Minnesota Twins claim former first-round pick Jackson Kowar off waivers from Seattle Mariners
The Twins announced they have claimed right-handed reliever Jackson Kowar off waivers from the Mariners. Seattle had designated Kowar for assignment after acquiring catcher Jhonny Pereda from Minnesota in exchange for cash.
The Kansas City Royals selected Kowar from the University of Florida with the 33rd overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft. Baseball America had Kowar, 29, ranked No. 78 pre-2020 and No. 95 pre-2021 on its list of top 100 prospects. Despite the hype surrounding the righty, he has yet to live up to his potential. Still, with his fastball velocity ranking in the 90th percentile last year and the hype he had as a prospect, the Twins' decision to take a flier on the righty seems like a solid one. Along with his four-seamer, Kowar throws a high-80s slider, high-80s changeup and high-90s sinker.
In 39 games with the Royals from 2021-23, Kowar posted an awful 9.12 ERA (5.99 FIP) with 75 strikeouts and 51 walks over 74 innings. The Royals traded him to the Atlanta Braves for righty Kyle Write on November 17, 2023, before Atlanta dealt him and righty pitcher Cole Phillips to the Mariners just weeks later for outfielder Jarred Kelenic, first baseman Evan White and lefty pitcher Marco Gonzalez.
Kowar didn't pitch at all in 2024 due to undergoing Tommy John surgery and made 15 appearances with Seattle in 2025, posting a 4.24 ERA (5.84 FIP) with 15 strikeouts and seven walks in 17 innings. He notably allowed four homers in his limited action with the Mariners. He had a 2.57 ERA in 14 innings with Triple-A Tacoma last year. The righty has a career 4.30 ERA across 400 minor league innings.
Adding Jackson Kowar is a good move for Twins, but they still need to add a more established righty reliever
Kowar seems like a good guy to stash in Triple-A for now, but he is out of options, meaning the Twins may plan to have him make the 26-man roster on opening day. If he struggles during spring training and the Twins don't want him on their opening day roster, they'll have to designate him for assignment, which would allow other teams to claim him off waivers.
Claiming Kowar isn't a terrible idea for Minnesota, as he improved drastically last season and was once viewed by many as one of the best prospects in baseball. But if the Twins want to compete next season, they should still add a more established righty, such as Michael Kopech, to their bullpen.