The Twins have agreed to a minor league deal with lefthanded reliever Blaine Hardy. Set to enter his arbitration season, he was outrighted by Detroit last month and became a free agent.
The Twins AAA Rochester affiliate announced the signing, and a spring training invitation, along with those of righthanded pitcher Ryan Garton and catcher Juan Graterol.
Hardy, 32, pitched in 233 games over the past six seasons for the Tigers. He was 14-10 with a 3.73 ERA. In 282 2/3 innings he has 229 strikeouts. Last season, his ERA ballooned to 4.47 but he had a career-best 1.15 WHIP.
After pitching for Lewis and Clark's 2008 NAIA championship team, Hardy was drafted by Kansas City in the 22nd round. He reached Class AAA for the Royals before they released him in 2013. The Tigers signed him and he reached the majors the following year.
Hardy made $1.3 million in 2019, but had elbow problems and was sent to Class AAA Toledo in August before going on the 60-day injured list. He will not be on the Twins' 40-man roster.
Garton, 29, pitched in two games for Seattle last season, and had a 3.99 ERA in 65.1 innings with Class AAA Tacoma. He's also pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays before going to Seattle; in 59 major league games he has one save and a 4.90 ERA in 64.1 innings. Garton was a 34th round pick by the Rays in 2012 out of Florida Atlantic, and was traded to the Mariners in August, 2017.
The 30-year-old Graterol played in six games for the Reds last season after having a three-game cup of coffee with the Twins in 2018. In 58 games last season at Class AAA Louisville he hit .249 with two home runs. A native of Venezuela, he was the starting catcher in Joe Mauer's final game with the Twins.
