Twins sign former Cardinals reliever Giovanny Gallegos, assign him to AAA

Gallegos was a consistently effective relief pitcher for St. Louis from 2019-22.

Aug 9, 2023; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Giovanny Gallegos (65) throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays in the ninth inning at Tropicana Field. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The Twins have signed former longtime St. Louis Cardinals right-handed reliever Giovanny Gallegos to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A St. Paul, they announced on Tuesday. Gallegos was recently designated for assignment by the Cardinals and elected free agency after going unclaimed on waivers. The Mexico native, who turns 33 this month, will now look to revive his career in Minnesota.

Gallegos made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2017, then was traded to St. Louis the following summer. In 2019, he emerged as a very important bullpen piece for the Cardinals, posting a 2.31 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 74 innings. Gallegos remained effective for the next few seasons, with a 3.02 ERA in 2021 and a 3.05 mark in 2022. He never made an All-Star team, but he put up highly impressive numbers from 2019-22.

Giovanny Gallegos NL reliever ranks from 2019-2022:

228 IP (1st)
2.84 ERA (4th)
2.83 FIP (5th)
0.89 WHIP (1st)
.179 Opp Avg (3rd)
5.8 fWAR (3rd)

He was one of the better relievers in baseball in his first 4 years as a Cardinal. Lots of great moments. I wish him the best 🇲🇽🙏 pic.twitter.com/NZaQNtwL6r

— Cardinals Stats And Facts (@STL_Stats_Facts) July 28, 2024

Things started to take a turn for the worse for Gallegos last season, when he had a 4.42 ERA with 11 home runs allowed in 55 innings. This year got off to an even worse start, as he had a career-worst 6.53 ERA with 24 hits, 10 walks, and 6 homers surrendered in 20.2 innings before getting DFA'd.

Gallegos has always been primarily a two-pitch guy, leaning on his fastball and a sharp slider. He also has mixed in a changeup on occasion. When he was at his best, Gallegos had elite swing-and-miss stuff using just the heater and slider. His fastball velocity was notably down to 92 miles per hour this season after sitting at 94 for most of his career.

The Twins will give Gallegos a look in St. Paul to see if they can help him turn his career around and re-find some of what made him so effective prior to last season. For his career, he has a 3.49 ERA with 396 strikeouts and 45 saves in 335.2 innings pitched. If he has success with the Saints, he could be a potential option for the Twins down the stretch, depending on the health and performance of the players currently in their bullpen.

Farmer starting rehab assignment

Veteran Twins infielder Kyle Farmer is beginning a rehab assignment with the Saints on Tuesday. It's hard to see where Farmer fits in on Minnesota's big-league roster moving forward. He was off to a dreadful start to this season before getting injured, hitting .189 with no homers and a .557 OPS in 151 plate appearances. There may not be a spot for him with the Twins, who will eventually add Carlos Correa back to an infield with Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, Willi Castro, Jose Miranda, and Carlos Santana.