Reds sign former Twins reliever Emilio Pagán
The Cincinnati Reds have re-signed former Twins righty reliever Emilio Pagán to a two-year contract worth $20 million, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and C. Trent Rosecrans. The deal allows Pagán to opt out after next season.
Pagán, 34, began his MLB career with the Seattle Mariners in 2017. Seattle traded him to the Oakland Athletics in the 2017-18 offseason. Then, the following offseason, the Athletics dealt him to the Tampa Bay Rays as part of a three-way deal with the Rangers that saw utility company Jurickson Profar.
After just one season with the Rays, Pagán was traded to the San Diego Padres for catcher Logan Driscoll and outfielder Manuel Margot. He spent two seasons with San Diego before being traded again, this time to the Minnesota Twins, along with righty starting pitcher Chris Paddack, in exchange for lefty reliever Taylor Rogers and outfielder Brent Rooker.
Pagán spent two seasons with the Twins before signing a two-year, $16 million contract with the Reds in the 2023-2024 offseason. The righty reliever struggled in his first season as a Red, posting a 4.50 ERA in just 38 innings. But in 2025, he proved he is among the best bullpen arms in the MLB by posting a 2.88 ERA with 32 saves, 81 strikeouts and 22 walks in 68 2/3 innings.
A new deal between Pagán and Reds could benefit Twins
It would have been a nice addition for Minnesota if it had brought back Pagán. After trading Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart and Danny Coulombe last summer, the Twins desperately need to rebuild their bullpen. Pagán would have been a good fit as the Twins’ closer, but he likely wanted to return to the Reds since he had the best season of his career with them in 2025. Not to mention the Reds made the postseason last season while the Twins did not.
The Twins probably wouldn’t want to pay Pagán $10 million per year, even if that’s a good deal for one of the best closers in the MLB. At the very least, Minnesota can use the new Pagán deal when negotiating with free agent relievers this offseason. Most available relievers aren’t as good as Pagán, and the Twins can use that fact to ensure they don’t overpay for a bullpen arm this season.
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