The Twins are taking a low-risk flyer on right-handed reliever Eduardo Salazar, signing the 27-year-old to a minor league deal with a likely invite to big league camp later this month.
Salazar’s journey through the majors has been a winding one. Over the past three seasons, he’s logged time with the Reds, Dodgers, and Nationals, totaling 70 2/3 innings of big league work.
The results, however, have been rocky-a 5.99 ERA and a profile that’s still searching for consistency. But there are flashes under the hood that suggest why Minnesota might see something worth exploring.
Let’s start with the arsenal. In 2025, Salazar averaged 95.1 mph on his four-seamer and 94.4 mph on his sinker, pairing those heaters with a slider that came in at 87.5 mph.
It’s a power mix, no doubt. But despite the velocity, he’s struggled to miss bats at the big league level, striking out just 16% of hitters while walking 10.2%.
That’s a tough margin to live on. Still, there’s one number that jumps out: a 52.8% ground-ball rate.
That’s a legit strength, and in the right system, it’s something that can be built around.
His Triple-A numbers haven’t been much better-he owns a 5.71 ERA over 117 innings at that level-but there’s a wrinkle worth noting. During his time with the Nationals, Salazar saw a shift in pitch usage.
Previously a sinker-slider guy with the occasional four-seamer and changeup, Washington leaned into his four-seam fastball more heavily. The results?
Improved swinging-strike and strikeout rates at Triple-A. It’s a small sample, but it could be the kind of trend that caught the Twins’ attention.
Minnesota, after all, has room to experiment. Their bullpen was one of the best in baseball heading into the 2025 trade deadline-then came the sell-off. Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Danny Coulombe, and Brock Stewart were all moved in a massive 11-player deadline deal, and the front office hasn’t done much to restock the shelves since.
So far this winter, the Twins brought back Taylor Rogers on a $2 million deal as he enters his age-35 season, and they added right-hander Eric Orze in a minor trade with the Rays. That duo joins returning arms Justin Topa, Cole Sands, and Kody Funderburk in what currently projects as one of the more uncertain bullpens in the league.
There’s also a wave of young starters in the pipeline-David Festa, Zebby Matthews, Taj Bradley, Connor Prielipp, and Marco Raya-who could shift into relief roles if rotation spots don’t open up. That creates a fluid situation where someone like Salazar, if he shows something in camp or early in the season at Triple-A St. Paul, could get a real shot.
It’s worth noting that Salazar is out of minor league options. If he earns a spot on the 40-man roster, the Twins will have to keep him in the majors or risk losing him on waivers.
But if the pieces fall into place-if the pitch mix continues to evolve, if the ground-ball rate holds, if the command sharpens-there’s some long-term upside here. He’d be under team control for five seasons.
That’s a lot of “ifs,” but for a team with bullpen innings up for grabs, Eduardo Salazar is a name to keep an eye on this spring.