Minnesota Twins add catch insurance by bringing back former Baltimore Oriole David Bañuelos on minor league deal
The Twins and backstop David Bañuelos have agreed to a minor league deal with a non-scheduled invitation to the main league camp, according to KSTP’s Darren Wolfson. The catcher was in the Twins system from 2018 through 2022 and spent the last three seasons with the Orioles organization. He had one at-bat with Baltimore in 2024 and two in 2025. The Orioles cut him from their roster in July and he became a free agent at the end of the season.
The 29-year-old Bañuelos has scored just 176 minor league goals over the past two seasons, hitting .171/.284/.270. The Orioles had him on their taxi squad for much of the last two years.
The Twins acquired Bañuelos from the Seattle Mariners in 2017. He eventually reached the upper levels of the minors with Minnesota, hitting .224/.297/.413 in Double-A and Triple-A from 2021 to 2023.
The reason Bañuelos has managed to stay in professional baseball despite his poor offensive stats is because teams view him as a strong defensive catcher.
Bañuelos will likely be the Twins’ fourth catcher on their depth chart, behind Ryan Jeffers, Victor Caratini and Alex Jackson. Jeffers will be the Twins’ MLB starter next year, with Caratini, who signed a two-year, $14 million deal with Minnesota this offseason, as the main backup option as someone who will also likely see playing time at first base and designated hitter.
Jackson will likely be the third catcher for now, but he is out of minor league options, meaning the Twins will need to have three catchers on their 26-man roster if they want to guarantee they keep Jackson, whom the Twins acquired in a trade with the Orioles for infield prospect Payton Eeles earlier this season. In January, Minnesota and Jackson avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $1.35 million, which made Caratini’s signing a bit confusing because it seemed like Jackson would be the team’s primary backup catcher.
But by keeping Jackson on their roster, the Twins can have both Jeffers and Caratini in their lineup at the same time without having to worry about an injury creating an unwanted double-swap situation.
Back to Bañuelos, the catcher will likely start the season in Triple-A St. Paul. The Twins will likely promote him to the Majors if the team suffers a catcher injury or two. Additionally, Minnesota could trade Jeffers, who becomes a free agent at the end of the 2026 season, at the trade deadline if the Twins aren’t as competitive as they’d hoped, which would boost Bañuelos’ chances of returning to the major leagues.
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