Article: From The Handbook: Free Agent Relievers

[John Bonnes]

This offseason has a loaded class of free agent relievers, exactly when the Twins need bullpen help. The Twins Daily Offseason Handbook profiles 21 options and give you the tools to pick which one you think fits best. Over 700 readers have downloaded the Handbook and you can be next, at whatever price you think is fair. Here are a few samples of free agent relievers from the Handbook. The Twins bullpen was an area of concern heading into the 2017 season, and occasionally a costly weakness, but overall the unit acquitted itself nicely. There are a number of hurlers who did enough to make cases for jobs next year, including Taylor Rogers, Trevor Hildenberger, Tyler Duffey, Alan Busenitz and Ryan Pressly.

 

Yet, for the first time in memory, the team is heading into November without a

closer. The guy who entered 2017 with the gig is available, and so is the guy who

held it down in the final two months. Whether or not they target someone with

closer experience, the Twins need to add some serious firepower to the back end.

 

Wade Davis, RHP

Age: 32 | Previous Team: Cubs

2017 Stats: 58.2 IP, 2.30 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 79/28 K/BB

 

He’s the one name in free agency that perfectly lines up with Minnesota’s

ostensible need: an experienced closer capable of shutting down games.

To that end, he’s a good bet. As Cubs closer, Davis didn’t blow a save this

year until September and is one of the game’s most dominant arms. But

he’s also a heavily-used high-effort thrower with a history of elbow scares.

Are you ready to put up Chapman type money for him?

Estimated Contract: 5 years, $80 million

 

Steve Cishek, RHP

Age: 31 | Previous Team: Rays

2017 Stats: 44.2 IP, 2.01 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 41/14 K/BB

 

Cishek has history as a closer and as a setup man. He’s been successful at

both. The sidearm sinkerballer is very much in the same mold as Trevor

Hildenberger, but it doesn’t hurt to have two such reliable options on hand.

He’s been an above-average reliever each of his six seasons in the league –

the definition of steady.

Estimated Contract: 3 years, $30 million

 

Pat Neshek, RHP

Age: 37 | Previous Team: Rockies

2017 Stats: 62.1 IP, 1.59 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 69/6 K/BB

 

Time for a homecoming? The Brooklyn Park native came up with the Twins

originally but has been away since 2010. He was at his best in 2017, making

the All Star game and finishing with a ridiculous 69-to-6 K/BB ratio in 62

innings. On a short-term deal, he could help bridge to the next generation

of young bullpen arms.

Estimated Contract: 2 years, $17 million

 

Brandon Kintzler, RHP

Age: 33 | Previous Team: Nationals

2017 Stats: 71.1 IP, 3.03 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 39/16 K/BB

 

We all know the story. The Twins went into seller mode just ahead of

the deadline, and dealt their All Star closer to Washington. They did so

knowing they’d have a chance to re-sign him a few months later. Now,

Kintzler is on the table, and his heavy sinker still looks appealing after

it continued to silence bats after the trade. His ability to induce whiffs

continued to dwindle, though, so if he loses any of that sink...

Estimated Contract: 2 years, $15 million

 

Other Options:

Brandon Morrow (33): Finally stayed healthy after a series if injury-ravaged years, and he was phenomenal out of the Dodgers bullpen. High-risk, high-reward.

 

Juan Nicasio, RHP (31): He was outstanding in his first year of full-time relief duty, pumping 95 MPH fastballs and nasty sliders.

 

Anthony Swarzak, RHP (32): If there’s no bad blood, Swarzak would make

sense in the late innings for the team that originally drafted and developed him,

provided you believe in his 2016 breakout.

 

 This is part two of a five-part series of excerpts from the Twins Daily Offseason Handbook we published earlier this year. You can also check out Part 1, Part 2 or just download the Handbook at whatever price you deem fair.  

 

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[beckmt]

Morrow or Nicasio would be in my range.  Not quite as expensive, but both could be very good to great.  Slightly prefer Nicasio, but either coupled with a Kinzler or a Shaw would be wonderful.  McGee would also be a possibility.  

Twins are on an upswing, let's get some help to tack down the games the offense gives us.