The Minnesota Twins have signed right-handed reliever Luis García and assigned him to Triple-A St. Paul, according to The Minnesota Star Tribune's Bobby Nightengale. García, 39, signed a one-year, $1.75 million contract with the Mets in the offseason, then was released last week after allowing six runs (five earned) on 11 hits and two walks with four strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings across six outings.
García had a solid 3.42 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 55 1/3 innings with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels last season. From 2021-25, the new Twins righty had a 3.86 ERA with a 22.3% strikeout rate, 7.8% walk rate and 53% ground-ball rate.
García's sinker has dropped from 96.9 mph in 2025 to 94 mph in 2026. His changeup and splitter have also dropped in velocity. Hopefully, the Twins can help the veteran regain his velocity, and he will eventually make a positive impact in Minnesota's bullpen. Unfortunately, given his age, García may never regain the velocity he had last year. Regardless, the Twins made a solid move by signing the righty to a minor-league deal.
Twins' García signing gives team more needed bullpen depth
Minnesota has one of the worst bullpens in MLB this season. The Twins' relievers rank 23rd in baseball with a 5.07 ERA and have the fourth-worst strikeout rate. The Twins' bullpen also has the third-slowest average fastball (93.4 mph) in the game. Given the bullpen's immense struggles, the team needs as much relief pitching depth as possible.
The Twins' bullpen currently consists of RHP Cole Sands, RHP Eric Orze, RHP Justin Topa, LHP Anthony Banda, RHP Garrett Acton, LHP Taylor Rogers and LHP Kendry Rojas, whom the Twins recalled from Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday. LHP Kody Funderburk is on the paternity list but will return to the team soon.
If García finds success with the Saints, he'll likely find himself on the Twins' 26-man roster at some point in the season. Many of the Twins' current relievers will likely be off the team later in the year.
García will join a Saints pitching staff that has several relievers with big-league experience and hopes of returning to the majors, including RHP Dan Altavilla, RHP Matt Bowman, RHP John Brebbia, RHP Grant Hartwig, RHP Zak Kent and RHP Julian Merryweather. While García has a good chance of returning to the big leagues with the Twins, he will have to outperform the aforementioned relievers if he wants to be the next man up when one of Minnesota's bullpen arms suffers an injury or gets demoted/designated for assignment.
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