Twins righty Darren McCaughan passed through waivers unclaimed and has been assigned outright to Triple-A St. Paul, per the team’s transaction log. McCaughan was designated for assignment earlier in the week when the Twins claimed righty Brooks Kriske off waivers from the Cubs.
Minnesota signed the 29-year-old McCaughan to a minor league deal over the winter. He pitched 5 1/3 solid innings in late March/early April before being passed through waivers following his first DFA of the season. He was summoned back to the big leagues not long after last week’s fire sale to add some length to the bullpen but never got into a game. He’ll still collect three additional days of big league service for his brief trip across the Mississippi River.
McCaughan has spent the bulk of his career in the Mariners organization, where he’s been a durable source of innings in their Triple-A rotation. He’s gotten some brief big league looks in Seattle, Miami and Cleveland in addition to this year’s Twins cameo. In 61 1/3 major league innings, he has a 6.02 earned run average. He’s logged an ERA just over 5.00 in parts of seven Triple-A seasons, including a 5.35 mark in 72 1/3 frames with the Twins’ top affiliate in 2025.
McCaughan has been previously outrighted in his career, which gives him the right to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency. He opted for free agency last time around but quickly inked a new minor league deal to remain with the Twins.