Twins agree to minor-league deal with right-handed reliever Drew Smith
The Minnesota Twins have agreed to a minor-league deal with right-handed reliever Drew Smith, according to The Athletic's Dan Hayes. He'll begin the season with Triple-A St. Paul.
The Washington Nationals released Smith, 32, last week after he hurled 5 1/3 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts during spring training.
The new Twins righty missed the 2019 and 2025 seasons due to Tommy John Surgery. He's thrown 196 1/3 career innings for the New York Mets, posting a 3.48 ERA with 202 strikeouts. He's allowed 174 hits and 77 walks throughout his MLB career.
Smith, whom the Detroit Tigers selected in the third round of the 2015 MLB Draft from Dallas Baptist University before trading him to the Mets for first baseman Lucas Duda in 2017, relies on five pitches: a mid-90s four-seamer, a high-80s/low-90s cutter, a mid-80s slider, a high-70s curveball and a mid-80s changeup. In 2024, when he threw 17 2/3 MLB innings, Smith threw his four-seamer 46% of the time, his cutter 27%, slider 14%, curveball 8% and changeup 5%.
Drew Smith should be in majors for Twins later in 2026
Based on his stats, Smith is a great under-the-radar signing for the Twins. Even if a minor-league signing doesn't work out, the risk is minimal. Smith has had a lot of success in the big leagues and could factor into the Twins' bullpen plans later in the season.
The Twins' bullpen currently includes lefties Anthony Banda, Taylor Rogers and Kody Funderburk, and righties Justin Topa, Cole Sands, Eric Orze, Cody Laweryson and Zak Kent. If/when one of them struggles or suffers an injury, the Twins may consider having Smith take their spot on the 26-man roster.
Of course, Smith isn't the only reliever with the Saints waiting for a chance to be called up this season. Fans can probably expect to see John Brebbia, Dan Altavilla, Travis Adams, Julian Merryweather, Trent Baker, Matt Bowman and Marco Raya make relief appearances for the Twins at some point later in the season. The Twins may have a bullpen full of questions, but they've done a good job at ensuring they have plenty of relievers with MLB experience.
For now, Smith joins a St. Paul Saints team loaded with talent. If you can, it'll be worth tuning into Saints gams to see how the team's top prospects and array of bullpen arms with MLB experience perform.