MINNEAPOLIS — Darren Bowen, the former baseball standout at Red Springs High School and UNC Pembroke, has been acquired by the Minnesota Twins organization after being traded by the Seattle Mariners.

Bowen, a right-handed starting pitcher, is one of four players joining the Twins in exchange for former All-Star second baseman Jorge Polanco, who heads to Seattle. The Twins also acquired major-league right-handed pitchers Anthony DeSclafani and Justin Topa, minor-league outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez and cash considerations. Both organizations announced the trade late Monday.

“I was kind of shocked,” Bowen told The Robesonian Tuesday. “I was playing golf, and I didn’t really expect it. I got a call from the GM, and typically when they call it’s not great news — but I guess it is good news at the end of the day. I was shocked. I answered, asked where I was going, and he kind of chuckled and said I was in the Jorge Polanco deal and I was going to Minnesota, and he just wished me the best of luck, and pretty much told me he believed I was going to be a future big leaguer and wished me the best on the rest of my career.”

A St. Pauls native who turns 23 later this week, Bowen was a 13th-round pick by the Mariners in the 2022 MLB Draft and pitched the 2023 season for the Modesto Nuts, the Mariners’ Single-A minor-league affiliate. Bowen compiled a 3.88 ERA and a 4-2 record in 55.2 innings, making 15 starts and four relief appearances with 59 strikeouts.

He says he expects an adjustment period as he switches organizations and training sites, going from the Mariners who train in Arizona to the Twins in Fort Myers, Florida.

Bowen will travel to Florida Wednesday to begin training with the Twins on Thursday.

“I guess on Thursday I’ll get to meet some of the guys and stuff, and we’ll get to sit down and talk and kind of come up with a plan, try to see where I’m at in my throwing progression, and try to learn their philosophy, their way,” Bowen said. “I’ve been taught the Mariners way for the last two years and now I need to learn what the Twins like in order for me to succeed with them.”

Bowen is expected to become a top-30 prospect in the Twins organization, according to MLB.com.

Potential minor-league affiliates where Bowen could play to start 2024 include the High-A Cedar Rapids Kernels in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and the Single-A Fort Myers Mighty Mussels in Fort Myers, Florida. The Twins organization’s minor-league pipeline is primarily based in the Midwest.

Bowen was primarily a reliever in three seasons with UNCP from 2020-22, including a nine-save season in 2022. While playing prep baseball at Red Springs, Bowen was The Robesonian’s Robeson County Pitcher of the Year in 2019.