The Twins selected first baseman Aaron Sabato's contract on Monday afternoon for his first stint in the major leagues.
On Monday afternoon, the Minnesota Twins announced they have selected the contract of first baseman Aaron Sabato from Triple-A St. Paul and designated Alex Jackson for assignment.
With just under a week remaining until the conclusion of the regular season, the Twins are opting to give Sabato a shot at the major league level after he put up an impressive campaign in the minor leagues.
Sabato just recently won the 2026 Saints MVP honors, awarded to Triple-A St. Paul’s top player throughout the season. The 27-year-old set single-season franchise records with St. Paul, hitting 29 doubles and tying the record with 25 homers.
The first baseman will be making his major league debut upon his first appearance after a lengthy stint in the minor leagues. Sabato was the Twins’ first round selection in the 2020 draft, while having gone unselected in the Rule 5 Draft.
Upon joining the Twins’ organization, Sabato had raked at the plate through the levels of Class-A to High-A, but struggled from that point on for some time. When he was promoted to Double-A towards the end of 2022, his numbers took a significant dip for the following couple of seasons, as he did not earn a promotion to Triple-A until 2025, where he also had some struggles.
In 2026, Sabato was able to finally turn things around. Though he has struck out at a high percentage of 25.3%, he posted an impressive .273/.349/.528 statline at Triple-A in 2026.
Minnesota does not necessarily need a reinforcement at first base, but the move is likely to reward Sabato of some experience at the major league level after a ton of success at Triple-A. He will likely get a solid amount of play time in the Twins’ road series against the San Francisco Giants and their last series of the year, at home against the Texas Rangers.
Ever since Brooks Lee took over at third base earlier this season, Royce Lewis has held things down at first base for the most part. The Twins also have a surplus of players who have seen some time at first, including Josh Bell, Victor Caratini and Kody Clemens.
Though Sabato’s stint will primarily serve as an opportunity to showcase his talents with Minnesota, it also has the potential to be important for Sabato’s future on the 40-man roster, in determining whether the Twins will opt to retain him on their roster through the offseason.
After 599 career games in the Twins’ minor league system, Sabato will get his shot with the big league club in Monday’s series opener against the Giants.
