On Friday, the Minnesota Twins designated infielder Ryan Fitzgerald for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster for first baseman Eric Wagaman, whom the Twins acquired from the Miami Marlins for lefty pitching prospect Kade Bragg.
While releasing Fitzgerald makes sense for the Twins, a team with plenty of infield talent in the majors and minors, another MLB team should take a flier on the 31-year-old journeyman.
DFA'd Twins infielder Ryan Fitzgerald deserves chance with another MLB team in 2026
No MLB team would add Fitzgerald with the intention of starting him regularly, but he at least deserves another shot to prove he can be a valuable depth piece for a big-league squad. He made his MLB debut with Minnesota last season and ended the year with a .196/.302/.457 (106 OPS+) slash line with four homers and nine RBI over 53 plate appearances.
Ryan Fitzgerald’s homer cuts the Yankees' lead to three runs. 👀 pic.twitter.com/nd0PSLPZxg
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 17, 2025
Fitzgerald will likely land a minor league deal this offseason unless he wants to play overseas in Japan, Korea or Mexico. Assuming he's looking to return to the big leagues, he should try his best to sign with a team lacking infield depth. If he has a strong spring training, whichever team he's on could look to add him to their 26-man roster as a backup infielder.
Released Twins infielder Ryan Fitzgerald had long journey to MLB debut
Fitzgerald went undrafted out of Creighton in 2016 and played a year of independent ball before spending six seasons in the Boston Red Sox’ system and one with the Kansas City Royals organization. The Twins signed the infielder to a minor league deal last offseason. In seven minor league seasons, he has hit .258/.338/.432 with 76 home runs and 378 RBIs across 708 games.
Beyond the Twins trading nearly half of their team, the main reason Fitzgerald was given his opportunity in the major leagues last year is that he took his game to the next level with Triple-A St. Paul. In 59 games for the Saints during the 2025 campaign, Fitzgerald slashed .277/.367/.469 with seven homers, 31 RBIs, 30 runs and five stolen bases in 245 plate appearances.