Ex-Twins relievers Ronny Henriquez, Brent Headrick claimed on waivers

Both were fringe bullpen options who will now look to make rosters elsewhere.

Will Ragatz | Feb 11, 2025

Sep 4, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Ronny Henriquez (31) throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning at Tropicana Field. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

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Minnesota Twins

A pair of former Twins relievers were claimed on waivers by other teams on Tuesday. RHP Ronny Henriquez, who was waived to make room for Harrison Bader, was claimed by the Miami Marlins. LHP Brent Headrick, waived to make room for Ty France, was claimed by the New York Yankees.

Both pitchers were fringe bullpen options who would've faced an uphill battle to make the Twins' 26-man roster, particularly after last week's addition of Danny Coulombe to the relief corps. I had both players on the outside looking in of my bullpen projection after the Coulombe addition.

Henriquez was initially acquired from the Rangers in the 2022 Mitch Garver trade that also brought Isiah Kiner-Falefa to Minnesota. Over the last three seasons, he threw 207.1 innings for Triple-A St. Paul with a 5.08 ERA, though it was just 3.44 last year. He also threw a total of 31 innings for the Twins, posting a 2.90 ERA in that small sample size (which came mostly in low-leverage situations).

Henriquez, who turns 25 this summer, seemingly landed in a great spot for his chances of making an MLB roster, as the Marlins were 62-100 last season. He's out of minor league options, so he'll be subjected to waivers again if he doesn't make the roster in Miami.

Headrick, 27, was a ninth-round pick by the Twins in the 2019 draft. He threw 25.2 innings for Minnesota in 2023 and struggled to a 6.31 ERA. Last season, he missed most of the year with a forearm strain, then returned and threw three innings in one late-September appearance for the free-falling Twins. He'll look to revive his career with the Yankees, which is a much more difficult roster to make than that of the Marlins.

The Twins' 40-man roster will be full when the signing of France is made official. Pitchers and catchers report to spring training this week in Fort Myers, FL.

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Published Feb 11, 2025

WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.