Twins add reliever Joe Smith, a veteran of 14 major league seasons

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Twins wanted to add another veteran, especially a righthander, to their bullpen this spring. They ended up choosing about as veteran as humanly possible.

Joe Smith, whose 832 career appearances are more than any other active pitcher, agreed to a one-year contract worth $2.5 million with the Twins on Saturday, a source with knowledge of the transaction confirmed. Smith immediately reported to Hammond Stadium on Saturday to undergo the physical exam that will make the deal official.

Smith, 37 and a 14-year major league veteran, will be playing for his eighth franchise, and has had success in a middle-relief role nearly everywhere. His career ERA is 3.09 in 735 innings, including a 15-save, 1.81-ERA season with the Angels in 2014. Smith has also played for the Mets, who drafted him out of Wright State in 2006, Cleveland, Angels, Cubs, Blue Jays, Astros and he finished the 2021 season with the Mariners, where he posted a 2.00 ERA in 18 innings.

The Twins obviously have a healthy respect for veteran pitchers; the second- and third-most-used active pitchers are Tyler Clippard (803 games) and Sergio Romo (798), each of whom has spent time in the Twins' bullpen in the past three years.

Smith buttresses the right side of the Twins' bullpen, and figures to pick up righthanded middle-inning responsibilities in front of Tyler Duffey and Jorge Alcala. The Twins have Taylor Rogers, Caleb Thielbar and rookie Jovani Moran to handle left-handers.

Gary Sanchez has relished his first week as a Twin so much, he reportedly asked his agent to let the Twins' front office, which traded for the former Yankee last Sunday, know about it.

"It's true, I'm happy. I feel sad leaving the friendships I built over the years" in New York, Sanchez said through an interpreter. "But this is my new home now. Yeah, I'm enjoying it."

But is the relationship permanent? Sanchez can declare free agency in October, leaving the Twins without half of the haul they received for Josh Donaldson, Ben Rortvedt and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, presuming they don't trade him again at the deadline in July.

It's too early for the Twins to discuss a potential extension for the 29-year-old catcher, Derek Falvey said. "For right now, our goal is to get him as comfortable as possible," the Twins' president of baseball operations said. "You want to put him position to play as well as he possibly can, and then you can evaluate and discuss the next step."

That's particularly true for a player with such an up-and-down résumé as Sanchez. The Dominican has had a couple of huge seasons at the plate, and he has hit 138 home runs in just 538 career games. But he also has put up batting averages of .204 or lower three times, including each of the past two seasons, and his shaky defense caused the Yankees to look for other options.

Those variables will make determining a suitable salary difficult.

Whether or not the Twins are a bidder during or after the season, Sanchez said he's made up his mind about one thing: He wants his next stop to be his long-term home.

"I don't want to be jumping from organization to organization. My next step, I would like it to be where I end my career," Sanchez said. "That being said, what I've seen here, I like it here, and we'll see what happens if those conversations come."

Speaking of catchers, Jose Godoy reported to camp on Saturday and immediately began catching bullpen sessions to learn his new pitching staff.

Godoy is an above-average major league defender, Twins general manager Thad Levine said, and a better hitter than he showed in his 16-game, 6-for-37 debut for the Mariners last year. His minor league track record shows terrific plate discipline, with a .357 on-base percentage and more than two-thirds as many walks as strikeouts.

"We're hopeful that will translate into being serviceable in the major leagues," Levine said, "and the defense is going to play up here."

The addition of Carlos Correa dominated talk at spring training camp.