FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — The Minnesota Twins signed right-handers Liam Hendriks and Julian Merryweather to minor league contracts with invitations to spring training and acquired left-hander Anthony Banda in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, adding three veteran options for deepening a rebuilt bullpen.
The 32-year-old Banda had a 3.18 ERA in a career-high 71 games last season for the World Series champion Dodgers, who received an unspecified amount of international bonus pool money in the deal. Banda, who has pitched for eight major league teams in nine years, was one of 12 left-handers in MLB with a sub-3.15 ERA and a sub-.215 opponent batting average combined over the last two seasons.
The 34-year-old Merryweather pitched in parts of the last three seasons with the Chicago Cubs. The 37-year-old Hendriks, a three-time All-Star, has totaled only 19 appearances over the last three seasons because of injuries.
Hendriks, a native of Australia, signed with the Twins as an amateur free agent in 2007. He made his major league debut in 2011 and pitched for five other teams, most recently the Boston Red Sox in a brief stint last year after going 680 days between major league appearances. His 2025 season was shortened by right hip inflammation.
Over a four-season stretch from 2019-22, two with the Oakland Athletics and two with the Chicago White Sox, Hendriks logged 114 saves with a 2.26 ERA and 359 strikeouts and just 47 walks over 239 innings.
Hendriks was diagnosed with Stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after the 2022 season, delaying his debut in 2023. Then he was sidelined after just five appearances by right elbow inflammation and eventually had Tommy John ligament replacement surgery.
The Twins made room on the 40-man roster for Banda by designating for assignment right-hander Jackson Kowar, who was claimed last week off waivers from the Seattle Mariners.
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