A.J. Minter Trade Grades: Minnesota Lands Lefty Reliever for Two Prospects

The Twins get an experienced lefty for their bullpen while the Mets start would could be a huge sell-off.

The New York Mets traded reliever A.J. Minter to the Minnesota Twins for two prospects. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Mets have begun their sell-off and the first move was to trade one of the top lefty relievers on the market.

New York traded A.J. Minter to the Twins late Thursday night in exchange for prospects Billy Amick and Bruin Agbayani. It’s a deal that should benefit both teams. While we knew the Mets were going to sell, we didn’t know where they’d start. Minter is the opening salvo in what should be a significant push to sell for president of baseball operations David Stearns.

Meanwhile, many believed Minnesota was poised to sell, given that they had two high-level pending free agents in catcher Ryan Jeffers and starter Joe Ryan. This move shows the Twins are likely buying, which chould shake up the next few days.

We’re going to grade this trade, which ended up about even for both teams.

Twins

The Twins own one of the worst bullpens in baseball. The team’s relievers rank 26th in ERA (4.92), batting average against (.259) and 29th in WHIP (1.52). Minnesota needed arms for the back end of the bullpen, and got one of the better lefties available in Minter, who has playoff experience and won a World Series with the Braves in 2021.

The 32-year-old Minter has pitched in 23 games this season and is 1–1 with a 2.35 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 20 strikeouts against two walks in 23 innings. He signed a two-year, $22 million deal with the Mets last offseason, but after 13 appearances in 2025 he underwent season-ending surgery to repair a left lat strain. He wasn’t activated until late May but has remained healthy since.

Minter is largely a fastball-cutter guy, and the latter has been excellent this season. Opponents have produced an xBA of .205 and an xSLG of .332 off the pitch. His four-seam fastball has seen big velocity drop this season, from 94.5 mph in 2025 to 93.0 mph this season. Not surprisingly, it has been hit pretty hard in 2026, as hitters have an xBA of .336 and an xSLG .723 against it. That is cause for concern, as is a strikeout rate that has plummeted from 32.6% to 21.7%. Still, he has been effective despite those differences.

The veteran will join a struggling bullpen and should help elevate it immediately, but it’s likely the Twins will need another reliever to truly make a postseason push.

As a rental, the price to land Minter wasn’t stiff, so it feels like a solid deal, though it may not have a big impact.

Grade: B-

Mets

The Mets have a long list of pending free agents they need to dump and had to get moving to clear the decks. Minter is the first out the door, and the return for him was two lower-level prospects with some upside, though they didn’t exactly raid the Twins’ loaded farm system.

Billy Amick was a second-round pick in 2024 after a successful junior season at Tennessee. He played his first two years at Clemson before transferring to Knoxville, where he hammered 23 home runs and entered the draft on a high note. He hit .307 with a .867 OPS in 59 games across three levels in ’25, but has been a mixed bag at Double A this year. He is currently slashing .217/.338/.482 with 23 home runs and 72 RBIs, but only has a wRC+ of 105. There’s a decent amount of swing-and-miss in his game and he doesn’t have a natural position, with first base being a possible landing spot.

Bruin Agbayani is the son of Benny Agbayani, who played four season with the Mets from 1998 through 2001. The younger Agbayani was selected in the sixth round of the ’25 draft out of Saint Louis High School in Hawaii. Though drafted as a shortstop, he’s likely ticketed for an outfield corner. He owns a plus hit tool that produces hard, line drive contact and some power. He has decent speed on the bases but will never be a great defender. He hasn’t played since May 12 due to a shoulder injury and only has 15 games of minor league experience since being drafted.

Amick and Agbayani do not project as top prospects and MLB Pipeline had both outside of Minnesota’s top 20. This is a mild return for a good reliever and probably less than expected, even for a rental. Given the sky-high prices being bandied about for arms, Stearns probably could have done better.

Mets grade: C+

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