Late Thursday night, the Minnesota Twins acquired veteran left-handed reliever A.J. Minter from the New York Mets, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. New York received infield prospects Billy Amick and Bruin Agbayani in the deal. Minter is one of the top relievers on the trade market.
The return for A.J. Minter, per ESPN sources: infielder Billy Amick and infielder Bruin Agbayani — the son of longtime Mets outfielder Benny Agbayani. Amick has big power, questions about position. Agbayani is young, toolsy and instinctual. First on the return was @WillSammon.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 31, 2026
The trade proves the Twins are serious about winning this year. After Kody Clemens hit a walk-off grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning to give the Twins a 4-3 win on Thursday, Minnesota's record improved to .500 (55-55). The club is just one game back of the Cleveland Guardians for the final American League Wild Card spot and three games back of the Chicago White Sox for first place in the American League Central.
The Twins' biggest need at the deadline is clearly bullpen help. Entering Thursday, the Twins' bullpen ranked 26th in ERA (4.96). Adding Minter clearly addresses the club's biggest weakness.
While the Twins already acquired a reliever, Tommy Nance, in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays earlier this month, the Minter trade is a much clearer indicator that Minnesota plans to be aggressive in its pursuit of improving its active roster ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
A.J. Minter has had a dominant season for the Mets
Minter, 32, suffered a left lat strain in late April 2025. It led to him being out for the remainder of the 2025 season, and he had to undergo surgery. The southpaw returned from the IL in late May of this year, and has been dominant ever since.
Minter has posted a 2.35 ERA with a 1.00 WHIP and 20 strikeouts over 23 innings this season. He has 10 years of big-league experience, having pitched for the Atlanta Braves from 2017-24 and the Mets the past two seasons. Minter has a career 3.18 ERA with a 1.18 WHIP and 456 strikeouts over 382 2/3 innings. He has plenty of postseason experience, with a 2.88 ERA over 25 innings in the playoffs with the Braves. He won the 2021 World Series with Atlanta.
Minter throws his high-80s cutter over half of the time. He mixes in a four-seamer and sinker that both average around 93 mph and a changeup that sits at roughly 86 mph.
The fact that the Twins gave up two solid prospects in the trade shows how serious the Twins' brass is about making the postseason this year. Before the trade, Amick ranked as the team's No. 21 overall prospect, and Agbayani No. 29. With a loaded farm system headlined by Walker Jenkins, Vahn Lackey, Kaelen Culpepper and others, the Twins have the luxury to trade lower-ranked prospects for players who can help the team win this year. Twins fans should be happy about this deal.
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