Wagaman, 28, spent several years in the Yankees’ minor league system before being acquired by the Angels in the minor league portion of the 2023 Rule 5 draft. He debuted for LA the following September, but did not hit well enough to avoid a DFA at the end of the season. After opting for free agency, he signed with the Marlins and played his first full campaign in the majors in 2025. In 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 hit into eleven double plays. On defense, Wagaman primarily played first base, although he also played the corner outfield in a handful of games and made a few appearances at third base. Considering his well-below-average offense at a position where teams typically look for well-above-average offense, it wasn’t surprising to see Wagaman DFA’d when the Marlins needed to make room on the roster for trade acquisition. Esteury Ruiz. Clearly, the Twins need to see a little more from his bat.
The 24-year-old Bragg 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 ended up on the injured list at the end of April and missed the rest of the season. Back to health in 2025, the left-hander impressed in his first full season, moving up 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 have been an issue, and it’s clear the Twins don’t think highly of Bragg. That includes the prospect evaluators at sources like Baseball America, MLB Pipeline or FanGraphs; he was not 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, ultimately earned his call-up to the show in 2025. He began 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 in which Wagaman joined the Angels. However, Fitzgerald failed to make it to the majors with his new team and opted for free agency after the 2024 campaign. He then joined Minnesota on a minor league contract, and eventually, a month before his 31st birthday, made his MLB debut. Although his first stint with the Twins lasted less than a week, he was called up again in August following the team’s trade deadline sellout and stuck around for the rest of the season. Overall, 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 big hitting ability 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 straight to the minor leagues and keep him in their organization.
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