Former Twins journeyman pitcher José Ureña elects free agency for fourth time in 2025
Right-handed pitcher José Ureña elected free agency for the fourth time this season after clearing waivers on Monday, according to the Athletic's Dan Hayes. The Twins designated Ureña, 33, for assignment on Friday to make room for right-handed starting pitcher Mick Abel, who was sent to the Twins from the Phillies as part of the Jhoan Durán trade on July 30.
Minnesota selected Ureña's and Erasmo Ramirez's contracts and recalled six minor leaguers on August 1 after the trade deadline fire sale that gutted nearly 40% of the roster. Ureña, who allowed six earned runs in five innings in the Twins' 8-3 loss to the Athletics on Thursday, originally signed a minor league deal with the Twins on June 24. He had a 4.05 ERA in 13 1/3 innings across six outings (four starts) with Triple-A St. Paul before his post-trade deadline promotion.
Ureña struggled to pitch consistently well with Minnesota, posting a 4.58 ERA with 10 strikeouts and eight walks in 17 2/3 innings over four appearances (three starts). However, it was clear from the start that Ureña was with the Twins to eat innings until Mick Abel and/or Taj Bradley were ready to be promoted. With that in consideration, Ureña did what he was asked to do and wasn't terrible during his stint with Minnesota.
As stated earlier, Ureña has elected free agency for the fourth time this season. In 2025, Ureña has pitched for the New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers. Each team designated Ureña for assignment after utilizing him for brief stints at the big league level.
Ureña made his MLB debut with the Miami Marlins in 2015. In six years as a Marlin, Ureña had a 4.60 ERA with 406 strikeouts and 208 walks in 597 innings. Since then, Ureña has spent time in the big leagues with the Colorado Rockies, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers and the four teams he was on this year. If Ureña, who has a career 4.77 ERA with 655 strikeouts and 367 walks in 984 1/3 innings, manages to find four more teams to play for, he will tie Rich Hill's and Edwin Jackson's MLB record.