The Minnesota Twins signed Huascar Ynoa to a minor league deal on Dec. 10, with an invite to Spring Training. This is the second time the Twins have signed Ynoa, as he was signed as an international free agent as a 16-year-old in 2014.
Ynoa spent roughly three years in the Twins system, placing as high as 23rd in MLB Pipeline's 2017 Prospect Rankings for the team. He was sandwiched between former Twins great Zack Granite and Jose Miranda.
Ynoa's name became widely known as the prospect capital needed to acquire Jaime García from the Atlanta Braves ahead of the 2017 Trade Deadline.
Twins fans are well aware of how that trade went. García made one start as a Minnesota Twin, before being traded to the New York Yankees. Ynoa was essentially traded for Zach Littell and Dietrech Enns.
Ynoa broke out with Atlanta as a 22-year-old in 2021, the year that resulted in the Braves winning the World Series. Ynoa looked to be a future core cog in the Braves starting rotation, accumulating plus-1.4 fWAR in 91 innings, with a 4.05 ERA.
At this point, the García trade probably haunted the Twins front office.
The rest of Ynoa's career can be summarized by the injury bug. He had Tommy John surgery in September 2022, missed the entire 2023 season, and pitched 26 ineffective AAA innings in between injuries in 2024.
The Atlanta Braves non-tendered Ynoa in November, deciding to cut ties ahead of the 2025 season.
Ynoa is back where it all began. The Twins are probably viewing Ynoa as a reliever, similar to the path that Brock Stewart, Matt Canterino and countless other injury-riddled former starters have found themselves on.
Limiting his innings should allow him to reduce injury risk, and amplify the arsenal.
There are several reasons to be intrigued by Ynoa's pitch mix. He primarily has a two-pitch approach, with his fastball accounting for 46 percent of his pitches, and his slider right behind at 45 percent.
The fastball averaged 96.4 miles per hour across his career, but has a Stuff + of 79 (100 is average). If Ynoa can gain extra velocity by moving to the bullpen, that can be a bit more dangerous. That's also not guaranteed with his injury history.
Ynoa's calling card has always been his slider, with a Stuff+ of 120. Moving to the bullpen may allow him to increase that pitch to higher percentage of his mix, and offsetting with an increased 97-98 mile per hour fastball.
It's wishful thinking to assume Ynoa will have both improved health and stuff. He hasn't pitched a Major League inning since 2022, and faces a steep climb up the Twins bullpen ranking.
But the former prospect pedigree, pitch mix, and organizational lore are all there to create a compelling story to watch in Spring Training. If Ynoa can maintain fastball velocity in the upper to mid nineties, he's probably in the conversation to pitch at the major league level at some point this season.
His Twins debut has been in the making, dating back to 2014.