The Twins are going to signal right-hander Grant Hartwig to a minor league deal, stories Darren Wolfson of KSTP. The ACES shopper can even obtain an invitation to main league camp in spring coaching.
Hartwig, 28 this month, has a restricted massive league observe file. He tossed 42 innings for the Mets over the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He allowed 24 earned runs, giving him a 5.14 ERA. He struck out 18% of batters confronted and issued walks at a ten.1% charge, each subpar figures, however induced grounders on 46.5% of balls in play. He averaged within the mid-90s together with his four-seamer and sinker whereas additionally mixing in a cutter, slider and changeup.
In June of the latter marketing campaign, he required surgical procedure to restore a meniscus tear in his left knee. He was non-tendered on the finish of the 12 months and re-signed on a minor league deal. In July of 2025, he headed abroad to play for Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Skilled Baseball. He posted a 3.65 ERA for the Tigers in a small pattern of 12 1/3 innings.
As a minor leaguer, Hartwig has usually been in a position to get strikeouts however hasn’t featured pristine management. Courting again to the beginning of 2023, he has thrown 94 2/3 innings on the farm, principally at Triple-A. In that point, he has a 4.47 ERA, 25.6% strikeout charge and 11.3% stroll charge. In 2025, he was out to begin, having tossed 23 2/3 innings with a 3.42 ERA, 29.2% strikeout charge and eight.8% stroll charge.
That was sufficient to get him curiosity in Japan however he didn’t benefit from the chance there. In his restricted pattern of labor with the Tigers, he solely struck out 15.1% of batters confronted whereas giving out walks at a 13.2% clip. It’s at all times robust to search out which means in that type of pattern dimension however that ought to be very true a few man making a midseason transfer from MLB to Japan.
For the Twins, they stripped down their bullpen finally 12 months’s deadline. They despatched out Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart and Danny Coulombe. It’s unclear whether or not they plan for 2026 to be a form of reset 12 months or in the event that they plan to reinvest within the roster in an try and compete. Both method, they’ll want some recent bullpen arms. If Hartwig can crack the roster, he’s nonetheless optionable and has lower than a 12 months of service time. Meaning he can present roster flexibility and reasonably priced management for the foreseeable future.
Photograph courtesy of Reinhold Matay, Imagn Pictures
