With Spring Training now underway for the Baltimore Orioles, the team added more bullpen depth in a minor deal with the Minnesota Twins.

On Saturday, the Orioles announced that they had acquired RHP Jackson Kowar from the Twins in exchange for cash considerations. Kowar, 29, was designated for assignment by the Twins on Thursday after the team acquired LHP Anthony Banda from the Los Angeles Dodgers. He had been claimed by the Twins off waivers from Seattle earlier in the month.

Jackson Kowar was DFA’d by Twins on Thursday, now joins Orioles’ bullpen mix.

The 29-year-old RHP had a 4.24 ERA in 15 relief appearances for Mariners last season. Previously pitched for Royals from 2021-23. https://t.co/Ldj6N5oZlU

— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) February 14, 2026

Kowar was originally drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 40th round of the 2015 MLB Draft, but did not sign; he re-entered the draft in 2018 and was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the first round. He spent the first three years of his career with the Royals, posting a 9.12 ERA and 2.10 WHIP in 74 innings of relief work.

In November 2023, Kowar was traded to the Atlanta Braves for pitcher Kyle Wright. Just a couple of weeks later, he was traded to the Seattle Mariners as part of a package that sent Jarred Kelenic, Evan White, and Marco Gonzales to Atlanta. On March 10th, 2024, the Mariners announced that Kowar would undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery.

Kowar would return for the Mariners in May 2025, notching a 4.24 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 15 appearances as a reliever. He had a 21.1% strikeout rate before being shut down again for the last month of the season due to a right shoulder impingement. He was designated for assignment by Seattle on January 27th.

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Kowar joins a new-look bullpen for the O’s, highlighted by new closer Ryan Helsley. Baltimore also brought back Andrew Kittredge from the Chicago Cubs in a trade for cash considerations earlier in the offseason, solidifying the back-end of their pen. Returning relievers include Yennier Cano, Keegan Akin, Dietrich Enns, Rico Garcia, and Tyler Wells.

The 29-year-old represents a low-risk, high-upside depth move to solidify bullpen depth. Kowar’s fastball grades in the 90th percentile according to Statcast, and is a pitch that he relies on nearly 60% of the time. He also has a promising slider that he has used for about 40% of his strikeouts. 

We have made the following trade: pic.twitter.com/vzsmSsw23b

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) February 14, 2026

To make room for Kowar, Baltimore placed RHP Colin Selby on the 60-Day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. Selby was acquired from Kansas City in July 2024 for cash and appeared in 11 games for the Orioles last season. He had a 4.24 ERA with a 0-2 record across 14 innings.

Kowar has accumulated less than three years of service time in the big leagues and is out of options. This means that Baltimore would need to pass Kowar through waivers if he does not make the team out of Spring Training.

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