Yankees' bullpen victory after swiping reliever from Twins is only becoming clearer

The Minnesota Twins already have three lefty bullpen arms in Taylor Rogers, Anthony Banda and Kody Funderburk. Still, the team could use one more southpaw as long as he's effective.

Righties Cody Laweryson and Zak Kent, who each allowed four runs last night (only three of Laweryson's and one of Kent's runs were earned- but that doesn't excuse Kent from allowing a grand slam) en route to the Twins losing 13-9 to the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium, aren't expected to be high-leverage arms this season. The Twins should gladly take a fourth lefty, if he's effective, over Laweryson or Kent.

It turns out, the Twins had another effective lefty in their system; they just didn't realize it.

Yankees' bullpen victory after swiping lefty Brent Headrick from Twins is only becoming clearer

The Twins selected Headrick, 28, in the ninth round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Illinois State University. He made it to the majors with Minnesota in 2023, posting a poor 6.31 ERA over 25 2/3 innings while allowing 27 hits and 10 walks. However, he collected 30 strikeouts- suggesting the lefty had potential.

Headrick, who throws a mid-90s four-seamer, a low-80s slider and a mid-to-low-80s splitter, made just one MLB appearance in 2024, allowing one run on two hits and two walks with five strikeouts across three innings. He also had a dominant 1.86 ERA across 19 1/3 minor-league innings that year. A left forearm strain kept the lefty sidelined for much of the 2024 season.

Despite Headrick showing promise early in his career, the Twins designated him for assignment in Feb. 2025, and the New York Yankees claimed him. The move made some sense at the time, as the Twins had an absolutely stacked bullpen led by Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart and Danny Coulombe. But as we all know, all five of those relievers found themselves on a different team by the July 31 Trade Deadline.

Now that the Twins' bullpen is no longer among the best in baseball, it's difficult not to wish the team had held onto Headrick- especially after looking at his stats with the Yankees.

Headrick spent most of last season with Triple-A Scranton, posting a 2.63 ERA across 24 innings. He had a 3.13 ERA in 23 innings with New York in 2025.

It appears the former Twins lefty will be a mainstay in the Yankees' bullpen this year, barring a huge dropoff or injury. He's hurled 3 1/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts across four appearances this year.

Good for Headrick. But no good for the Twins.