Twins sign indy ball lefty reliever in under-the-radar attempt to add bullpen depth

Few thought that the AL Central was going to be so strong in 2024, and luckily for the Minnesota Twins, they are right smack dab in the middle of all of it. As of Monday, they sit at 24-16 and just a half game back of the division leading (and very surprising) Guardians. With a critical stretch run seemingly inevitable for Minnesota, now is the time to start building some depth.

So far in 2024, the Twins' bullpen has largely been pretty good with a 3.75 ERA, but a bulk of the best work has come from Griffin Jax and especially unsung hero Brock Stewart, with the majority of Minnesota's relievers falling firmly in the "good enough" pile. The Twins are going to need to rotate guys in and out over the course of the season to make things work, especially since the idea of Minnesota taking on an expensive contract for a reliever at the trade deadline seems rather unlikely.

Luckily, the team is leaving no stone left unturned, and the Twins took a shot on Caleb Baragar on a minor league deal on Monday.

Twins News: Minnesota signs Caleb Baragar to MiLB for needed bullpen depth

Baragar's best season in the big leagues came in 2021 with the Giants when he posted a 1.57 ERA in 25 appearances. However, he consistently missed too few bats and gave up too many walks to stick in the big leagues. After the Giants DFAed him, he bounced around a bit on minor-league deals before having to latch on with an indy ball team in the Atlantic League.

Apparently, Minnesota liked what they saw in that indy ball stint out of the 30-year-old lefty enough to give him a try on a minor league deal. Ideally, Minnesota will start getting some of their more established bullpen arms healthy here soon. However, minor moves like these give the Twins options, especially since Baragar is a lefty, if they have to scramble over the course of the season.

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