The Twins Are Sending Louie Varland to the Bullpen, and It's the Right Move

[Sherry Cerny]

The Twins announced on Friday that they're officially moving Louie Varland to the bullpen for the rest of the season. His latest performance made clear this was the right course of action.

Image courtesy of © Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Louie Varland’s potential as a pitcher is undeniable, but his optimal role within the Minnesota Twins’ roster is as a reliever rather than a starter. Now, he'll be able to fulfill that role with the team announcing Friday that he's officially moving to the bullpen.

This comes after his latest performance added to Varland's track record of fluctuations in performance, and wavering ability to maintain effectiveness across multiple innings.

He can help the Twins. But it' became all the more clear he wasn't going to do it in a starting role. Although it further thins out the team's starting depth, moving him to the late innings will allow Varland to be the best pitcher he can be.

His performance metrics, pitch selection, stamina concerns, and ability to handle high-pressure situations all suggest that his talents could be better utilized in relief. Starting pitching involves a deep array of pitches and the ability to adjust strategies as the game progresses. Varland has shown potential with a few compelling pitches, but his pitch selection has sometimes seemed less versatile than what is typically needed for a starter. Meanwhile, his stuff has clearly played down after one trip through the order.

Varland’s ability to perform under pressure has been notable, and his stuff tends to play up in shorter appearances. The bullpen role allows him to leverage his strengths in tight spots, a scenario where his competitive nature and sharpness could shine more brightly compared to the extended grind of a starting role. Varland absolutely has a phenomenal arm and has shown he knows how to use it, but his execution after more than three or four innings becomes disastrous. 

Over the course of his age-26 season, Varland has shuttled back and forth between Triple-A and the majors, showing occasional bursts of improvement that keep failing to sustain. The starts and stops of his season were perfectly showcased on Wednesday night versus the Tampa Bay Rays. Entering after the first, Varland started hot through two perfect innings innings, but was obliterated in the fourth inning, giving up eight runs before finally being relieved by pitcher Scott Blewett to close out the inning. The defense did not help Varland in that situation, however, it was another example of the right-hander running into rocky tides after initial smooth sailing.

By transitioning Varland to the bullpen, the team can utilize his skills in a role where he will have a more immediate impact. Additionally, this move allows the Twins to balance their rotation while maximizing Varland’s effectiveness in shorter, high-stakes situations.

Wednesday's game was a microcosm of what we saw last year, when Varland demonstrated a sharp contrast between two pitching roles.

Between April 2023 and June 2023, Varland started 10 games and posted a 5.30 ERA, striking out 54 and allowing 14 home runs in 56 innings. He went to Triple-A and returned in September as a starter, working his way into increasingly high-level spots, striking out 17 over 12 innings with a 1.50 ERA.

As we've seen, Varland can maximize his effectiveness in a bullpen role by focusing on his best pitches in high-leverage situations without needing a deep arsenal to navigate an entire lineup. The more he can go to this best pitches and avoid batters seeing any one pitch too much, the better off he'll be.

By focusing Varland on high-leverage relief appearances, the Twins can harness his strengths more effectively while also preserving his durability for the long term. As the team continues to refine its pitching strategy, embracing Varland’s role in the bullpen could be a savvy move that benefits both the pitcher and the team. 

What do you think? Are you excited to see Varland in the bullpen again? Do you think it's a switch that will (or should) stick permanently this time? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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[D.C Twins]

It's been the right move for months but congrats to the FO .... or something

[Twins GFP]

Good RP regularly come from being failed SP.  We can hope....

 

Its a good thing ownership invested in SP this past offseason.  Maybe the Twins should call Terry Mulholland.  I am sure old rubber-arm could give them better quality than the current SP4/SP5 disaster.

[Brandon]

Henriquez has been pitching real good too.  That could give us two solid relievers going forward if they both continue to pitch like they have in the pen.  
if the dependable part of our pen grows to Jax, Duran, Alcalá, Sands, Varland, and Henriquez with Stewart back next year we would be at 6 solid relievers going into next season with a few others capable of stepping up.  ( Canterino, Raya,).

[CRF]

The REAL question is...what the hell took them so long? 

[Mike Sixel]

About time. 

[wabene]

Figured we'd see Louie in the pen sometime between September 1 and 15. This is it outside of a possible bullpen role for Paddack, the Twins are out of ammo. Paddack is a long shot. Nothing is guaranteed, but I'm rooting for Louie make a nice big league career from here on out in the pen. He'll be fired up and this role could be a good fit for him on many levels 

[Karbo]

53 minutes ago, CRF said:

The REAL question is...what the hell took them so long? 

It was nice of them to give in to his wishes to remain a starter, but as far as I'm concerned, he was getting paid to pitch in the role they need him for. At this point in his career, that's going to be a late inning setup role. Who knows, maybe he can be a Jax type reliever. Last I looked, they get paid pretty well too!

[DJL44]

2 hours ago, Brandon said:

with a few others capable of stepping up.  ( Canterino, Raya,).

Capable? Sure, but incredibly unlikely. Raya will probably be spending his 3rd consecutive season in Double-A and Canterino will probably be spending his 3rd consecutive season on the injured list.

[Parfigliano]

3 hours ago, D.C Twins said:

It's been the right move for months but congrats to the FO .... or something

Blind pig named FO finally found the acorn.

[Parfigliano]

2 hours ago, Brandon said:

Henriquez has been pitching real good too.  That could give us two solid relievers going forward if they both continue to pitch like they have in the pen.  
if the dependable part of our pen grows to Jax, Duran, Alcalá, Sands, Varland, and Henriquez with Stewart back next year we would be at 6 solid relievers going into next season with a few others capable of stepping up.  ( Canterino, Raya,).

You mean going into game one of this year's WS.  Right?

[Brandon]

1 hour ago, Parfigliano said:

You mean going into game one of this year's WS.  Right?

Playoffs this year and next season too

[Twinsgypsy]

I realize he wanted to be a starter, but it was very evident he was AAAA starter.  However, he has shown that he can be a very good reliever even though it was a small number innings.   The sad part of it is that there was practically a full season wasted.  

[DocBauer]

They didn't move him to the pen previously because they needed him in the rotation. He was the 6th man when ST started and he was quickly moved to the rotation. SWR was bumped from the 7th man to #6. THEN, he took over for Varland when he struggled so badly. BTW, few if any could predict how well SWR would do once inserted. 

After that, the cupboard was bare except for Dobnak and some journeymen. Remember, even Headrick was hurt almost immediately. Again, Varland was needed as depth. And to be fair, he's thrown some good games in that role over the past few months. This is not the FO suddenly coming up with a good idea. They would have done this months ago if they were able. Season coming to a close, need and the improvements by some young arms make this the time to move him.

And he's probably staying there for good. His arm talent is enough he could probably carve out a solid career as a back of the rotation starter for someone. But why not be a really good reliever instead? And that's probably what he's going to be going forward. 

Duran, Jax, Alcala, Sands, and Varland is a really nice 5 out of 8 to begin with. Personally, I think health has been the issue for Henriquez as I've seen good results at times. And if Stewart could come back for a healthy 50 IP, this pen could be really good. Outstanding with even a single quality LH option...if not 2...from Funderburk, Moran, Headrick (who I see moving), and possibly Nowlin as well.

Varland's career path seems obvious at this point.

 

[mikelink45]

It is about time and I'm tired of hearing that they had to keep them stretched out as a starter. Too many pictures over the years have gone into the pen and back out to start. 

[saviking]

Bout time!!!

[saviking]

Just now, saviking said:

Bout time!!!

And he should probably remain there for the years after ..

[LambchoP]

Good, the Twins should get the best value out of Varland in the pen. He can still go 2 maybe even three innings if need be. They should do the same for Paddack next year. These two former starters along with our big 4 of Duran Jax Alcala and Sands, not to mention Stewart and Topa, could be the start of a solid pen. All we're really missing is a solid lefty or two. I think Headrick has some promise, but I'd like to see them sign a veteran lefty. Of course this would cost money, so who knows if it'll happen at all. If ownership won't spend money or give out contracts to upgrade the rotation, you think they could at least try and reinforce the pen a bit. We all saw how the waiver wire, minor league, budget bargain signing bullpen plan worked out this year lol ..

[Fatbat]

About 6 -8 weeks late. 

[Rosterman]

Sad that Headrick ws also out until September. WOuld have hopes that he could be a potential "long" lefty, if not just a situational left-hander. Looks like WInder contributing the Twins in September is gone. Is there any need for Dobank - long relief? 

Wonder if the fate of Matt Canterino will be the same as others like Blayne Enlow, Tyler Jay, etc.