Twins president of baseball operations, Derek Falvey, was always going to sell every single impending free agent he could, and without a doubt, left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe was among the best of those expiring assets. It took some big name relievers coming off the board, but the southpaw now has a new team too.

Minnesota Twins send Danny Coulombe to Texas

Danny Coulombe signed a couple of minor league deals to stay with the Minnesota Twins from 2020 through 2022. Then he joined the Baltimore Orioles for a pair of seasons before returning on a three-year pact this offseason. Now he’s going to the AL West and joining the Texas Rangers.

The Texas Rangers are acquiring left-hander Danny Coulombe from the Minnesota Twins, sources tell ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 31, 2025

This season for the Twins Coulombe owns a career-low 1.16 ERA (1.96 FIP) across 40 games. He has a 31/9 K/BB in 31 innings, and has been among the most unhittable lefties in the entire game.

Coulombe is not a velocity guy as he sits just 90.4 mph on his fastball. He utilizes a deceptive delivery and significant spin to overpower hitters and it has worked to an extreme extent in recent seasons.

Related: MN Twins Shock the World: Carlos Correa Back to Astros

The Texas Rangers are currently 57-52, which is tied for second in the AL West with the Seattle Mariners. They are both trying to chase down the Houston Astros or at worst secure a wild card berth.

Coulombe is cut from a similar cloth as former Minnesota Twins southpaw reliever Caleb Thielbar. While the latter was a Minnesota-native, they both reinvented themselves to carve out a notable second-half of their career. Just like Thielbar did, Coulombe thrived this season with the Twins. Now, the Rangers hope he can do the same for them.

Official: Rangers acquire LHP Danny Coulombe from the Twins for LHP Garrett Horn.

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) July 31, 2025

Horn is the return for Coulombe and he was the Rangers sixth round pick in 2024. He pitched for Liberty at the collegiate level and has spent 2025 at rookie ball and Single-A. Horn has made nine starts professionally and owns a 2.92 ERA with a 34/6 K/BB across 24 2/3 innings.

He is already 22 years old so ideally the Twins can push him aggressively. Minnesota has been able to develop pitching prospects, so the new landing spot for Horn should be exciting.

The Twins opponent on Tuesday will be the 3rd and final Wildcard team in the American League (6-seed). Entering Sunday’s MLB regular season finale, just two teams — the Houston Astros or Toronto Blue Jays — still have a chance at landing the AL’s final seed.

Minnesota Twins Wildcard opponent — All Scenarios

The Astros are one game behind the Texas Rangers in the AL West and they are tied with the Blue Jays in the AL Wildcard race. The Astros own the AL West tiebreaker over the Rangers, but not the Wildcard tiebreaker over the Blue Jays. Hang with me. Sunday’s possible outcomes are actually pretty simple, I promise.

Related: Alex Rodriguez Will Call Minnesota Twins AL Wildcard Series

Keep it simple: The Twins 1st round playoff opponent will be the 3rd AL Wildcard team (6-seed) — If the Houston Astros lose Sunday, they will be 6-seed. That’s it, cut and dry. But, should Houston win and EITHER Toronto OR Texas lose, then the Toronto Blue Jays fall to the 6-seed.

Here are all of the possible scenarios:

The Blue Jays do not hold their own Wildcard destiny, though they can help their chances at keeping the 2nd wildcard with a victory. If both the Blue Jays and the Astros win, but Texas loses, then the Astros would jump the Rangers and be crowned AL West champs, bumping Texas down to a wildcard team, where they would hold the tiebreaker over the Blue Jays.

How we got here

The Seattle Mariners came into their regular season finale series this week vs the Texas Rangers needing a sweep to keep their playoff hopes alive. They won the first two games but lost on Saturday, extinguishing their final opportunity at the postseason.

Related: Royce Lewis Injury Could Cost Byron Buxton a Spot on Twins’ Wildcard Roster

What Minnesota Twins fans should be watching for.

Heading into the regular season finale, the Minnesota are most likely to draw the Houston Astros, but that is far from a guarantee. There’s nearly as good of a chance they land the Toronto Blue Jays, instead.

So if you are one of those Twins fans who is shaking in their boots at the thought of facing Houston in the 1st round then you need to pray they win on Sunday. Then, all you need is a Blue Jays OR Rangers loss to escape an opening round series vs the perennial World Series contenders.

Read all of our Minnesota Twins blogs

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Twins only put two runners in scoring position all of Friday night vs the Texas Rangers. It wasn’t their best showing of the season offensively… but power pays off. The Twins teams of our past would never have won last night’s game. It would have been one of those classic 3-1 big game losses of our past… but power pays off…

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MAXimizing the opportunity. #BombaSquad | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/C0QBkpjqr3

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 17, 2019

A minor score update here. ? ? ? ?#BombaSquad | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/7F3SB1kJDg

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 17, 2019

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I lost at least 3 months of my life last night but it was totally worth it. Mike Minor was lights-fucking-out but that’s what makes this Twins team so great, because it only takes one batter, on one pitch, in one moment. Sure baseball is always like that, but this team is different… like historically on-pace to smash the HR record — different.

But it still feels weird, because when does Minnesota ever have the biggest, most bad-ass anything? We’re always happy to be the sneaky, scratch and claw (not white claw) your way to the middle of the pack, underdog-type. But, the Twins lineup is the most feared in baseball and Nelson Cruz isn’t even in it right now… or Byron Buxton, who the Twins are WAY better with BTW.

The most memorable Twins slogan in my lifetime is the “Smell ’em” team from 2006. You might smell this Twins team but before you can do anything about it, Max Kepler might punch you in the face with the first pitch of the game. Then, his friends pile on and before you know it; you’re crying, I’m smiling, your wife and kids left you, and there are 6 runs on the board.

To think that the most historic offense in MLB history will be the 2019 Minnesota Twins… sorry, let me put my erection away..

This baseball team is a perfect example of what we’re preaching at Minnesota Sports Fan. There is no reason why Minnesota teams can’t reach greatness. If the Twins can set the MLB home run record, then fuck… anything is possible.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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