Minnesota Twins acquire first baseman Eric Wagaman from Miami Marlins for lefty prospect Kade Bragg, DFA infielder Ryan Fitzgerald
The Minnesota Twins have acquired first baseman Eric Wagaman from the Miami Marlins in exchange for left-handed reliever Kade Bragg, the team announced. Infielder Ryan Fitzgerald was designated for assignment as a corresponding move.
We have made the following trade and roster move: pic.twitter.com/yWnlLaHs2I
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) January 2, 2026
The Marlins designated Wagaman, 28, for assignment earlier in the week as a corresponding move to acquiring outfielder Ester Ruiz from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for righty pitching prospect Adriano Marrero.
Wagaman made his MLB debut with the Los Angeles Angels in 2024, posting 0.4 bWAR and an 87 OPS+ with two homers and 10 RBI in 74 plate appearances. He played in 140 games with Miami last season, posting -0.4 bWAR and an 86 OPS+ in 514 plate appearances.
Twins likely to mainly use Wagaman against lefties
While Wagaman overall struggled at the plate last season, he hit .283/.321/.462 with five home runs and 26 RBI in 173 at-bats against lefties. Therefore, the Twins likely plan to start him against lefties. In addition to first base, he logged innings at left field and third base last season.
Wagaman is the second first baseman Minnesota acquired this offseason. Last month, switch-hitting first baseman Josh Bell and the Twins agreed to a one-year, $7 million deal. While Bell will get innings at first base in 2026, he will most likely primarily serve as the Twins' designated hitter, which he did with the Washington Nationals last season. Despite appearing in just 33 games as a first baseman last season, Bell posted an abysmal -4 outs above average.
With the Twins likely to use Bell mainly as a designated hitter, they will probably use Clemens and Wagaman in a platoon system at first base. Wagaman isn't a great defender, posting -2 outs above average last year, but he's still a lot better than Bell defensively. Wagaman likely won't get any innings at third base with the Twins unless there are a large number of injuries, but he will probably provide innings at left field in addition to first base next season.