SEATTLE -- At this time last year, Austin Adams was building big league baseball fields, with the hope of one day returning to playing on them.

Adams was mired in Minor League free agency, where who you know is almost as valuable as your ability. So, without clarity on his playing future, he went to work for his college coach, Jon Mitchell, at River Regions Sports Fields based in Adams’ hometown of Millbrooke, Ala. River Regions refurbishes and/or builds fields across the Southeast, including SunTrust Park and Marlins Park, Adams said.

“My agent was still throwing my name around trying to get me a job somewhere, but in the meantime, I couldn't just sit around. I've got a family to take care of,” Adams said on Thursday ahead of the Twins’ four-game series opener vs. the Mariners at T-Mobile Park, just after being promoted from Triple-A Rochester.

“It was a lot of tractor work. Anything from full renovations to mounds to plates, whatever it may be. Last year, the week before Opening Day, I was doing the Braves' grass.”

Adams, 32, will join a Twins bullpen that has a core of Blake Parker (1.17 ERA), Taylor Rogers (1.47) and Trevor May (2.76), who have pitched their most high-leverage situations and been reliable. But their effectiveness will likely be tested after the demotion of Trevor Hildenberger, who was one of the best bullpen arms in the Majors through the first month before his recent struggles.

Adams always had the upside of pitching 97 mph, but the downside of it consistently being hit. Pitching for the Indians from 2014-16, Adams compiled a 6.29 ERA over 58 2/3 innings.

Adams ditched the tractor after a few months when he eventually landed a gig last June with the Sugar Land Skeeters in the independent Atlantic League. Over two months there, he got on the Twins’ radar and had the backing of chief baseball officer Derek Falvey, who worked in the Indians’ front office that drafted Adams.

“Just like I’ve seen him from the beginning of his career professionally, it’s a pretty neat thing when you see a guy who doesn’t quit, doesn’t give up,” Falvey said. “This is a hard game, as anyone who’s been around it knows, and he wanted to continue to play baseball. He wanted to keep fighting. It’s really just a testament to him. Because at that point in your career, when you get released and you’re building parks and doing things outside, you have to choose if you’re going to continue to fight, and it’s not going to be an easy path back.”

Adams is not to be confused with Mariners right-hander Austin Adams, who Seattle acquired in a May 4 trade with the Nationals and recalled on Monday.

Reed’s Twins tenure likely over

Thursday’s transaction also likely ended Addison Reed’s inconsistent tenure in Minnesota, as the right-hander was designated for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot for Adams. After a disappointing 2018, when he went 1-6 with a 4.50 ERA in 55 games, Reed sprained his left thumb during Spring Training and broke camp on the injured list. He had been on a rehab assignment with Rochester since May 7, and in that stretch, Reed gave up eight earned runs on 13 hits in five innings.

Falvey said Reed is healthy and that the decision was made due to roster space and not health.

“Coming back from that, we figured we’d give him a chance to build up over the course of a month, get himself to a good place, and unfortunately, he hasn’t really bounced back to where we would have wanted him to be,” Falvey said. “When we got forced into needing a roster spot, we felt like this was the best time to make that decision.”

Reed signed a two-year, $16.75 million contract in January 2018, with the hopes that he’d bolster a bullpen that was arguably the club’s weakest spot in its run to the 2017 postseason. Reed had been an effective relief arm from 2015-17, having been acquired by the Mets and Red Sox in two non-waiver Trade Deadline deals to help each club in their respective pennant chases. In that stretch, Reed compiled a 2.66 ERA over 212 appearances. Reed has also pitched for the White Sox and D-backs over his eight-year career.

“It’s always hard,” Falvey said. “A player of Addison’s stature and what he’s done over his career. We knew at the end of last year he went through some struggles, certainly, and then this offseason, we hoped he’d come into Spring Training and we’d be in a better spot.”

When a player's contract is designated for assignment -- often abbreviated "DFA" -- that player is immediately removed from his club's 40-man roster. Within seven days of the transaction, the player can either be traded or placed on irrevocable outright waivers.