Last night, the Minnesota Twins announced that they acquired right-handed reliever Garrett Acton from the Miami Marlins in exchange for minor-league right-handed pitcher Logan Whitaker. The Marlins designated Acton a few days ago as a corresponding move to acquiring infielder Leo Jiménez. The Twins moved right-handed pitcher David Festa to the 60-day injured list to clear a 40-man roster spot for Acton.
Acton, 27, made six appearances with the Athletics in 2023 and one with the Tampa Bay Rays last season. He's allowed eight earned runs across 6 2/3 innings. He was sidelined for the entire 2024 season due to undergoing Tommy John Surgery.
While Acton has limited MLB action and has a 4.56 ERA and 10% walk rate in 160 minor league innings dating back to 2022, he struck out 29.5% of batters faced during that time.
The new Twins righty has two options, so Minnesota can stash him in the minors for now and recall him when the team needs bullpen help.
Twins' decision to trade for Garrett Acton from Marlins shows team wants to keep stacking MLB-ready relievers
Whitaker looked great in between High-A and Double-A last season, posting a 2.11 ERA across 38 1/3 innings. He only struck out 21% of batters faced, but he posted a solid 6.4% walk rate and a 44.5% ground ball rate.
The fact that the Twins dealt Whitaker, who had good numbers last season, for Acton, who has MLB experience, shows the Twins are prioritizing bullpen depth this season over prospect lottery tickets.
As of now, the Twins' MLB bullpen consists of Anthony Banda, Taylor Rogers, Kody Funderburk, Justin Topa, Cole Sands, Cody Laweryson, Zak Kent and Eric Orze. The organization also has several relievers in Triple-A St. Paul with MLB experience, including Dan Altavilla, Matt Bowman, Julian Merryweather, Drew Smith and John Brebbia. Not to mention, righty Travis Adams is currently on the injured list and will likely be in the Twins' bullpen plans later in the year.
The Twins' acquisition of Acton shows the team's desire to stack relievers with MLB experience. By adding as many relievers with MLB experience as possible, the Twins clearly plan to rotate through bullpen arms throughout the season.
Acton's presence on the 40-man roster is a good sign for the righty. Because of that, he may earn a 26-man roster spot sooner than the other aforementioned relievers, as most of them aren't on the 40-man roster.