Twins Add Former Cubs, Blue Jays Reliever With Big Fastball Velocity

Julian Merryweather is another veteran who could compete for a spot in the Twins' Opening Day bullpen.

Mar 19, 2025; Bunkyo, Tokyo, JPN; Chicago Cubs pitcher Julian Merryweather (66) throws a pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the seventh inning during the Tokyo Series at Tokyo Dome. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

If you squint a little, you can start to see the possibility of a competent Twins bullpen coming together. It's going to take bounce-back years from several veterans and breakout performances from a few young players, but Minnesota has enough intriguing pitchers reporting to spring training on Thursday that a semi-decent group of eight could perhaps emerge from a camp competition.

In addition to reuniting with three-time All-Star Liam Hendriks on Wednesday night, the Twins have also signed veteran right-hander Julian Merryweather to a minor-league deal with an invite to camp, according to The Athletic's Dan Hayes.

Merryweather, 34, has pitched in the big leagues for parts of six seasons with the Blue Jays and the Cubs. Only once has he thrown more than 27 MLB innings in a season. That happened in 2023, when he had a 3.38 ERA and 98 strikeouts (plus 36 walks) in 72 innings for the Cubs. Even with the walks, he was excellent that season, averaging a tick over 98 miles per hour on his fastball and posting a 96th-percentile strikeout rate.

Julian Merryweather's Statcast numbers in 2023 | Baseball Savant

Of course, if Merryweather had continued to pitch like that over the past couple seasons, he wouldn't have been available to add on a minor-league deal just before the start of spring training. In the two years after his breakout 2023 season, he threw 33.2 innings for the Cubs and got knocked around for a 6.15 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP. He finished last season with Triple-A stints for the Mets and Brewers but mostly struggled there, too.

Merryweather also had a 5.64 ERA in 52.2 innings with the Blue Jays, so he's really only had the one productive season at the big-league level. He's dealt with a bunch of injuries over the course of his career, which contributed to him not making his MLB debut until he was 28. Injuries are also a big reason why he's only thrown 158.1 innings in the majors over the past six seasons.

Still, these are the kind of additions that makes sense for the Twins. They need veterans with big-league experience to mix in with their young pitchers in camp. Merryweather and his upper-90s fastball velocity will have a chance to earn a spot in Minnesota's Opening Day bullpen if he impresses over the course of this spring. If he doesn't, it's just a minor-league deal so he could potentially be stashed at Triple-A St. Paul.

Merryweather still had some flashes in him last season. Another guy who could make the Opening Day roster if he has a healthy camp. https://t.co/lfsaaFci0P pic.twitter.com/6B1fwyupjl

— Cody Pirkl (@CodyPirkl) February 12, 2026

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