Twins Sign Matt Bowman To Minor League Deal
The Twins have signed right-hander Matt Bowman to a minor league deal, reports Aaron Gleeman of AaronGleeman.com. He will report to Triple-A St. Paul and give the Saints a fresh bullpen arm.
Bowman and the Twins are plenty familiar with each other. He pitched for them in 2024, one of many clubs he has suited up for in his journeyman career. He signed a minor league deal with the club in February of this year. At the end of spring training, he triggered an opt-out and was released, but signed a new deal shortly thereafter. He opted out of that deal in May, which led to a minor league deal with the Blue Jays. Last week, he opted out of that deal as well, which allowed the Twins to re-sign him today.
Around all the deal-signing and out-opting, he has thrown 30 Triple-A innings this year, allowing 4.20 earned runs per nine. He has probably deserved better than that. His .325 batting average on balls in play and 69.1% strand rate are both a bit to the unlucky side. Meanwhile, his 26.8% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and 54.3% ground ball rate are all better than average.
His big league career numbers are close to that, without as many strikeouts. He has logged 240 2/3 innings over seven different seasons with a 4.38 ERA, 18.7% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 52.3% ground ball rate.
Those strong results have not yet resulted in a major league call-up this year but St. Paul is a pretty good spot for him to be. Minnesota relievers have a collective 5.25 ERA this year, which is the worst such mark in the majors. Given the weakness of the group, there’s not too much standing in Bowman’s way. It’s also possible the Twins sell off some arms ahead of the deadline, though they are currently playing well enough to be within a game and a half of a playoff spot, so that might only happen if they hit a bad stretch this month.
Photo courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn, Imagn Images
Blue Jays Release Matt Bowman
TODAY: The Blue Jays have released Bowman, according to Bowman’s MLB.com profile page.
JULY 3: Right-hander Matt Bowman has triggered an opt-out in his minor league deal with the Blue Jays, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The Jays have until Saturday to decide whether to add Bowman to their roster or release him.
Bowman, 35, signed with the Jays in late May after opting out of his previous deal with the Twins. He has been with Triple-A Buffalo for the past few weeks and has allowed 10 earned runs in 8 2/3 innings. A 10.38 ERA is obviously not good but there’s a lot of bad luck in that tiny sample. His .360 batting average on balls in play and 25.9% strand rate are both to the unfortunate side, particularly the latter number. Meanwhile, his 23.7% strikeout rate, 7.9% walk rate and 53.8% ground ball rate are all solid figures.
It’s possible the Jays could look past the ERA and focus more on the respectable underlying numbers. Even if they do, it might be tough to squeeze him onto the big league roster. The Jays are currently running a four-man rotation and a nine-man bullpen, in a sense. Spencer Miles and Patrick Corbin appear to be piggybacking the fifth rotation spot. Neither can be sent down since Miles is a Rule 5 guy and Corbin is a veteran with years of experience and can’t be optioned without his consent.
That leaves seven other spots for more traditional relievers. Louis Varland, Tyler Rogers, Jeff Hoffman, Mason Fluharty and Braydon Fisher are in leverage roles. Tommy Nance is out of options and putting up decent numbers. Adam Macko can be optioned but he gives the club a second lefty alongside Fluharty. Letting go of Bowman would cost the Jays some bullpen depth but they have Chase Lee and Brendon Little on optional assignment.
If Bowman ends up released, he could look for a club with a more wide open bullpen. In his career, he has thrown 240 2/3 big league innings with a 4.38 ERA, 18.7% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 52.3% ground ball rate. He started this year with the Twins on a minor league deal and tossed 21 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 1.69 ERA, 28.1% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate and 54.5% ground ball rate. As mentioned, he opted out of that pact and then landed with the Jays. He is sitting in the low-90s with his four-seamer and sinker while also throwing a cutter, splitter and slider.
Photo courtesy of Reggie Hildred, Imagn Images
Blue Jays, Matt Bowman Agree To Minor League Deal
The Blue Jays are in agreement with reliever Matt Bowman on a minor league contract, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The 34-year-old sinkerballer (35 on Sunday) will presumably report to Triple-A Buffalo.
Bowman was granted his release last week after opting out of a non-roster deal with Minnesota. It was moderately surprising that a Twins team with one of the worst bullpens in MLB didn’t carve out a spot. He pitched well at Triple-A St. Paul, working 21 1/3 innings of 1.69 ERA ball. Bowman got ground-balls at a 55% clip with quality strikeout (28.1%) and walk (6.7%) marks.
Minnesota’s front office was evidently skeptical he’d maintain anything close to that against big league hitters. Bowman’s 7.1% swinging strike rate in the minors is well below average. He sits in the low-90s with his sinker while mixing in a cutter, slider and splitter. Bowman has pitched parts of seven MLB seasons with as many teams, logging the majority of his work with the Cardinals between 2016-18. He made 20 big league appearances with Baltimore last year, pitching to a 6.20 earned run average through 24 2/3 frames.
Toronto’s bullpen has been middle of the pack despite a top five strikeout rate. They lost a couple middle relievers, Tommy Nance and Joe Mantiply, to the injured list last week. They have a handful of middle relievers who have bounced up and down from Buffalo this season and could be sent down if they want to carve out a spot for Bowman at some point. Chase Lee, Tanner Andrews and Adam Macko have options remaining. Yariel Rodríguez does not but would likely clear waivers and accept a Triple-A assignment based on his contract.
Twins Grant Releases To Matt Bowman, John Brebbia
The Twins granted right-handers Matt Bowman and John Brebbia their releases Wednesday, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic and Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Both veteran relievers were pitching with the team’s Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul, and both triggered opt-out clauses in their contracts on Sunday. The Twins had until this afternoon to add one or both to the 40-man roster or allow them to become free agents. They’ve gone with the latter option in both cases.
Bowman, 34, has pitched in parts of seven big league seasons. That includes a 2024 run with Minnesota, during which he tossed 7 2/3 decent innings. He carries a 4.38 ERA in 240 2/3 major league innings split among seven clubs. Bowman has a below-average 18.7% strikeout rate but a solid 8% walk rate and a very strong 52.3% ground-ball rate. He’s been excellent in Triple-A thus far, totaling 21 1/3 innings with a 1.69 ERA, a 28.1% strikeout rate and a 6.7% walk rate.
Bowman doesn’t throw particularly hard, by today’s standards. He’s sitting 91.8 mph on his sinker this year, which is below average but a slight bit north of his career 91.3 mph mark. Bowman complements the pitch with a 90 mph cutter and a splitter and slider that both reside in the low 80s. He doesn’t overwhelm opponents but also has neutral platoon splits in his career; lefties have hit .249/.322/.402 against him, while righties are at .245/.307/.383.
The 35-year-old Brebbia has the lengthier MLB track record but hasn’t pitched as well in 2026 (or in general, over the past few seasons). He has eight years of major league service to Bowman’s five, and Brebbia has worked to a 4.04 ERA in 378 1/3 big league frames. Broadly speaking, he’s missed bats and limited walks at better-than-average levels (25.6% and 7.5%, respectively), but the past few years haven’t been kind to the well-traveled righty. He’s pitched 78 2/3 innings between three teams — White Sox, Braves, Tigers — and been rocked for a 6.41 earned run average. Home runs have been his Achilles heel during that time. He’s averaged 1.83 dingers per nine innings pitched.
Brebbia has tossed 20 1/3 innings with the Saints this year but stumbled to a 6.20 ERA that closely mirrors his major league work from 2024-25. He’s punched out more than 28% of his opponents but has also issued walks at a 10.9% clip and served up four homers (1.77 HR/9). He started the season brilliantly, allowing just one run with a 17-to-3 K/BB ratio in his first 10 2/3 frames, but Brebbia has since been tagged for 13 runs in 9 2/3 innings. All four of his homers allowed have come in that span, and he’s walked nearly as many batters (seven) as he’s set down on strikes (nine).
It’s still possible both players will return to the Twins. That’s relatively common for journeyman veterans who trigger midseason opt-out clauses. Heyman suggests that Bowman could have a major league offer waiting somewhere else, however, which wouldn’t be all that surprising with how well he’s pitched. If anything, it’s at least a mild surprise that the Twins themselves wouldn’t find a way to take a look at Bowman in the majors. Minnesota relievers have the third-worst ERA in baseball.
Twins’ Matt Bowman Exercises Opt-Out Clause
Right-hander Matt Bowman has triggered an opt-out clause in his minor league contract with the Twins, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports. Bowman can become a free agent if Minnesota doesn’t add him to the 26-man roster by Wednesday. Earlier this week, Darren Wolfson of KSTP and SKOR North reported on the opt-out clauses held by both Bowman and John Brebbia, and there isn’t yet any word on Brebbia’s decision.
This is the second time in two months that Bowman has used an opt-out clause, as he also opted out of his previous minors contract with Minnesota at the end of Spring Training. The Twins granted Bowman his release rather than a spot on the Opening Day roster, but Bowman returned to the organization on a new minor league deal shortly thereafter.
It is possible this scenario may repeat itself if the Twins again decide against selecting Bowman’s contract. Minnesota has a full 40-man roster, so the team would likely have to make multiple moves to accommodate Bowman on both the 26-man and 40-man rosters.
Working in Bowman’s favor this time around are a set of impressive Triple-A numbers — a 1.69 ERA, 28.1% strikeout rate, and 6.7% walk rate over 21 1/3 innings in St. Paul. The 34-year-old is obviously pitching against much younger and less experienced batters in the minors, and Bowman has a 5.46 ERA in 59 1/3 innings in the majors over the 2023-25 seasons. That said, an argument can be made that the Twins might as well give Bowman a look considering that Minnesota’s bullpen has been one of the least-effective units in baseball.
Matt Bowman, John Brebbia Have Upcoming Opt-Outs In Twins’ Deals
Relievers Matt Bowman and John Brebbia can opt out of their minor league contracts with the Twins on Sunday, reports Darren Wolfson of KSTP and SKOR North. Assuming the right-handers trigger their out clauses, Minnesota would either need to call them up or allow them to become free agents.
Bowman is sitting on a 1.77 earned run average with a 26% strikeout rate and near-55% grounder percentage over 20 1/3 innings at Triple-A St. Paul. The sinkerballer also pitched quite well during Spring Training, reeling off 7 1/3 frames with one unearned run and seven punchouts. Bowman made five MLB appearances for the Twins early in the 2024 season and has signed a handful of minor league contracts with the club over the past three years.
Minnesota picked up Brebbia just after Opening Day. The 35-year-old (36 later this month) had been in camp with Colorado and was granted his release at the end of Spring Training. Brebbia has struggled to a 5.40 ERA across 18 1/3 innings with St. Paul. He’s striking hitters out at a near-30% clip, but he has allowed at least one run in five of his past six appearances.
Neither Brebbia nor Bowman are generating huge swinging strike rates. They’re both journeyman middle relievers who sit around 92 mph with their fastballs. There’s no guarantee the Twins select either player. That said, they could easily carve out space in a bullpen that has been one of the worst in the league.
Only the Astros have a higher relief ERA than Minnesota’s 5.54 mark. They’re also 29th in strikeout percentage (above the Nationals, in this case) and have the eighth-highest walk rate. Kody Funderburk is the only Minnesota reliever who has a sub-4.00 ERA while throwing more than 10 innings. Funderburk has more walks than strikeouts and was optioned to Triple-A yesterday. Every other Minnesota reliever has struggled to prevent runs.
Their three relievers with the highest strikeout rates — Garrett Acton, Cody Laweryson and Cole Sands — are all injured. Luis García, Taylor Rogers, Eric Orze and Anthony Banda have drawn their highest-leverage assignments.
Twins Outright Alex Jackson, Re-Sign Matt Bowman
The Twins outrighted catcher Alex Jackson to Triple-A St. Paul, reports Dan Hayes of The Athletic. Although Minnesota had announced this morning that he’d been designated for assignment, it seems they began the waiver process earlier in the week. Hayes also reports that righty reliever Matt Bowman is back with the club on a new minor league deal.
Jackson is expected to accept the assignment and start the season in the minors. He has the three years of service to elect free agency but hasn’t crossed the five-year threshold at which he’d keep his salary if he does so. Jackson avoided arbitration on a $1.35MM salary that he’d almost certainly not match if he tested the market and signed a minor league deal elsewhere.
Minnesota acquired Jackson from the Orioles in November. He had a path to the backup catching job behind Ryan Jeffers at the time. The Twins subsequently added Victor Caratini on a two-year deal, pushing the out-of-options Jackson off the roster. He has easily the most experience of any of their non-roster catchers, so he’d probably be first back up if Jeffers or Caratini suffer an injury.
Bowman is an organizational favorite who has had multiple stints with the club as a middle reliever. He was back in camp this year as a non-roster invitee. Bowman tossed 7 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run, striking out seven against two walks. Despite the strong showing, he lost out on a middle relief spot to Cody Laweryson and triggered an opt-out at the end of Spring Training. Bowman evidently did not find an immediate MLB roster spot elsewhere, so he’ll head to St. Paul and try to pitch his way into the big league bullpen during the season.
Twins Make Several Roster Decisions
The Twins announced Tuesday that they’ve granted right-hander Matt Bowman his release. He triggered an opt-out clause in his contract over the weekend. Minnesota also reassigned non-roster players Dan Altavilla, Orlando Arcia, David Bañuelos and Trent Baker to minor league camp. As Dan Hayes of The Athletic notes, that positions right-handers Cody Laweryson and Zak Kent to take the final two bullpen jobs, barring any outside additions. Matthew Leach of MLB.com did suggest earlier today that Minnesota could make another move or two regarding its patchwork bullpen.
Bowman, 34, had a nice spring, tossing 7 1/3 shutout innings. He allowed six hits and a pair of walks while punching out seven hitters. The journeyman right-hander has pitched in parts of seven major league seasons, compiling a 4.38 ERA over the course of 240 2/3 frames. He tossed 24 2/3 innings for Baltimore in 2025 but was tagged for a 6.20 earned run average.
Laweryson, 27, made his big league debut with the Twins last offseason. He held opponents to a run on four hits and no walks with seven punchouts — a nice follow-up to the 2.86 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate he logged across 44 Triple-A innings. The Twins tried to pass him through waivers in the offseason, only for the Angels to claim him.
The Halos designated Laweryson for assignment in February and released him, at which point he returned to the Twins on a minor league pact. He’s allowed one run on five hits and a walk with six strikeouts in 6 2/3 spring innings. Since he was in camp as a non-roster invitee, Laweryson will require the Twins to clear a 40-man roster spot to add him to the Opening Day roster. They’ve been shopping out-of-options catcher Alex Jackson but have no shortage of fringe players on their 40-man roster after last summer’s sell-off.
Whether there are any forthcoming moves or not, a year will make quite a difference for the Twins. They entered the 2025 season with what looked like one of the sport’s best bullpens on paper. Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart, Danny Coulombe, Justin Topa and Cole Sands gave the club a very strong top end. When the Twins shifted to sell mode at the deadline, that group was near wholly dismantled. Duran, Jax, Varland, Stewart and Coulombe were all traded for younger and/or more controllable players.
Heading into 2026, the Twins have what looks like one of the game’s worst bullpens by a wide margin. They added left-hander Anthony Banda after he was designated for assignment by the Dodgers and picked up righty Eric Orze in a small trade with the Rays. Left-hander Taylor Rogers, now 35, is back on a one-year deal that guarantees him $2MM. Kent was claimed off waivers after spring training was already underway.
That’s the extent of the team’s bullpen additions this winter. They’ll head into the season with Rogers, Banda, Sands, Topa, Orze, Kent, Laweryson and Kody Funderburk comprising new manager Derek Shelton’s relief corps. There’s no clear closer. Rogers is the only Twins reliever with experience in that role, but he’s been relegated to middle relief work with the Giants, Reds and Cubs in recent seasons. Rogers, Banda, Topa and Sands are the only Twins relievers with even a year of major league service.
As the season wears on, the Twins will surely hope for some young arms to step up and secure roles. Prospects like Connor Prielipp, Marco Raya, Ryan Gallagher and John Klein could eventually emerge as relief options. Starting pitchers who don’t carve out footholds in the rotation could get a look here, too; Zebby Matthews, David Festa, Kendry Rojas and Andrew Morris are among the possibilities. For now, the early iteration of the group looks about as bleak as any team in the game.
Matt Bowman Exercises Opt-Out In Twins Contract
Right-hander Matt Bowman has exercised the opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Twins, as per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Bowman isn’t an Article XX(B) player but he has a similar opt-out provision in his contract, so Minnesota now must decide between adding Bowman to the Opening Day roster or letting the reliever re-enter free agency.
Bowman allowed one hit over two scoreless innings in the Twins’ 7-3 win over the Braves today, and the righty has yet to be charged with an earned run over 7 1/3 frames of work in Spring Training. His spring work also included three more scoreless innings for Israel’s team during the World Baseball Classic.
It makes for an awfully strong case for a roster spot, yet Bowman is one of multiple pitchers competing for what appears to be just one opening in Minnesota’s bullpen. According to The Athletic’s Dan Hayes, the Twins look to be going with Taylor Rogers, Kody Funderburk, and Anthony Banda as the three left-handers, and Justin Topa, Cole Sands, Zak Kent and Eric Orze as the right-handed contingent. Dan Altavilla, Cody Laweryson, and Trent Baker are Bowman’s primary competition for the last bullpen assignment, and Hayes suggests that Altavilla is “likely in the lead.”
If Bowman doesn’t break camp with the Twins, another move will be on the horizon for a player who has generated seemingly half of MLB Trade Rumors’ content over the last couple of years. Bowman pitched at the big league level for four different teams (including the Twins) during the 2024 season, then spent most of 2025 being repeatedly designated for assignment, outrighted, and selected again by the Orioles, before he was released at the end of August and then signed by the Astros.
Through all the transactions, Bowman posted a 5.20 ERA, 17.1% strikeout rate, and 7.7% walk rate over 55 1/3 innings in the Show during the 2024-25 seasons. His grounder rate dipped to 39.7% over the last two years, after sitting at an impressive 56.3% over his first five seasons in the bigs.
Twins, Matt Bowman Agree To Minor League Contract
The Twins brought reliever Matt Bowman back to the organization on a minor league contract, according to the MLB.com transaction log. The ZS Sports client will presumably be in camp as a non-roster invitee.
This will be Bowman’s third stint with Minnesota. He signed a minor league deal over the 2023-24 offseason and made the team by the middle of April. He made five appearances before being designated for assignment and traded to the Diamondbacks. Bowman bounced around throughout the ’24 season and circled back to Minnesota on another minor league contract in July. He triggered an opt-out six weeks later and spent the following year with the Orioles and Astros.
The 34-year-old righty made 20 big league appearances for the Orioles last season. He struggled to a 6.20 ERA with a 15.8% strikeout rate over 24 2/3 innings. Although Bowman has never missed many bats, he has traditionally gotten a lot of ground-balls. That wasn’t the case last season, as he had a career-low 35% grounder rate.
Bowman had a better season in Triple-A, where he combined for a 3.93 ERA in 31 appearances. The grounders were still down but he punched out a league average 22.7% of batters faced. Bowman has pitched parts of seven seasons at the top minor league level, turning in a 4.14 ERA in nearly 400 innings.
The Twins sold off essentially all their high-leverage arms at last year’s deadline. They signed old friend Taylor Rogers to a $2MM free agent deal and traded for Eric Orze in a minor swap with the Rays. Rogers might step back into a closer role for which he’s probably miscast at this point of his career. Cole Sands, Justin Topa and Kody Funderburk are ticketed for leverage work. On paper, it’s one of the weakest bullpens in MLB. That affords a good opportunity for non-roster invitees trying to earn a middle relief job. Dan Altavilla and Grant Hartwig have also signed minor league deals this offseason.