The Minnesota Twins have started to progress in developing their own pitching but it’s never guaranteed that all prospects will turn out.

Josh Winder is a reminder of that as the once promising prospect will now look to revive his career with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Winder signed a minor league contract with Arizona on Thursday coming off a pair of disappointing seasons with the Twins.

A seventh-round pick by Minnesota in the 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft, Winder started strong by going 3-1 with a 3.72 ERA at rookie league Elizabethton in 2018 and 7-2 with a 2.65 ERA at Fort Myers in 2019.

Shoulder issues kept Josh Winder from reaching his potential with the Twins

Winder lost a year of development when the 2020 minor league season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Winder made another leap in 2021, going 3-0 with a 1.98 ERA in 10 starts at Double-A Wichita.

The fast start helped Winder make the MLB Futures Team and finish the year at Triple-A St. Paul as one of the Twins’ top pitching prospects but shoulder issues put an early end to the season.

The issues lingered over the next three years even as Winder made his major league debut in 2022.

After struggling with the Saints (8-3, 5.49 ERA) and the Twins (6-7, 4.39 ERA) over the past four seasons, Winder spent 2024 exclusively in a relief role after returning from a stress fracture in his shoulder blade and his 26.3 percent strikeout rate was well above his 18 percent career rate.

While he also posted an average fastball velocity of 95.2 mph, the Twins cut Winder from the 40-man roster in November as he was out of minor league options entering this season.

If all goes well, Winder could push for a spot in Arizona’s bullpen in Spring Training.