Marco Raya’s 2026 season never really looked settled until it suddenly did.
The Minnesota Twins prospect opened the year in a new role, moving from the starting-pitching pipeline into full-time relief. Early on, it was rough going in a way that felt familiar after his struggles in the St.
Paul Saints rotation the year before. Through his first nine outings, Raya had given up 14 runs on 15 hits and nine walks in 11 ⅓ innings, with opponents finding the fastball far too often.
Then the tide turned. From April 29 through June 18, Raya put together the kind of run that changed everything.
He cut down on fastball contact, issued only three walks across 27 ⅔ innings, and struck out 24.5% of the batters he faced. That stretch earned him a major-league call-up on June 24, and even though his first stint in the big leagues lasted only three games, it capped a comeback from a difficult 2025 and a shaky start to the new season.
“The debut is the highlight of the season for sure, and the way I started this year after last year, not having too great a year, and being able to pick myself back up and continue to fight, and just find myself more every day,” said Raya. “I felt really good and just find myself more every day.
I feel really good and learned even a lot more about myself this year. As of late, I’ve really felt and been the best in my career so far.”
Raya’s time in the majors was cut short by a right shoulder impingement that sent him to the injured list on July 8. A couple of days later, the Twins brought in Tommy Nance in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays, which tightened the bullpen picture even more. Once Raya finished his rehab assignment, the club opted to send him back to Triple-A rather than squeeze him onto the 26-man roster.
That move ended up setting up the strongest finish of Raya’s season. Over 19 appearances to close out 2026, he posted a 3.42 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, a .163 opponents’ batting average, a 3.74 FIP, a 9% walk rate and a 33.7% strikeout rate in 23 ⅔ innings.
“After that IL stint, [he was] just making sure he was good and healthy, and he came back here,” said Saints manager Brian Dinkelman on Raya. “He’s given us multiple innings a few times.
He has electric stuff when he throws them for strikes. He’s been healthy the whole time, and we’re happy to have him.”
For Raya, the setback and the assignment back to St. Paul didn’t derail the progress. He treated it like another test, not a detour.
“It’s unfortunate the option came right when I came back from the injury,” said Raya, “but that’s all part of it, and I just came back here with a positive mindset, a positive headspace, and a plan. And I’ve just been going out there and trying to execute every single outing.”
The veteran presence in the Saints bullpen helped shape that final stretch, too. Raya spent the end of the year alongside Matt Bowman, Julian Merryweather and Eric Orze, a group that gave him a steadier environment to keep refining his game.
Orze and Raya had already built a relationship around bullpen roles dating back to spring training, and Orze said the learning went both ways.
“I’m always somebody who wants to learn, so I always appreciate when guys are willing to have that two-way conversation and want to learn from you as well,” said Orze. “It’s been an awesome group, and it’s been everybody.
The conversations we have during the game, and it doesn’t matter what it is. It’s just a great group all around.”
Raya said the same setting helped him keep growing, especially with more experienced arms around him.
“I’m still learning so much, especially being around guys with much more big-league experience,” Raya said. “I feel myself getting better and better every single day.
So definitely looking forward to how much more I can get for myself out in the ‘pen for years to come. [I’m] just really invested in becoming the best version of myself and being able to help the big league team win.”
Even with the interrupted major-league stint, Raya came away proud of the year he put together. His off-speed pitches stayed effective, the fastball contact dropped as the season went on, and he kept working on first-pitch strikes, an issue that has followed him since 2025.
“I have to get better at getting the first-pitch strike,” he said. “Those first-strike numbers, I feel, are somewhere where I really need to improve on, and that’s something I’m working on right now.
When I fall behind after that first pitch, just try and do a good job of getting back in that count and getting back into a pitcher’s count. And if I do fall behind, try to get some weak contact somewhere and get an out.”
Raya still has a path back to the Twins bullpen next year. After the rough opening month, he showed enough over long stretches to look like a real fit for a relief role, and with two option years still left, he’s positioned to stay in the mix as Minnesota sorts through its bullpen needs this offseason.
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