The Twins have acquired first baseman Eric Wagaman from the Marlins in exchange for minor league pitcher Kade Bragg, as confirmed by both teams this afternoon. Wagaman was designated for assignment earlier this week. To make room for Wagaman on their 40-man roster, the Twins DFA’d infielder Ryan Fitzgerald.
Wagaman, 28, spent several years in the Yankees’ minor league system before he was taken by the Angels in the minor league portion of the 2023 Rule 5 draft. He debuted for L.A. the following September, but he didn’t hit well enough to stave off a DFA at the end of the season. After electing free agency, he signed with the Marlins, and in 2025, he played his first full campaign in the bigs. Over 140 games, he slashed .250/.296/.378 for a .674 OPS and an 85 wRC+. He hit nine home runs, stole four bases on five attempts, and grounded into 11 double plays. On defense, Wagaman mostly played first base, though he also appeared in a handful of games in the corner outfield spots and stepped in at third base on a few occasions. Considering his well-below-average offense at a position where teams typically look for well-above-average offense, it was hardly surprising to see Wagaman DFA’d when the Marlins needed to make room on the roster for trade acquisition Esteury Ruiz. Evidently, the Twins must see a little more to like in his bat.
Bragg, 24, signed with the Twins in 2023 after they selected him in the 17th round of the draft. He made his professional debut in 2024 but landed on the injured list in late April and missed the rest of the season. Healthy again in 2025, the left-hander impressed in his first full season, rising from Single-A to High-A to Double-A. All told, he pitched to a 2.94 ERA and 3.73 FIP in 67 1/3 innings of relief, striking out 82 and giving up just six home runs. Walks were an issue, and clearly, the Twins don’t value Bragg all that highly. Neither do the prospect evaluators at sources like Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, or FanGraphs; he wasn’t ranked on any of their most recent Twins prospect lists. Still, based on his successful performance in his first full season, the Marlins’ development team has an interesting new project to work on.
Fitzgerald, 31, finally earned his call to the show in 2025. He started his career in independent ball, where he impressed the Red Sox enough to earn a minor league contract in 2018. Five years later, the Royals selected him in the minor league phase of the 2023 Rule 5 draft – the same draft that saw Wagaman join the Angels. However, Fitzgerald wasn’t able to make the majors with his new team, and he elected free agency after the 2024 campaign. He then latched on with Minnesota on a minor league contract, and finally, a month before his 31st birthday, he made his MLB debut. While his first stint with the Twins lasted less than a week, he earned another call-up in August following the team’s trade deadline sell-off and stuck around for the rest of the season. Altogether, he hit for an .837 OPS and a 119 wRC+ in 59 games at Triple-A and a .758 OPS and 110 wRC+ in 24 games in the majors. Unfortunately for Fitzgerald, his plus hitting and defensive versatility (he played all four infield positions) weren’t enough to keep him in Minnesota’s plans for 2026. At some point over the next five days, the Twins will either trade him or place him on waivers. If he were to clear waivers, the Twins could send him outright to the minor leagues and keep him in their organization.