Reds re-sign former Twins reliever Emilio Pagán
The Cincinnati Reds re-signed former Twins righty reliever Emilio Pagán to a two-year, $20 million contract, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and C. Trent Rosecrans. The deal allows Pagán to opt out after next season.
Pagán, 34, began his MLB career with the Seattle Mariners in 2017. Seattle traded him to the Oakland Athletics in the 2017-18 offseason. Then, in the following offseason, the Athletics dealt him to the Tampa Bay Rays as part of a three-way deal with the Rangers involving utilityman Jurickson Profar.
After just one season with the Rays, Pagán was traded to the San Diego Padres for catcher Logan Driscoll and outfielder Manuel Margot. He spent two seasons with San Diego, then was traded again, this time to the Minnesota Twins, along with righty starting pitcher Chris Paddack, in exchange for lefty reliever Taylor Rogers and outfielder Brent Rooker.
Pagán spent two seasons with the Twins before signing a two-year, $16 million contract with the Reds in the 2023-24 offseason. The righty reliever struggled in his first season as a Red, posting a 4.50 ERA in just 38 innings. But in 2025, he proved he is among the best bullpen arms in MLB by posting a 2.88 ERA with 32 saves, 81 strikeouts and 22 walks over 68 2/3 innings.
New Pagán-Reds deal could benefit Twins
It would've been a nice addition for Minnesota if it had brought Pagán back. After trading Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart and Danny Coulombe this past summer, the Twins desperately need to rebuild their bullpen. Pagán would've been a nice fit as the Twins' closer, but he likely wanted to go back to the Reds, considering he had the best season of his career with them in 2025. Not to mention, the Reds made the postseason last season, while the Twins did not.
The Twins likely wouldn't have been willing to pay Pagán $10 million per year, even though that's a good deal for one of the best closers in MLB. At the very least, Minnesota can use the new Pagán deal when negotiating with free agent relievers this offseason. Most of the available relievers aren't as good as Pagán, and the Twins can use that fact to ensure they don't overpay for a bullpen arm this offseason.