Jhoan Duran arrived in the Twins organization as pitcher in the low minor leagues. Griffin Jax was a third-round pick and converted starter; the same goes for Louie Varland, who was a 15th-round gem. Danny Coulombe was a free-agent signing, and Brock Stewart a shrewd waiver claim.
One by one, each was shipped in a different direction at last year’s trade deadline. The Twins’ bullpen was broken apart, and the Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers were the beneficiaries.
Derek Falvey, Jeremy Zoll and Co. once built a bullpen projected to be the best in the majors. The question is can they do it again — or at the very least, come close? And how quickly?
The Twins made one move to improve their roster last week, signing first baseman Josh Bell, but their biggest need this winter is clearly in the bullpen. Additions are expected to come from every which way. They passed on the opportunity to add a pitcher in the Rule 5 Draft earlier this month, but there are plenty of avenues the Twins can pursue to bolster the bullpen.
“Some of it is going to have to come from outside, some of it is going to be guys stepping up. There’s no question,” said Falvey, the team’s president of baseball and business operations. “You’re not going to have an entirely filled bullpen from external (sources). You’re going to have some guys that are already in that group. But I would say that as it stands right now, we’re going to look to add to it.”
In November, the Twins made their first external addition, swinging a trade for right-handed pitcher Eric Orze, who posted a 3.02 earned-run average in 41⅔ innings pitched last season with the Tampa Bay Rays.
They also tendered a contract to Cole Sands last month and agreed to terms with Justin Topa, giving them a pair of returners. Lefty Kody Funderburk could have a leg up for spot after a strong finish to last year. The Twins gave looks to Pierson Ohl and Travis Adams, converted starters, at the end of last season and both should come to spring training fighting for a roster spot.
Otherwise, they have a surplus of major league-ready staters, some of whom could factor into bullpen plans at some point down the road, as well as prospects who might be asked to convert such as Connor Prielipp, who many feel has the potential to become a high-impact reliever.
Zoll said the team should have a better idea about who might be converted to a bullpen role as the nears reporting to Fort Myers, Fla., for spring training in mid-February.
“I think that’s going to help make a lot more sense of how many guys should we be doing this with, who do we want to keep the starter project going for as long as we can? How many decisions do we need to make early, versus mid-year opportunities,” he said. “So, some of that’s going to be fluid depending on how the rest of this offseason goes.”
A major league free agent reliever pick up (or two) seems like a likely path, too, and as always there will be a number of non-roster invites in camp competing for a spot. Recently, the Twins agreed to a minor league deal with Dan Altavilla, who made 28 major league appearances last season, posting a 2.48 ERA for the Chicago White Sox across 29 innings.
“We have to build out our bullpen because there’s so many games won or lost in a bullpen, especially during the regular season,” new manager Derek Shelton said. “Building out our bullpen is going to be extremely important. I think that’s a step we’re going to need to take to continue to get better.”
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