Minnesota Twins Make Intriguing Trade With Toronto Blue Jays

The Minnesota Twins bullpen has lacked quality arms all season long. After tearing down the entire relief group at last year's trade deadline, trading several arms including All-Stars Jhoan Duran and Louie Varland, the Twins have searched for low-cost, high-upside veterans in free agency. They have also relied on younger arms within the organization that have been asked to transition from a starting role to a reliever.

It has shown this year as the bullpen has struggled to be even close to as productive as it was just one season ago. Even with those struggles, the Twins sit just three games under .500, and if the group improves even marginally they could potentially make the postseason in a weak American League wild card race. They took a step toward addressing that need during their weekend series against the Los Angeles Angels.

The Twins announced on Friday that they have acquired right-hander Tommy Nance from the Toronto Blue Jays. Minnesota dealt catching prospect Ryan Sprock and International Signing Bonus Pool Space to Toronto.

To make space for Nance on the 40-man roster, the Twins transferred Mick Abel to the 60-day injured list.

Nance was a high-quality arm for the Blue Jays in the second half of 2025, posting a 1.99 ERA. However, he never got a real chance to prove himself in their deep postseason, collecting just four outs. Nance simply was not a reason why Toronto made the World Series.

This year, Toronto has again not trusted him in high-leverage spots which is probably the reason they were willing to move on. But he has been a solid arm in lower-leverage situations, posting a 3.82 ERA across 32 appearances with 34 strikeouts in 33 innings.

He should slot right into a trusted role in Twins manager Derek Shelton's bullpen and represent a huge boost for a group that has needed reinforcements all season.

He also remains under team control for the next few seasons, giving Minnesota a reliable arm beyond just this year.

As for Sprock, the 21-year-old backstop is not a top prospect by any means, having not yet reached the Double-A level, making him more of a project piece for the Blue Jays.

The Twins also have some higher-ceiling catching prospects within the organization, and with Ryan Jeffers and Victor Caratini forming one of the better catching duos in the league, the position is not a concern.