Fort Myers – Eric Wagaman has become accustomed to moving from one organization to another each offseason. The Minnesota Twins are the fourth team he’s in spring training with, dating back to 2023. He previously played for the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, and Miami Marlins.
In the past few off-seasons, teams have selected Wagaman in the Rule 5 Draft and signed him through Minor League free agency. However, Minnesota’s trade for Wagaman was the first time a team ever traded for him. The Marlins designated Wagaman for assignment on Dec. 30, and the Twins made a trade three days later to bolster their depth at both the corner infield and outfield positions.
“When I got DFA’d by the Marlins, I was hoping something like that would happen,” Wagaman said. “I feel like I could bring value from playing a couple of different positions. I think that just being here, talking to coaches and stuff, they all seem pretty happy I’m here. It’s definitely a good feeling, and I’m just looking forward to getting out there.”
Adjusting to a new clubhouse for the fourth year in a row has also been easier. Wagaman is staying with Twins shortstop Brooks Lee and former Twin Mickey Gasper this spring. Wagaman is still getting to know the rest of his new teammates better each day, but Lee has enjoyed living with him and welcoming him into the org.
“I think this is a good time, especially the first week, first few days, a good time to get to know everybody,” said Lee. “We’re all ballplayers, but we’re all human beings at the end of the day. So I think it’s cool to create friendships and bonds that should last for the rest of our lives.”
Still, Wagaman hasn’t played alongside any of his new teammates in Minnesota before this year. He has only worked with assistant hitting coach Trevor Amicone, when he was a roving minor-league instructor for the Yankees in 2021.
“He knows, back then in the minor leagues, what helped me become successful there,” Wagaman said. “So it’s like taking what I did from over there and what I did in the full year in the big leagues this past year and kind of just combining it too, so hopefully it’s just a recipe for success.”
Coming off his first full season in the majors, Wagaman said his biggest struggle in 2025 was adjusting to the mental side of the game. However, Miami’s lone all-star in 2025, Kyle Stowers, greatly assisted Wagaman in overcoming those mid-season struggles.
Wagaman had his worst month of the season last July, hitting .155/.234/.190 with only five walks, 11 strikeouts, and one RBI over 64 plate appearances.
After speaking with Stowers in late July about the mental side of the game, Wagaman had a solid end to his season in August and September, hitting .291/.341/.472 with four home runs, 19 RBI, 7.2% walk rate, and 21% strikeout rate.
“I don’t think in the moment when Stowers was talking about the mental side of the game, I didn’t really realize how important it was, especially at this level,” Wagaman said. “Just listening to him talking and the things he said, I think it’s just he gave me a lot of really good insight into the mental side of the game.”
Over the small sample size of two games, the Twins have already played Wagaman at first and third, and have been running him in outfielder drills outside of game action. Wagaman feels best defensively at first. Still, he feels comfortable at third, even with some struggles in the hot corner with the Angels in 2024, where he committed four errors in 17 games.
Minnesota’s depth at third base behind Royce Lewis is a bit limited on the 40-man roster. Wagaman is the only other player without a starting role who has played 20 or more games at the position. Even though Wagaman needs some extra buildup at third each spring, he wants to be available at the position if ever called upon to maintain his defensive versatility.
“I want to keep that option open for the team and whatever Shelty needs,” Wagaman said. “And I think just, I’ve been taking ground balls there in the off-season, obviously didn’t get a whole lot of game reps as far as last year goes, but I think if I can get over there during spring training in these games, I’d feel a lot more comfortable.”
Wagaman will be one of the names in camp to follow as he battles for one of the bench spots on Minnesota’s Opening Day roster. He still has options left, and because of that, could end up starting the year in St. Paul if the Twins want to go with a player out of minor-league options.
Still, the Twins traded for him. He has defensive versatility at all corner positions, and he had a strong performance at the plate to end the year. Therefore, Wagaman believes he’ll be able to build off the highs and lows of 2025 and be a key contributor on the Twins for the season to come.
“I think there’s a lot of pressure playing in the big leagues for sure, and it’s definitely a really cool thing to be a part of,” Wagaman said.
“But it can get to you. And I think I let it get to me in like the first half, maybe a little more than that part of the season, and just taking a step back and kind of resetting, and realizing you’re in the big leagues for a reason. If you’re not there, you probably wouldn’t be there, and it kind of helped me reset and take that pressure off myself.”
