Front Page: Mission Accomplished: An Elite Twins Bullpen

[Squirrel]

 

So are we allowed to disagree entirely with this premise or do we have to play along?

 

Asking for a friend.....

What part do you disagree with? The title? its content? Specific parts of the content? That it exists at all?

 

Asking for friends.

[Dantes929]

 

For the playoffs...

 

1. Rogers

2. Romo

3. Duffey

4. May

5. Littell

 

6. You need a lefty long-relief guy. Smeltzer has been better than Thorpe, but is maybe less able to be used as a true relief arm as well. Then again, should the Twins even use a traditional third and fourth starter? Maybe Perez can fill this role?

 

7. Dobnak has earned this spot.

 

8. Graterol, hell yeah.

Right now I have as much or more faith in Sashak than Gibson and Perez.    I would feel a little sorry for them but I think Gibson does not make the cut unless he shows some thing better than he has for the last two months.

[h2oface]

 

........ If you are going to make the claim that you are "guessing some [better relievers] will be available" please provide names. Otherwise you are simply refuting someone's thought with the assumption the Twins can find the rarest resource in baseball; quality, cheap bullpen arms.

 

How about Ryan Pressly? I heard another team had made him available.....

[Only Here in Negative]

 

Given the life expectancy of typical relievers, it isn’t insanity to think he could be done. How many figured Addison Reed was cooked? Dyson is a year OLDER. At the $8 mil arb award he’s likely to get, I would want a little surer bet. I’m guessing some will be available.

 

You said that you expected him to be nontendered. That's insanity. Could he be done? Yeah. Any pitcher could. Is he more likely than any other? Not particularly.

[yarnivek1972]

You said that you expected him to be nontendered. That's insanity. Could he be done? Yeah. Any pitcher could. Is he more likely than any other? Not particularly.

Well, they certainly aren’t going to tender him without considerable medical evaluation. You know: fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Pushing 32, already hurt. Good luck getting a thumbs up.

[KirbyDome89]

 

What part do you disagree with? The title? its content? Specific parts of the content? That it exists at all?

 

Asking for friends.

It shouldn't matter, but I'm pretty sure it's been implied 2x now. 

 

Stating for a friend of course.....

[wabene]

Romo is a FA. And I would want to upgrade there anyway. At some point his junk is going to stop fooling hitters.

Dude's got three rings and is smoother than Horitos Plata, I want to watch him next year he's a winner baby!

[wabene]

Only here in the neg's past is long so I won't quote but I agree and didn't we also get Chris Vallimont? A hard throwing starter.

[Mr. Brooks]

Only here in the neg's past is long so I won't quote but I agree and didn't we also get Chris Vallimont? A hard throwing starter.

No, Vallimont came back in the Romo trade, for Diaz. Not with Dyson in the Davis trade.

[Brock Beauchamp]

One of the things that I get and don't get is how Twins fans underrate what Tyler Duffey has done lately.

 

He has literally been the best reliever in baseball for the past two months. Since the beginning of August, he has pitched 17.1 innings and struck out 30 (!!!!!) hitters.

 

THIRTY HITTERS. IN SEVENTEEN INNINGS.

 

Velocity ain't everything.

 

I trust Duffey more than anyone but Rogers, and I'm not sure about that call.

 

And when you can call Rogers, Romo, Duffey, Littel, that's kinda fierce.

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

One of the things that I get and don't get is how Twins fans underrate what Tyler Duffey has done lately.

 

He has literally been the best reliever in baseball for the past two months. Since the beginning of August, he has pitched 17.1 innings and struck out 30 (!!!!!) hitters.

 

THIRTY HITTERS. IN SEVENTEEN INNINGS.

 

Velocity ain't everything.

 

I trust Duffey more than anyone but Rogers, and I'm not sure about that call.

 

And when you can call Rogers, Romo, Duffey, Littel, that's kinda fierce.

yeah, those are some impressive numbers... I think my point is mainly that we're in a bit of SSS territory before I'd use the word elite. 

 

Am I comfortable with these guys going into 2020? Yes.

 

I'm not ready to crown them the mid-2000s Twins pen equivalents though either...

 

And I really REALLY REALLY hope that Falvine makes some efforts to bring in good starters this offseason. This team could be really dangerous with some higher end starting pitching. 

[Vanimal46]

yeah, those are some impressive numbers... I think my point is mainly that we're in a bit of SSS territory before I'd use the word elite.

 

Am I comfortable with these guys going into 2020? Yes.

 

I'm not ready to crown them the mid-2000s Twins pen equivalents though either...

 

And I really REALLY REALLY hope that Falvine makes some efforts to bring in good starters this offseason. This team could be really dangerous with some higher end starting pitching.

Concur. The pen has been hot, which is perfect timing for the playoffs. I'm certainly not ready to crown them elite and forgo signing others to improve it.

 

This winter I want them to go high end for starters, and keep tossing darts for bullpen help.

[Only Here in Negative]

 

Well, they certainly aren’t going to tender him without considerable medical evaluation. You know: fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Pushing 32, already hurt. Good luck getting a thumbs up.

 

At $8 million, they'll tender him unless they see something in medicals. There's really no chance they're going to see anything since they didn't see anything when they traded for him. This isn't something that shows up on medical exams clearly.

 

And again, biceps tendinitis is not some huge lingering issue. The prescription for it is rest. That's hard to get during the season but not particularly difficult in the offseason. Maybe he's injured next Spring but it won't be for biceps tendinitis.

 

You're sticking to a position that doesn't make sense. The amount involved is so small that the reward far outweighs the risk. Dyson has been a very good reliever every year since 2014 (except 2017 notably). Guys like that get multiple years at $8 mill on the free market.

[Only Here in Negative]

 

Concur. The pen has been hot, which is perfect timing for the playoffs. I'm certainly not ready to crown them elite and forgo signing others to improve it.

This winter I want them to go high end for starters, and keep tossing darts for bullpen help.

 

It'll be interesting to see which door the FO chooses:

 

Door 1: Trust that three of Thorpe, Graterol, Smeltzer, Littel, Stewart etc. are ready to start, with potential reinforcement by Alcala or other MILB prospects. Maybe sign a cheap veteran starter but focus on adding a few bullpen pieces to Dyson, Rogers, Duffey and May.

 

Door 2: Go get two to three multi-year high-to-medium end starters. This is more of an all-in move by the Twins and may require a trade since impact free agent starters don't generally hit FA. The pitchers who aren't involved in trades solidify the back end of a bullpen.

 

Door 3: Go get one high-to-medium end starter and hope that the aforementioned guys can fill the back of the rotation. Might mean you go get one bullpen arm to augment the back end of the pen.

 

The nice thing is that the Twins have options and can read the market. If there aren't going to be pitchers available (e.g. the trade market is weak, the Astros resign Cole, Straousburg gets dinged up in the playoffs and opts in, etc.) and the price is high, they can pivot to the bullpen market. If there are some nice solid starters out there or the Twins can take advantage of newer tanking teams (the Pirates for Archer comes to mind), then the Twins can get out of the risky bullpen market and play it by ear.

 

FWIW, I like Door #3. I'd like to see them go get a strong #2 to line up behind Berrios for the next few years (someone like Carl Pavano) and trust that their pitching-minded FO can fill in the rest. Smeltzer, Thorpe, and a few free agent retreads can fill out the back end until the deadline. It really seems like a few of these current relievers should stay as such - Littel, maybe Graterol? The Twins this year have shown how a deep pen can cover a few starters who only go through the lineup twice. I wouldn't mind seeing that continue, especially for an AL team with a lot of versatile position players that enable you to carry one more pitcher.

[Vanimal46]

It'll be interesting to see which door the FO chooses:

 

Door 1: Trust that three of Thorpe, Graterol, Smeltzer, Littel, Stewart etc. are ready to start, with potential reinforcement by Alcala or other MILB prospects. Maybe sign a cheap veteran starter but focus on adding a few bullpen pieces to Dyson, Rogers, Duffey and May.

 

Door 2: Go get two to three multi-year high-to-medium end starters. This is more of an all-in move by the Twins and may require a trade since impact free agent starters don't generally hit FA. The pitchers who aren't involved in trades solidify the back end of a bullpen.

 

Door 3: Go get one high-to-medium end starter and hope that the aforementioned guys can fill the back of the rotation. Might mean you go get one bullpen arm to augment the back end of the pen.

 

The nice thing is that the Twins have options and can read the market. If there aren't going to be pitchers available (e.g. the trade market is weak, the Astros resign Cole, Straousburg gets dinged up in the playoffs and opts in, etc.) and the price is high, they can pivot to the bullpen market. If there are some nice solid starters out there or the Twins can take advantage of newer tanking teams (the Pirates for Archer comes to mind), then the Twins can get out of the risky bullpen market and play it by ear.

 

FWIW, I like Door #3. I'd like to see them go get a strong #2 to line up behind Berrios for the next few years (someone like Carl Pavano) and trust that their pitching-minded FO can fill in the rest. Smeltzer, Thorpe, and a few free agent retreads can fill out the back end until the deadline. It really seems like a few of these current relievers should stay as such - Littel, maybe Graterol? The Twins this year have shown how a deep pen can cover a few starters who only go through the lineup twice. I wouldn't mind seeing that continue, especially for an AL team with a lot of versatile position players that enable you to carry one more pitcher.

I prefer door #2 but wouldn't be opposed to door #3 either. I concur with you about keeping former starters Littell and Graterol in the bullpen. Littell has certainly found a home there and could be counted on as a late inning reliever.

 

It's going to take a huge ramp up for Graterol to start again. I just don't see a jump from 80 ish innings to 150 next year, which would be respectable starting numbers. The risk of injury seems too much to have him make that innings increase.

[Only Here in Negative]

 

I prefer door #2 but wouldn't be opposed to door #3 either. I concur with you about keeping former starters Littell and Graterol in the bullpen. Littell has certainly found a home there and could be counted on as a late inning reliever.

It's going to take a huge ramp up for Graterol to start again. I just don't see a jump from 80 ish innings to 150 next year, which would be respectable starting numbers. The risk of injury seems too much to have him make that innings increase.

 

Maybe he's in the pen but stretches out to be a longer guy so they can get him up to 100-110 innings.

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

I prefer door #2 but wouldn't be opposed to door #3 either. I concur with you about keeping former starters Littell and Graterol in the bullpen. Littell has certainly found a home there and could be counted on as a late inning reliever.

It's going to take a huge ramp up for Graterol to start again. I just don't see a jump from 80 ish innings to 150 next year, which would be respectable starting numbers. The risk of injury seems too much to have him make that innings increase.

I wouldn't put Graterol in the plans for next year. I'd have him starting in the minors and hope to get him into the 120-150 IP range next year... Now if he keeps getting hurt, I think there's a real conversation there about whether or not his future is in the pen. 

[DocBauer]

Dyson will be back and I'd be willing to bet healthy and looking like his old self. Old self meaning the first half of this season as well.

 

I think there is a very good chance Romo is back on a 1yr deal. And I'd have no problem with that. He is experienced, effective and performing well. He also seems to be a clubhouse guy. (Added bonus).

 

Rogers

Dyson

Duffey

May

Romo

Littell

Stashak/Poppen/Alcala

 

That leaves room for a LH as the 8th man. Smeltzer and especially Thorpe could maybe fill that role. (Thorpe has the better SO stuff). But both should remain in the rotation for 2020. Graterol should and will also be a SP in 2020.

 

Need to find a quality LH from somewhere and I'd be very happy with what is on hand now for next season.

[longstrangetrip]

Our elite bullpen struck out 14 Royals today, including 8 of the final 9 outs!

[Rosterman]

Bullpen for 2020: Rogers, May, Dyson, Littell, Stashak, Duffey. The Twins still need a bonifide closer, although I would be tempted to give that role to...Trevor May.

 

The rotation is more iffy at this point. Can Dobnak and Smeltzer be a part of the mix? The Twins need two free agents for sure and could maybe add a Pineda to come in if a rookie tryout doesn't woprk.