldn’t be a shock if the Pirates found a way to get him back into the big leagues for the first time in half a decade given how good he looked throughout the lower levels of the minors this year, as well as the tantalizing ability scouts felt Burrows flashed during his time in the Mexican League earlier this year. Joe La Sorsa, Noah Murdock, and Michael Darrell-Hicks are among the other non-roster relief arms the Pirates have in the organization at Triple-A headed into next year.
Players Entering Minor League Free Agency
Major League free agents became eligible to sign with other teams on Thursday, but the minor league free agent market has technically been open since season’s end. MLBTR has published several posts detailing players who had already elected to become minor free agents, but Baseball America’s Matt Eddy (multiple links) has the full account of all the minor league free agents that officially joined their big league counterparts on the open market on Thursday.
This list details only players who have played in the Major Leagues, and whose minor league free agency hasn’t already been covered on MLBTR in the last month.
Athletics: Aaron Brooks, Carlos Duran, CD Pelham, Bryan Lavastida, Nick Martini, Alejo Lopez
Braves: Ian Anderson, Davis Daniel, Enoli Paredes, Amos Willingham, Brian Moran, Jonathan Ornelas, Chandler Seagle, Matthew Batten, Conner Capel
Orioles: Jakson Reetz, Livan Soto, Thaddeus Ward
Red Sox: John Brebbia, Isaiah Campbell, Mark Kolozsvary, Chadwick Tromp, Seby Zavala, Trayce Thompson
Cubs: Yency Almonte, Zach Pop, Caleb Kilian, Austin Gomber, Forrest Wall, Billy Hamilton, Joe Ross, Tommy Romero, Antonio Santos, Tom Cosgrove, Dixon Machado, Nicky Lopez, Carlos Perez
White Sox: Elvis Peguero, Kyle Tyler, Vinny Capra, Chris Rodriguez, Caleb Freeman, Joe Perez, Owen White, Andre Lipcius
Reds: Tejay Antone, Alan Busenitz, Buck Farmer, Josh Staumont, P.J. Higgins, Eric Yang, Levi Jordan, Edwin Rios, Davis Wendzel, Evan Kravetz, Adam Plutko, Charlie Barnes, Alex Young
Guardians: Riley Pint, Tyler Naquin, Parker Mushinski
Rockies: Xzavion Curry, Sean Bouchard, Owen Miller, Karl Kauffmann,
Tigers: Kevin Newman, Brian Serven, Jordan Balazovic, Nick Margevicius, Blair Calvo
Astros: Jon Singleton, Joe Hudson, Kenedy Corona, Greg Jones, Matt Bowman, Luis Contreras, Tyler Ivey, John Rooney
Royals: John Gant, Spencer Turnbull, Bobby Dalbec, Diego Castillo, Geoff Hartlieb, Jordan Groshans, Nick Pratto, Isan Diaz, Stephen Nogosek, Nick Robertson, Joey Krehbiel, Noah Murdock, Ryan Hendrix
Angels: Shaun Anderson, Brandon Drury, Yolmer Sanchez, Ben Gamel, Evan White, Cavan Biggio, Logan Davidson, Travis Blankenhorn, Oscar Colas, Kelvin Caceres, Dakota Hudson, Chad Stevens, Angel Felipe, Jordan Holloway, Victor Gonzalez
Dodgers: Michael Grove, Luken Baker, Giovanny Gallegos, Kyle Funkhouser, Chris Okey, CJ Alexander, Zach Penrod
Marlins: Jack Winkler, Lane Ramsey
Brewers: Luis Urias, Oliver Dunn, Julian Merryweather, Daz Cameron, Drew Avans, Josh Maciejewski, Jared Oliva
Twins: Jose Miranda, Anthony Misiewicz, Jonah Bride, Thomas Hatch, Daniel Duarte, Connor Gillispie
Mets: Joey Meneses, Jose Azocar, Joe La Sorsa, Gilberto Celestino, Ty Adcock, Bryce Montes de Oca, Yacksel Rios, Oliver Ortega, Luis De Los Santos
Yankees: Kenta Maeda, Jeimer Candelario, Rob Brantly, Andrew Velazquez, Jose Rojas, Joel Kuhnel, Wilking Rodriguez
Phillies: Matt Manning, Adonis Medina, Lucas Sims, Jacob Waguespack, Phil Bickford, Rodolfo Castro, Oscar Mercado, Brewer Hicklen, Christian Arroyo, Payton Henry
Pirates: Brett Sullivan, Nick Solak, Nelson Velazquez, Beau Burrows, Ryder Ryan
Cardinals: Zach Plesac, Anthony Veneziano, Tyler Matzek, Zack Weiss, Drew Rom, Aaron Wilkerson
Padres: Eguy Rosario, Tim Locastro, Reiss Knehr, Nate Mondou
Giants: Sean Hjelle, Miguel Diaz, Max Stassi, Sam Huff, Cole Waites, Drew Ellis, Ethan Small
Mariners: Michael Fulmer, Casey Lawrence, Collin Snider, Jesse Hahn, Nick Anderson, Josh Fleming, Austin Shenton, Jacob Nottingham, Beau Taylor, Cade Marlowe, Jack Lopez, Michael Mariot, Hagen Danner
Rays: Cooper Hummel, Jonathan Hernandez, Jamie Westbrook, Tres Barrera
Rangers: Omar Narvaez, Cal Quantrill, Ty Blach, Alan Trejo, Joe Barlow, Cory Abbott, Michael Plassmeyer, Alex De Goti
Blue Jays: Eloy Jimenez, Buddy Kennedy, Joe Mantiply, Elieser Hernandez, Rene Pinto, Adam Kloffenstein
Nationals: Francisco Mejia, Juan Yepez, Joan Adon, CJ Stubbs, Parker Dunshee, Erick Mejia, Adrian Sampson, Delino DeShields
Pirates Sign Beau Burrows To Minor League Deal
Right-hander Beau Burrows, who opened the season pitching with los Tecos de los Dos Laredos in the Mexican League, has signed a minor league deal with the Pirates. Beisbol Puro first reported the signing, which Burrows himself has also announced on social media this morning.
Burrows, 28, was selected by the Tigers with the No. 22 overall pick out of Weatherford High School in Texas back in the 2015 draft. He ranked among the Tigers’ top prospects for several years following that draft and garnered some top-100 fanfare at MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus in the 2017-18 offseason after logging 135 frames of 3.20 ERA ball between High-A and Double-A. The 6’2″ righty punched out 24.9% of his opponents that season and limited walks at a solid 8% clip.
A second year at the Double-A level in 2018 yielded lesser results (4.10 ERA in 134 innings), but Burrows reached 26 starts and topped 130 innings for a second straight season. He seemed like a good bet to make his big league debut in 2019 — at least until the injury bug bit. Burrows missed more than two months at the beginning of that ’19 season due to biceps tendinitis and inflammation in his right shoulder. He returned in June and was back on the shelf two months later after straining an oblique muscle, which cost him another month. He pitched only 74 innings across three levels — including his Triple-A debut — and worked to a 4.84 ERA.
Burrows felt very much like a pitcher who could use a mulligan at Triple-A in a hopefully healthier 2020 season. Of course, the pandemic wiped out the entire minor league season that year, depriving him of that opportunity. Burrows pitched at the Tigers’ alternate site and wound up making his MLB debut with five relief appearances (four runs in 6 2/3 innings). He was trounced for 17 runs in just 11 big league innings the following season and struggled to an ERA north of 5.00 in Triple-A between the Tigers and the Twins (who claimed him off waivers following a midseason DFA).
In the three years since that time, Burrows has pitched between the Dodgers, Phillies and Braves organizations but never returned to the majors. His work in a tiny sample during Mexican League play this season hasn’t exactly stood out; he’s tossed 5 2/3 innings out of the bullpen and allowed six earned runs on seven hits and nine walks.
Rough as those numbers appear, Beisbol Puro notes that Burrows’ velocity and curveball have caught the attention of major league scouts. He’s typically sat around 93 mph in recent Triple-A stints but has bumped that a couple ticks in 2025 and has seen his heater climb as high as 97 mph. This would only be Burrows’ second full season as a pure reliever, and if those velo readings are accurate, it’s a jump over his 2024 stint in the Phillies’ system, when he averaged 93.3 mph even following a move to short relief.
For the Pirates, there’s little harm in betting on ostensibly improved stuff from a former first-round pick who’ll still pitch nearly the entire 2025 season at 28 years of age. (Burrows turns 29 in mid-September.) He’ll presumably head to Triple-A Indianapolis, and if he can rein in his command while maintaining the improved stuff, Burrows could pitch his way into consideration for a big league look later this summer. Pittsburgh relievers rank 20th in the majors with a 4.24 ERA this season, but that includes a combined 20 2/3 innings of excellent work from Justin Lawrence and Tim Mayza, both of whom were recently moved to the 60-day injured list.
Phillies Release Beau Burrows
The Phillies released Beau Burrows from his minor league deal, per the transaction log at MLB.com. The former first-round pick had signed with Philadelphia at the end of Spring Training.
Burrows was selected by the Tigers with the 22nd pick of the 2015 draft. The Texas native was a top 100 caliber prospect early in his professional career. His results began to level off once he hit the Triple-A level. Burrows pitched in the majors for the Tigers and Twins between 2020-21, allowing eight runs in 8 1/3 innings covering six relief appearances.
Since then, Burrows has bounced around the upper levels of the minor leagues. He spent 2022 with the Dodgers and worked in the Braves’ system a year ago. Burrows split his time with the Phils between Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley, allowing 6.45 earned runs per nine through 22 1/3 frames. He walked more than 20% of opposing hitters. Burrows now owns a 6.10 ERA in 317 1/3 career innings at the Triple-A level. His camp will presumably search for another minor league opportunity, though it doesn’t seem out of the question he could head to independent ball to dial in his command.
Phillies Sign José Godoy, Beau Burrows To Minor League Deals
The Phillies have signed catcher José Godoy and right-hander Beau Burrows to minor league deals, per the transaction tracker of each player at MLB.com. Godoy is represented by The MAS+ Agency while Burrows is a Frontline client. Phillies Tailgate reported Godoy’s signing a few days ago while philliesbaseballfan.com had Burrows.
Godoy, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Rangers in February but it appears he was released at some point and now has a new deal with the Phillies. The backstop has a small amount of major league experience, with 62 plate appearances in 26 games, suiting up for the Mariners, Twins and Pirates. He hit .123/.194/.140 in that small sample of work.
Naturally, he has a larger and more impressive body of work at the Triple-A level. He has slashed .270/.328/.403 in 741 plate appearances there over five separate seasons. He’s also considered to be a strong defender behind the dish.
The Phils have J.T. Realmuto and Garrett Stubbs sharing the catching duties, but Rafael Marchán missed all of Spring Training due to back problems and hasn’t yet gotten back on the field. The Phil also signed Cam Gallagher and Aramis Garcia to minor league deals this offseason but the former has been placed on the restricted list, per Phillies Tailgate. It’s unclear why Gallagher is unavailable but it seems Godoy will share the catching duties with Garcia at LeHigh Valley for now.
Burrows, 27, has 17 2/3 innings of major league experience with an earned run average of 10.70 in that small sample. He spent last year in Atlanta’s minor league system with a 5.42 ERA in 76 1/3 innings, striking out 22.4% of batters faced while walking 10.6%. He had signed a minor league deal with the Twins a couple of months ago but was recently released.
Beau Burrows Elects Free Agency
After being sent outright to Triple-A by the Dodgers, pitcher Beau Burrows has elected free agency, per his MLB transactions page. As Burrows has already been outrighted more than once in his career, he had the opportunity to reject the assignment and opt for free agency.
Burrows, 26, pitched the entire 2022 season at the Dodgers Triple-A affiliate Oklahoma, posting a 7.18 ERA across 100 1/3 innings. He initially worked out of the starting rotation, but his struggles saw him demoted to the bullpen. As has been the case for much of his short career, he struggled to keep the ball in the park, surrendering 18 home runs during the season. He also walked batters 20% of the time against a 12.7% strikeout rate.
The 2015 first-round pick for Detroit has had brief stints in the majors for both the Tigers and Twins in 2020 and 2021. Neither of those stints proved successful, as he pitched to a combined 10.70 ERA across 17 2/3 innings with eight home runs given up in that time.
The former top-100 prospect will hit the open market and hope to latch on with another team as a minor league depth option in 2023.
Dodgers Select Beau Burrows, Transfer Jacob Amaya To 60-Day IL
The Dodgers have added some pitching depth to their 40-man roster, selecting the contract of right-hander Beau Burrows, per the MLB Transactions page. To open a 40-man spot, the team transferred shortstop prospect Jacob Amaya to the 60-day injured list.
Burrows, the Tigers first-round draft pick in 2015, joined the Dodgers on a minor league contract last offseason after brief, unsuccessful stints in the Majors with Detroit and the Twins. He played the entire 2022 season at Triple-A Oklahoma, initially pitching out of their rotation before being moved to the bullpen. He struggled to the tune of a 7.18 ERA across 100 1/3 innings, displaying a 12.7% walk rate and a 20% strikeout rate while giving up 18 home runs.
The move prevents Burrows from becoming a minor league free agent, and allows the Dodgers to keep some pitching depth in their organization. While the results certainly weren’t encouraging this season, Burrows is still only 26 and a former top-100 prospect, so the Dodgers may see some untapped potential in him.
Amaya, 24, impressed at Double-A Tulsa this season, slashing .264/.370/.500 in 49 games and earning a call-up to Triple-A Oklahoma. His numbers dropped off a little in Oklahoma but he still posted a respectable .259/.368/.381 line prior to landing on the 60-day injured list. The Dodgers have not specified the details of Amaya’s injury, so it’s unclear yet what his recovery will look like.
Amaya was drafted out of South Hills High School in the 11th round of the 2017 draft and is the Dodgers 15th ranked prospect, per MLB.com.
Dodgers Sign Jason Martin, Beau Burrows
The Dodgers recently reached agreements with outfielder Jason Martin and right-hander Beau Burrows. Martin’s deal was reported by Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America; Burrows announced his own agreement with Los Angeles on Twitter this evening. Presumably, both contracts are minor league pacts that contain Spring Training invitations.
Martin has appeared in the majors in each of the past three seasons. Part of the Pirates’ four-player return from the Astros in the 2018 Gerrit Cole trade, he only tallied 51 trips to the plate in Pittsburgh over his first two seasons. Martin’s most extensive big league time came this past season when he logged 154 plate appearances with the Rangers. The 26-year-old hit just .208/.248/.354 with six homers in that time, though, and Texas outrighted him off the 40-man roster at the end of the season.
Over parts of three Triple-A campaigns, the Southern California native owns a .243/.315/.412 slash line. Martin has spent the bulk of his minor league time in center field, but the Rangers mostly deployed him in left field at the big league level. A left-handed hitter, Martin will likely try to compete for fourth or fifth outfield duty next spring.
Burrows is a former first-round pick of the Tigers. He made his big league debut with Detroit last year and split the 2021 campaign between the Tigers and division-rival Twins. Burrows’ big league experience consists of just 17 2/3 innings of 10.70 ERA ball, and he’s allowed eight long balls with eleven strikeouts and walks apiece.
The 25-year-old hasn’t fared especially well in Triple-A either, but he’s not far removed from being one of the more well-regarded arms coming up through the Tigers’ organization. He’s pitched reasonably well as a starter up through Double-A and could be viewed as either rotation or bullpen depth for Los Angeles.
Twins Select Andrew Albers, Kyle Barraclough
The Twins have selected the contracts of pitchers Andrew Albers and Kyle Barraclough, according to Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (Twitter link). Left-hander Lewis Thorpe is landing on the 10-day injured list with a left shoulder impingement, while righty Edgar García is being optioned to Triple-A St. Paul. Minnesota removed right-hander Beau Burrows from the 40-man roster. Burrows has already cleared outright waivers and will remain in the organization on assignment to St. Paul.
Albers is back in Minnesota for his third separate stint with the club. He broke into the majors with the Twins in 2013 but was released the following offseason so he could pursue an opportunity in the Korea Baseball Organization. Albers returned stateside in 2015 with the Blue Jays, then found his way back to the Twins in 2016 in free agency. He saw some big league time with the Mariners in 2017, then signed with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball for the 2018 campaign.
The well-traveled Albers signed an extension with the Buffaloes to keep him in NPB through 2020. He returned to affiliated ball this past offseason, singing a minors pact with the Twins in February. Assigned to St. Paul, Albers has been a mainstay in the Saints’ rotation. Over 91 innings in that hitter-friendly environment, he’s worked to 3.86 ERA, offsetting a below-average 19.8% strikeout rate with an incredible 2.3% walk percentage. That strong showing has earned the 35-year-old another big league opportunity, where he figures to be a multi-inning relief option for manager Rocco Baldelli.
Barraclough hasn’t been away from the big leagues quite as long as Albers has, but he’s back at the highest level for the first time in two years. The hard-throwing righty looked like a key bullpen piece for the Marlins early in his career, working to a 2.78 ERA across 97 innings between 2015-16. But Barraclough’s always-shaky control became less palatable as his strikeout totals fell over the coming seasons, and he hasn’t pitched in the majors since a tough 2019 campaign split between Miami and the Nationals.
Signed to a minor league deal by the Yankees over the winter, Barraclough was granted his release in mid-June and hooked on with the Twins two days later. Between the two teams’ Triple-A affiliates, the 31-year-old has posted an even 3.00 ERA with a massive 38.7% strikeout rate. Barraclough’s walk rate has still been troublingly high at 14.8%, but his impressive swing-and-miss stuff will earn him a look in a Minnesota bullpen that had to cover almost ten innings yesterday because Thorpe departed with shoulder soreness early in his start.
Burrows was a first-round pick of the Tigers in 2015 and was seen as one of the more promising pitching prospects in the Detroit system over the next few years. He dominated the lowest levels but hasn’t yet found much success above Double-A. The 24-year-old owns a 5.15 ERA over 94 1/3 Triple-A innings and has been tagged for 22 runs over a brief 17 2/3 frame look at the major league level.
Clearly, Burrows’ time in the big leagues hasn’t gone as he’d envisioned to this point. That said, he’s still young enough it’s plausible he can eventually deliver upon some of the promise that made him so well-regarded not long ago. The Twins are surely happy to get an opportunity to work with Burrows, whom they added on a waiver claim from Detroit in late June, without having to dedicate a 40-man roster spot to him.
In other news for Minnesota, Baldelli informed reporters (including Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com) that star center fielder Byron Buxton is set to embark upon a rehab assignment with St. Paul tomorrow. It’ll be his first game action in nearly two months, as Buxton suffered a left hand fracture after being hit by a pitch on June 22. Position players can spend up to twenty days on rehab assignments, so Buxton looks likely to be back in the big leagues by the first week of September so long as he doesn’t suffer any setbacks.
Buxton’s return comes as the Twins have started to play more to their expected level coming into the year. It’s too late for Minnesota to make a playoff push, but an improved second half could reinforce the front office’s belief the club is capable of returning to contention in 2022. Buxton’s return for the season’s final month-plus will be a welcome opportunity to give him some needed reps. It’s certainly been a frustrating campaign for Buxton, who has been brilliant (.369/.409/.767) when healthy but has required a pair of significant IL stints. The 27-year-old missed around six weeks between May and June with a right hip strain, then made it back for just three games before suffering the hand fracture.
Twins Place Derek Law On 10-Day Injured List, Move Randy Dobnak To 60-Day Injured List
The Twins announced a number of roster moves today, per Betsy Helfand of the Pioneer Press (Twitter links). First and foremost, Derek Law has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a shoulder impingement. Danny Coulombe also steps away from the team with a trip to the paternity list.
To take their roster spots, Beau Burrows was recalled from Triple-A and Juan Minaya had his contract selected. Charlie Barnes also joins the club to make his Major League debut as the 27th man to start game one of today’s doubleheader. The 25-year-old southpaw has a solid 3.88 ERA across 13 starts in Triple-A this season.
To make room on the 40-man roster, the Twins moved Devin Smeltzer and Randy Dobnak to the 60-day injured list. Smeltzer has already been out for more than 60 days, so his movement was largely clerical.
Dobnak, however, has been out since just June 21st with a finger strain. He’s now likely to miss most of the rest of the season. He won’t be eligible to come off the injured list until late August. All in all, it’s been a disappointing season for Dobnak, whom the Twins signed to a five-year, $9.25MM extension back in March. It was a modest deal, but Minnesota still likely expected more from Dobnak than 43 2/3 innings with a 7.83 ERA/6.19 FIP.
Burrows, 24, was claimed off waivers earlier this year after making just one appearance for the Tigers. The right-hander made five appearances for Detroit last season, all out of the bullpen. He throws a fastball, slider, change-up mix, occasionally going to a sinker and curveball, too. Mostly a starter coming up, it will be worth watching to see if Burrows scales back his pitch mix while working regularly in relief.
Minaya, 30, has made four appearances for the Twins this season after getting relatively regular time out of the White Sox bullpen from 2016 to 2019. In that time, Minaya appeared in 125 games while pitching to a 3.93 ERA across 128 1/3 innings.
Law, 30, has nine appearances spanning 15 innings with a 4.20 ERA/4.64 ERA. His strikeout and walk rates aren’t knocking anyone’s socks off, but his ability to soak up multiple innings at a time has been an asset for a Twins team that has struggled at times to get length from their starters. He does not have any options remaining, though he could theoretically see time in the minors on a rehab stint before returning.