Minnesota Twins Sign Familiar Starting Pitcher to Compete for Rotation Spot
In 2017, Derek Falvey was in the midst of his first season as Minnesota Twins president of baseball operations. So that summer’s mid-season MLB trade deadline was the first Falvey ever navigated for the Twins. One of those first-time PoBO moves involved trading away a young pitcher prospect named Huascar Ynoa.
As the 2017 trade deadline approached, the Twins were hovering around .500, trailing in the division and looking for a boost to their MLB staff. The Minnesota Twins’ new decision-maker tried to ride the deadline fence his first season, opting to both buy and sell.
During the flurry of transactions, Ynoa was dealt to the Atlanta Braves for SP Jaime Garcia, who made just one start in Minnesota, before Falvey flipped him to the Yankees just days after originally trading for him.
Huascar Ynao signs minor league deal with Minnesota Twins
Huascar Ynoa was with the Braves’ organization, since they acquired him from the Twins seven years ago. That was until this offseason, when they granted the now 26-year-old his free agency. Then, on Tuesday morning — over seven years after he was traded away — Ynoa signed a minor league deal to return to the team he started his professional baseball career with.
Source: Huascar Ynoa and the Twins have agreed to a minor-league deal with a spring training invitation.
— Stephanie Apstein (@stephapstein) December 10, 2024
When the Twins flipped Ynoa he was a 19-year-old playing in the Appalachian League. He had made just 28 professional starts to that point. After a couple of years in the Braves organization, Huascar made his MLB debut for Atlanta in 2019 and now has 24 MLB starts and 122.1 innings of Major League experience under his belt.
Ynoa’s career since reaching the majors has been up and down. He has a 5.22 ERA, 1.316 WHIP and he’s collected 1.1 bWAR, in 31 total MLB appearances, between 2019 and 2022. His best season came in 2021, when he posted a 4.05 ERA across 91 innings.
Ynoa even made two postseason appearances for Atlanta, between 2020 and 2021 (5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 HR, 3.60 ERA, 1.600 WHIP), where he got a World Series ring on his finger. But Huascar Ynoa hasn’t pitched a big league inning since the 2022 MLB season, due to elbow and shoulder injuries, which kept him off the mound completely in 2023.
What are the 2025 Twins getting with Ynoa?
Ynoa returned in 2024, where he appeared in 14 minor league games, including 7 starts. The 6-2, 220 lb Dominican righty tossed 29 2/3 minor league innings in the Braves organization (mostly at AAA) last season, where he posted a 6.37 ERA and 1.483 WHIP.
Huascar Ynoa, 87mph Wipeout Slider. 🌊 pic.twitter.com/Y5jZcd2tex
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 24, 2021
Related: Confirmed: Minnesota Twins Taking Offers on Carlos Correa at MLB Winter Meetings
Last season, the we saw Minnesota Twins pitchers drop like flies all summer long, and well into the fall. Without money to supplement the staff near the top, like it needs, this is one of many depth dart throws we can expect to see from Derek Falvey & Co, as they try to piece together a decent rotation and bullpen for 2025.
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