Mahomes made his major league debut with the Twins in 1992. He made the team out of spring training, and started the sixth game of the season on April 12 against the Texas Rangers, pitching six innings and getting a no decision. He notched his first major league win in his next start on April 21 against the Seattle Mariners. Mahomes played with the Twins into the 1996 season, appearing in a total of 114 games (51 starts) during five seasons while compiling an 18–28 record with 5.82 ERA, with 217 strikeouts in innings. The Twins traded Mahomes to the Red Sox on August 26, 1996, in exchange for a player to be named later (which turned out to be pitcher Brian Looney).