FORT MYERS, Fla. — If it seems like the Twins have been adding another reliever to the mix every day, well, that’s not too far off.
The Twins’ front office has spent the first few days of camp addressing holes in the bullpen, bringing in left-hander Anthony Banda in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Liam Hendriks, Julian Merryweather, Andrew Chafin and Cody Laweryson on minor-league deals with invites to major league spring training.
Notably, they’ve added a veteran presence to a group that at one point seemed as if it would skew much younger.
The 37-year-old Hendriks began his major league career in 2011. Chafin, 35, debuted in 2014,and Banda, 32, has spent parts of nine seasons in the majors. That’s in addition to Taylor Rogers, whom the Twins brought back in on a one-year deal in January.
“I love the fact that they’ve all pitched in big games and they’ve pitched in the ninth inning,” manager Derek Shelton said. “They pitched in high-leverage on really good teams, championship teams, World Series games.”
Both Hendriks and Rogers were all-star closers — Hendriks in 2019, 2021 and 2022 and Rogers in 2021 — and Banda, acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers, has pitched in each of the last two World Series, giving the Twins valuable past experience to draw upon.
Though the recent additions are not guaranteed to make the team out of camp, having that type of major-league knowledge around is a value to the group as a whole and to the stable of young relievers the Twins have in major league camp.
“The fact that they’ve been there and young guys that are in (the) back end of the bullpen can ask them about situations or ask them about things that happened, there is no better coaching that will happen than player to player or peer to peer,” Shelton said. “When players coach themselves, it’s vital.”
For Banda, getting designated for assignment by the Dodgers on Feb. 6 was “a blindside,” the reliever said. As players began reporting to spring training, Banda was still sitting at home “getting antsy” as he waited to find out where he would end up. He wound up with the Twins after a trade for international bonus pool money.
“It was a roller coaster for sure,” he said. “But hey, new chapter, new opportunity.”
Opportunity is what the Twins’ bullpen has provided a number of relievers since last season’s trade deadline sell-off, and now, there are a bunch of veterans trying to make the most of that opportunity. And notably, some of those veterans, like Hendriks and Chafin, are known for having big personalities.
“I think that’s really important when you’re adding a different subset of personalities into a group,” Shelton said. “I think it’s good for our young players.”
Briefly
One reliever no longer in camp is Jackson Kowar, whom the Twins picked up as a waiver claim at the beginning of the month. Kowar was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Banda and then traded to the Baltimore Orioles for cash considerations. … All players have reported to camp and on Monday, the Twins will host their first full-squad workout. … The Twins started live batting practice on Sunday. Starter Joe Ryan, who is headed to the World Baseball Classic later this spring, threw three ups. New first baseman Josh Bell hit a home run off Zebby Matthews.
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