National League Team Claims Former Twins Flameout

When the Minnesota Twins entered the 2025 regular season they did so with a bullpen that theoretically could have been the best in baseball. It performed that was at times, and was certainly an imposing unit until they tore it down at the trade deadline.

Although the best high-leverage arms remained at Rocco Baldelli’s disposal until July 31, they moved on from some of them prior to that.

Jorge Alcala has made a career out of being on the Minnesota Twins 26-man roster and not pitching. This season they decided it was enough and sent him packing. After being DFA’d by the Boston Red Sox earlier this week, he now has a new home.

St. Louis Cardinals grab former Minnesota Twins reliever Jorge Alcala

Minnesota flipped Alcala to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for minor league prospect Andy Lugo. Alcala pitched in 19 games for Boston before they decided his lack of command was enough. Now he’s headed to the National League.

We have claimed RHP Jorge Alcala off of waivers from the Red Sox. pic.twitter.com/HNMq9DpHV9

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 7, 2025

Alcala posted an 8.88 ERA (5.45 FIP) with Minnesota in 24 1/3 innings. He then had a 3.31 ERA (5.56 FIP) with Boston in 16 1/3 innings. The numbers with the Red Sox may look ok, but runs in four of his final six outings with a 6/4 K/BB isn’t ideal.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora told Mass Live’s Chris Cotillo, “The stuff was good. He wasn’t able to throw strikes. Good kid, good stuff. We’ll see what the future holds, but we needed to make a change.”

The future is now for Alcala. He’s 30 years old and on his third team this season. JoJo Romero is now the team’s closer after they traded Ryan Helsley to the New York Mets at the deadline. Alcala will likely slot into a low-leverage role.

Last season the MN Twins had Alcala averaging 98.0 mph on his fastball. That has dipped to 97.2 mph this season. He’s using the pitch more than ever, and velocity has almost always been a calling card. Unfortunately the high walk rates have always held him back.

Related: MN Twins Interested in Former (Familiar) Top Reliever

Interestingly enough, Ryan Pressly is currently on the Twins radar after being DFA’d by the Chicago Cubs. Pressly was originally traded to the Astros in exchange for Alcala.