3 Big Questions for the 2025 Twins Bullpen

[Cody Pirkl]

Among the many disappointments of the 2024 season was the Twins bullpen, one of the worst in baseball for the last month-plus of the season. Headed into 2025, they have three big question marks.

Image courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Twins bullpen was largely ineffective in 2024 despite Griffin Jax being one of the best relievers in baseball and Cole Sands having a breakout season. Just about everything else went wrong, leaving them with several big questions heading into 2025.

What’s Up With Durán?
Jhoan Durán had the worst season of his MLB career so far in 2024, which is to say he was merely human instead of being one of the absolut ebest relievers in baseball. He lost over an entire MPH from his fastball, and his strikeout rate dropped from 32.9% to 28.9%. While still a good reliever, Durán was far from his dominant self, and a Twins bullpen that was supposed to be anchored by the 6’5" right-hander felt like it was missing its number-one option for the entire season.

Durán suffered an oblique injury at the beginning of the season and never quite got back to his dominant ways. The hope is that this injury cost him some of his premium velocity and can be found again in 2025. The question is whether the Twins feel like betting on this development.

After reportedly listening to trade offers for Durán last trade deadline, they could be overwhelmed with an offer this winter if teams are willing to pay peak price. With a Twins front office that does not value relief pitching, it’s worth not only wondering whether Durán will regain his pre-2024 form but also whether he’ll be in the Twins bullpen at all.

Can Brock Stewart Contribute Enough?
Stewart has become an essential piece of the Twins bullpen over the last two seasons, but the Twins have had to play large chunks of both years without him. More recently, Stewart was shut down with what was described as minor shoulder discomfort, requiring season-ending shoulder surgery a couple of months later. This came just one year after he missed most of the second half of 2023, though he did return at season’s end from that injury.

2025 will be Stewart’s age 33 season. After the bullpen completely ran out of gas in 2024, the goal will be to avoid it happening again in 2025. Brock Stewart will be a huge X factor in this decision-making process. While we feel safe projecting elite production when Stewart is on the mound, the Twins can’t have any confidence in his ability to be available for the entire season. Look for the Twins to try to bolster the bullpen depth in some way, but how much Stewart is available in 2025 carries a lot of weight in how the bullpen performs.

Can Louie Varland Meet The Hype?
The Twins' hopes of Varland sticking in the rotation should be gone headed into 2025. Between the large sample of data showing Varland isn’t effective in this role and the wealth of young starting pitching they’ll have available, it’s time to fully transition to the bullpen. The Twins have seen flashes of an elite reliever from Varland across the last two seasons, and in 2025 they should be leaning into making him a consistent contributor at the back end of games.

With Varland’s raw stuff, there’s no reason he shouldn’t succeed in a shorter role, but it doesn't feel easy to say. Despite averaging 95+ on his fastball with multiple off-speed pitches to go with it, Varland owns a career ERA of over 5.50, and he hasn’t been able to strike out a batter per inning. For how talented Varland is, he’s lacked the ability to finish hitters and has been prone to game-breaking implosions. Undoubtedly, he has the raw talent to be a high-end relief pitcher; the question is whether he can harness it to meet the potential he’s shown in shorter stints.

When a bullpen implodes as spectacularly as the Twins’ did this season, plenty of questions arise headed into the offseason. These three pitchers carry significant weight in how the Twins bullpen will perform next season. Can this trio help pick up the pieces and put them back together in 2025?

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[LambchoP]

Twins just need a solid lefty or two and some mid level guys that can effectively eat a few innings at a time. With Duran, Jax, Sands, Stewart and Alcala at the back end, we should be ok. Just need to find a way to keep our A team healthy. Hoping for bounce back seasons from Topa, Stewart and others is a lot of what ifs, Falvey is going to have to go out and get some depth. Relievers are cheaper than starting pitching so maybe if we can build an elite pen like CLE this year, it'll take some of the load off of not having the best rotation in the league.

[JD-TWINS]

16 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

And we keep hearing that Jax wants to head to the rotation.  That's surely not going to help the pen.

I can’t imagine that Jax wanting to be a starter having any more weight than the 2nd year salesman for XYZ company wanting to be Sales V.P. - glad you both have ambitions!

Paddack - Varland - Topa - Stewart ALL being added to Sands - Alcala - Jax - Duran makes the ‘25 Pen elite. Stewart may only throw 32 innings ……. Topa may only throw 40 innings but if they are both available for October I am happy with that.

Blewett a possibility to keep? Moran or Funderburk throwing to adequate levels? Winder & Headrick for depth? Ronny Henriquez will be in play!

Lopez - Festa - SWR - Ober - Ryan

Morris - Lewis - Matthews - Raya readying at AAA.

I may be naive or dreaming but I think this staff gets it done. NEED a BAT!!!!

[mikelink45]

Stewart and Topa have too many injury issues on a team that seems to have a lot of fragile bodies so we cannot count on them for next season or beyond even though we hope we can.  The BP is always an issue, but Cleveland and Detroit have demonstrated the value the pen has.

[bean5302]

Seems to be they were "okay" but not really good in terms of results. FIP really liked them, though...
5th in fWAR in all of baseball last year
19th in ERA
19th in WPA
16th in Innings
11th in Wins (35)
23rd in Losses (31)
Combined the bullpen's W-L record was an 86 win pace (.530)


 

[High heat]

I think Durán and Alcala get traded. (Saves still get you paid in Arb)  

 

Lot of the fridge guys get let go off the 40 man (Winder Henriquez, blewettmaybe Topa)  

 

They are going to do the same thing they did the last few yrs and throw **** at the wall and see what sticks.  
 

You are hoping Varland transfer to the BP like Jax, Stewart stays healthy and one or two of the bullpen projects are a success.

 

[Doctor Gast]

I see a lot of ?s much like last season, hope won't get it done, We picked up a lot of RPs, with a lot of hype of having a great pen. If hype meant anything we'd be winning the WS but none of them ever panned out. 

If Duran were kept as only a closer & had Jax as a fireman, IMO we'd have had more success. I'd hope Duran regain his dominance but he's still a very good reliever. Stop wasting Varland bullets in AAA. Sands breakout is a big plus, I didn't like how they used Alcala this last season but next year I expect good things from him. If we can't get anything good for Paddack in trade, I'd put him in the BP. Right there we have a pretty good high-leverage BP. I'd not mess around with Topa, I just trade him while his value is still up. We won't get a full season from Stewart so we have to find a way to have him healthy at the end of the season for the post.

There were an awful lot of pretty good LHRPs at the deadline that we missed out on. I'd try to scour to come up with one this offseason. That leaves us with low leverage which we can easily fill out in-house with Canterino if he can stay healthy, Raya, Prielipp or others not to mention maybe acquire Thielbar via FA. 

We should have a  better base at BP, but IMO not good enough to experiment Jax at SP.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

I think how Duran recovers (or doesn't) makes a pretty huge difference in how the rest of the bullpen plays out.  With him at his most effective, it moves guys like Jax, Sands, Stewart, et al down the pecking order making the whole pen better.

The injury situation is huge.  I would be pleased if ONE of Topa or Stewart can get back to healthy and stay that way.  Again, their presence pushes down the roles that others plays.

Varland moving the pen full-time should be a winner, although that isn't guaranteed.  He still needs to finish batters off and get them out.  I think there should be a minor league push to move some arms to the bullpen at AAA.  Much like Varland, I don't think guys like Prielipp are going to make it as starters (in competition with Matthews, etc.) so having a way to keep very good arms in play is critical to their long term depth and long term success.  

 

[Brandon]

3.5-4 million is not too much for even the Twins to pay a reliever.  Durán stays.  Stewart is elite when healthy and won’t cost much he also stays.  Glad Varland is in the pen.  We have lots of options heading into next season with several more on the way. I’m more concerned with us keeping Canterino and if he will ever be able to pitch.  He could solve any last remaining bullpen issues.  

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

I also think Varland is in the pen.  He reminds me of Ryan Pressly before we traded him.  Both have heat and are good but not great until the Astros talked to Ryan about spin rates.  Maybe we can turn Varland into a Pressly by improving his spin rate.

Varland doesn't have any truly great pitches, but he's got some stuff which is above average, and those pitches have played up out of the 'pen. It's tough to say how he'll fare. I don't think Varland is going to be the next Griffin Jax or Ryan Pressley, both of whom had great sliders to begin with.

My hope for Varland would be mid 3s out of the 'pen as all of his average-ish stuff plays up a little bit with an extra 1-2mph behind it. Even though Varland has a much higher K rate out of the 'pen, he still gives up a ton of very loud contact.

[darin617]

10 hours ago, LambchoP said:

Twins just need a solid lefty or two and some mid level guys that can effectively eat a few innings at a time. With Duran, Jax, Sands, Stewart and Alcala at the back end, we should be ok. Just need to find a way to keep our A team healthy. Hoping for bounce back seasons from Topa, Stewart and others is a lot of what ifs, Falvey is going to have to go out and get some depth. Relievers are cheaper than starting pitching so maybe if we can build an elite pen like CLE this year, it'll take some of the load off of not having the best rotation in the league.

They still need to address the closer situation. In all honesty the best thing would have been to deal Duran last winter for a massive haul and they could have either signed a veteran closer or gave the role to Jax.

Now, Duran has a very low trade value compared to last year and they have no choice but to hold onto him. I still feel Jax is the best option in house.

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, darin617 said:

They still need to address the closer situation. In all honesty the best thing would have been to deal Duran last winter for a massive haul and they could have either signed a veteran closer or gave the role to Jax.

Now, Duran has a very low trade value compared to last year and they have no choice but to hold onto him. I still feel Jax is the best option in house.

Duran has very low trade value after this year?
2023 = 3.21 FIP, 81.4% SV, 1.1 fWAR
2024 = 2.85 FIP, 91.3% SV, 1.2 fWAR

There are some indications Duran wasn't as dominant this year as last, but his FIP and save rate were both quite a bit better than last year. His average velocity was right in line with 2022 as well. I'd imagine Duran's value is probably just about the same as it was.

[Karbo]

I think a lot of the pen's issue was having too many guys that did the 5 and fly, with too many 1 inning only relievers. They should have at least 1 two inning RH and 1 two inning LH.

[Doctor Wu]

20 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

I can’t imagine that Jax wanting to be a starter having any more weight than the 2nd year salesman for XYZ company wanting to be Sales V.P. - glad you both have ambitions!

Paddack - Varland - Topa - Stewart ALL being added to Sands - Alcala - Jax - Duran makes the ‘25 Pen elite. Stewart may only throw 32 innings ……. Topa may only throw 40 innings but if they are both available for October I am happy with that.

Blewett a possibility to keep? Moran or Funderburk throwing to adequate levels? Winder & Headrick for depth? Ronny Henriquez will be in play!

Lopez - Festa - SWR - Ober - Ryan

Morris - Lewis - Matthews - Raya readying at AAA.

I may be naive or dreaming but I think this staff gets it done. NEED a BAT!!!!

Not naive at all. On paper, and health permitting, this does have the makings of a good staff. Although I would still LOVE to find another quality veteran arm for the rotation, and maybe another one for the bullpen.

[Doctor Wu]

17 hours ago, Brandon said:

I’m more concerned with us keeping Canterino

What is the latest regarding his status for pitching next season? Will he pitch anywhere over the winter?And if he's not on the 40-man roster, can he be taken in the Rule 5 draft?

[DJL44]

22 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Paddack - Varland - Topa - Stewart ALL being added to Sands - Alcala - Jax - Duran makes the ‘25 Pen elite.

If you want an elite bullpen for the playoffs, start the season with 12 good relievers. By the end of the year you'll have 6 that you can actually depend on. Your list is 5 arms short (Paddack is in the rotation or traded) and doesn't have any lefties.

[DJL44]

19 hours ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

Maybe we can turn Varland into a Pressly by improving his spin rate.

That is a hypothetical you could say about every pitcher the Twins have in AAA.

[DJL44]

19 hours ago, Brandon said:

I’m more concerned with us keeping Canterino and if he will ever be able to pitch.  He could solve any last remaining bullpen issues.  

Canterino's all-time high innings pitched in a season is 37. He didn't pitch in 2023 or 2024. The odds he never pitches again are higher than the odds that he solves the Twins bullpen issues. He's going to have to prove he can pitch in AAA before he gets a chance in the majors.

[TopGunn#22]

For a guy that can throw it 104 mph, I'm not concerned that Duran "lost 1 mph of fastball velo."  The Twins have the talent available for a pretty good bullpen, but Rocco needs to have clearly defined roles and I just don't think he's capable of that.

In the last week of the season, the Twins TV broadcast team put up a graphic that showed how Duran had pitched in "save" and "non-save" situations.  His numbers were VERY GOOD while closing and VERY BAD when pitching in a non-save situation.  Bringing Duran in for the 7th inning, in a close game, because it's a "high leverage:" situation is not the right way to use him. 

The Guardians don't bring Clase in for the 7th.  No team with a top notch closer does this.  The Twins need a manager who will define specific roles for each pitcher and execute this properly.  

Duran, Jax, Sands, Alcala, Varland, Topa, Stewart.  That's the foundation for a pretty good BP.   Stewart is a Wildcard because his history shows he will be good when you have him, but he's rarely available.  Funderburk and Moran could be 2 LHP that are capable of a bounce back.  

But even with the foundation for a good bullpen I think the Twins need to go out and get TWO solid arms for the BP.  One RH and one LH.  I say TWO because I want to give Jax a shot at the rotation.  I think he could very well be a Reynaldo Lopez/Seth Lugo type of guy.  If he's able to slot in as the #3 SP, that allows the Twins to take the best of Festa, SWR and Matthews for the #5 spot and depth.  I just don't like putting too many eggs in the basket of 2nd year pitchers, each of whom could be on a seasonal innings limit. 

If it doesn't work out (but I think it WILL) you still have a guy who is among the BEST 8th inning guys in baseball.  One of the 2 RP's that the Twins would sign would need to be of a talent level that could cover the 8th inning.  Stewart has shown he can handle the 8th when he's healthy.  Varland has the potential, but I prefer guys like him and Alcala as 7th inning guys.  I wouldn't trade Topa when keeping him gives us another viable option under contract.  

So the question to me is "who are some of the guys the Twins could consider adding to the talent we already have in our BP?"  

The last thing I would like to point out is that I believe the Twins and Duran need to throw his fastball more.  It seemed he would get ahead of guys 0-2 or 1-2 and then instead of throwing some high heat, he would try a breaking pitch and give up a hit.  He needs better command of his fastball, whether that's a 4-seamer or a cutter.  Better command helps every pitcher.  Duran needs the confidence to know he can hit his spot.  He seemed unsure or incapable at times this last season.   

[DJL44]

26 minutes ago, TopGunn#22 said:

The last thing I would like to point out is that I believe the Twins and Duran need to throw his fastball more.  It seemed he would get ahead of guys 0-2 or 1-2 and then instead of throwing some high heat, he would try a breaking pitch and give up a hit.  He needs better command of his fastball, whether that's a 4-seamer or a cutter.  Better command helps every pitcher.  Duran needs the confidence to know he can hit his spot.  He seemed unsure or incapable at times this last season.   

This is key. When Duran pitched poorly he wasn't hitting the corners. He was missing well off the plate and throwing strikes middle-middle.

[bean5302]

5 hours ago, Doctor Wu said:

What is the latest regarding his status for pitching next season? Will he pitch anywhere over the winter?And if he's not on the 40-man roster, can he be taken in the Rule 5 draft?

Canterino was added to the 40 man in 2022 to as he was going to be eligible for the Rule 5. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the Twins DFA him and expose him to Rule 5 this year. A claiming team needs to keep a Rule 5 pick on the 26 man all year, and Canterino is entering his age 27 season with zero experience above AA. As @DJL44 pointed out, he's never pitched more than 37 innings in a professional season, and he was drafted in 2019. In fact, he's only even got one option left.

Canterino's shiny 1.83 ERA and 3.15 FIP in AA way back in 2022 came with an absolutely terrible 5.77 BB/9 (15.3%) so there's plenty of reason to wonder whether or not Canterino's stuff would even play at a higher level like AAA or MLB where hitters will force him to throw strikes.

Basically, even if it wasn't for the shoulder injury which wiped out Canterino's entire 2024 after the elbow injury which wiped out his entire 2023 and most of his 2022... and most of his 2021, it's tough to say whether or not Canterino has the arsenal necessary to succeed at a big league level.

[darin617]

15 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Duran has very low trade value after this year?
2023 = 3.21 FIP, 81.4% SV, 1.1 fWAR
2024 = 2.85 FIP, 91.3% SV, 1.2 fWAR

There are some indications Duran wasn't as dominant this year as last, but his FIP and save rate were both quite a bit better than last year. His average velocity was right in line with 2022 as well. I'd imagine Duran's value is probably just about the same as it was.

I can guarantee the Twins would have got a better return last winter. Regardless, the Twins should be shopping him if they can cash in a big haul. These power arms don't last forever. 

[TopGunn#22]

I agree with bean.  I have been one of the biggest hopeful (hopeless??) believers in Matt Canterino.  He's kind of been my "Holy Grail."  I keep waiting and searching for him to finally do something and it never materializes.  I'm finally at the point where I'm ready to move on.  As precious as 40-man roster spots are, I just can't see the Twins going into 2025 with Canterino on the 40-man or maybe even anywhere in our minor league system.  

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, darin617 said:

I can guarantee the Twins would have got a better return last winter. Regardless, the Twins should be shopping him if they can cash in a big haul. These power arms don't last forever. 

Let's model it.
BaseballTradeValues.com has a value from Dec 2022 for Jhoan Duran which I've included below.

There are no recent Duran trade proposals and I don't pay for a subscription so we're going to have the hash some estimated value out by hand. Baseballtradevalues projects salary and pretty close to expected WAR x 8 or AFV. They then subtract future salary from the AFV to determine surplus value (trade value).
We'll use the future salary generated by https://blogs.fangraphs.com/an-arbitration-compensation-update/ the method described in Fangraphs' table for relief pitcher to determine salary, and I'll project the  year's fWAR forward.
Dec 2022 Duran value = 37.0 (29.6 to 44.4)<--- this is where you trade Duran for a potential "haul"
Oct 2023 Duran value =21.8 (17.4 to 26.2)
Now 2024 Duran value =15.2 (12.1 to 18.2) 

2023 calc 1.1 WAR * 4 = 4.4 * 8 = 35.2 AFV - (0.8MM + 2.1MM + 4.4MM + 6.1MM) = 13.4MM
2024 calc 1.2 WAR * 3 = 3.6 * 8 = 28.8 AFV - (2.1 + 4.8MM + 6.7MM) = 13.6MM

Duran was probably worth "more" in a trade at the end of last year, but not really worth mentioning in the grand scheme of things. Probably an org #4/6 vs. an org #6/8 or something like that. If you wanted a top prospect or a big haul, Duran needed to be moved after 2022.

[DJL44]

2 hours ago, darin617 said:

I can guarantee the Twins would have got a better return last winter. Regardless, the Twins should be shopping him if they can cash in a big haul. These power arms don't last forever. 

The trading team would have received one extra season of Duran so I'm sure you're right. I don't think Duran has lost much of his luster. His 2024 was really solid.

[DocBauer]

Let me start with the basics of the OP:

1] DURAN: Despite not appearing as good/dominate, despite a slight decrease in velocity, his peripherals and overall success and conversion rates were just fine. The fact we have to "worry" about a reliever "only" throwing 99-101 mph consistently and touching 102 vs tossing 100-103 and touching 104 is ludicrous. His curve is amazing, his splinker very good, and the velocity is still there. His problem was a slip in overall command, IMO. Just a blip? Was he thrown off by the early missed time and just never got quite 100%? IDK. I think a little better command, a change in sequencing, or maybe even a different mix of velocity here and there to keep batters off balance might make a difference. The other 29 teams in MLB would take him in a heartbeat.

2] STEWART: Its NEVER a good thing when a pitcher has any kind of surgery. Goodness knows Stewart has had his share of injuries and procedures in his career. FWIW,  his shoulder surgery was described as a "cleanup procedure". In baseball talk, that means there was no actual damage to be repaired, rather, there was some scar tissue and rough edges to smooth out. That's a good report! That means no further issues popping up...always a risk...but no major rehab or potential career ending issues. If this is all accurate from the doctor's report, he'll be ready 100% for 2025. But considering his history, that also means 1 IP at a time, no back to back games, and probably only 50-ish IP. I can live with that.

3] VARLAND: There is ZERO guarantee that Varland becomes a bullpen STUD in 2025, or the years to come. But he's got some really solid stuff, and the velocity certainly plays up in a more limited role. We've actually seen some positive results over the past 2 seasons, even in SSS. Even when he failed as a SP, we often saw most games where he was very good for multiple IP before unraveling. (To be fair, he didn't ALWAYS unravel). He's meant to be in the pen, and that's where he's going to be going forward, probably available for 2 IP at times. When you throw hard and miss your target, you're going to get hammered once in a while. Happens to everyone. But as he adjusts more and more to his new role, I think he's going to be solid, with the potential to be very good.

With that being said, IMO, the ONE issue is a LH arm the pen can rely on. I'd rather have a GOOD RH arm on the mound instead of a mediocre LH one that can ONLY get LH bats out. That's the difference of Thielbar the past few seasons vs an Okert. LOOGY's are a thing of the past.

Let me rewind for a moment and take a step back to look at the potential of the 2025 pen:

Duran, Jax, Stewart, Sands, Alcala...used properly as a 1 IP who can dominate in that role more often than not...and the aforementioned Varland. If Topa's knee is ready to go next season, he's only around $1.5-1.8M...Jay Jackson territory...for a guy who was vital for Seattle in 2023 with 70 IP. IMO, he's an easy keeper as a middle innings reliever. 

This is an excellent place to start! Depth is offered in Henriquez...starting to adjust and flash a little after an injury filled 2023...and possibly Winder still. I fully agree that Canterino is probably/maybe dropped from the 40 man...who is going to draft him and keep him rostered all season?...BUT if/when healthy/ready to throw, he's destined for the pen at this point. He might be a serious option at some point. Duarte really showed promise to begin 2024 before his elbow blew out. At some point, he might be back to help. Everyone sort of laughs and makes negative comments when the Twins sign some random AAAA FA type, but that's how they got Thielbar, and Stewart, others previously, and COULD have had Hoffman, no with the Phillies, if they had been smart enough to keep him. (I won't ever excuse the FO for that mistake). So they need to continue to add depth arms with the possibility they might uncover something.

And that brings us back to the need for a LEFTY presence in the pen.

Both Funderburk and Headrick are STRAPPING LH arms that have some velocity. As former starters, you'd like to think they have the experience and mix of pitches to not be destroyed by RH hitters. We saw that from Funderburk in 2023, not so much this past season. At some point in 2025...right away or later...I'd like to think Jovani Moran will take a step forward with his slider/change combo to help out. But while there's potential there, there's also nothing close to proven.

Financial restraints aren't going to allow the FO to sign any LHRP to any kind of big deal. (They missed/weren't allowed to add a couple solid additions at the deadline). Even a mediocre $2-3M deal is questionable, though potentially affordable. Honestly, I haven't had time or energy at this point to look at available options that might be coming off rough seasons and might be looking for a deal. And THAT'S who the Twins should be looking at. For that matter, they should be looking at LHSP who just haven't made it yet consistently at the ML level, for whatever reason, and grab 1 or 2 of those arms. The cost shouldn't be high, even for a $1M plus, possibly with incentives, IDK. But Falvey and his crew should be looking really hard for that diamond in the rough for a down arm with potential, or that PREVIOUS SP that could be really good once they accept the idea they can be part of something. They get ONE quality LHRP they can count on, have another solid arm or two on hand who might, hopefully will, take a step forward,  the 2025 pen looks REALLY GOOD to me. 

Nothing says SP prospects can't get their feet wet at the ML level if needed. But to be a truly elite pen, IMO, you need ONE LH option that's pretty reliable day to day. A SECOND solid option is better.

MAYBE Funderburk or Headrick or Moran...eventually...takes the #1 spot. Right now, today. I'd see them as the secondary option.  But I'd sure feel better if they could make an ADD  to be the #1 LH option that Thielbar used to be.

ONE major addition, whoever it might be, might just make the 2025 bullpen excellent. 

[Danchat]

My answers to these questions:

1) Bet on Duran rebounding. It's not weird for relievers to have off-years like this.

2) Do not count on Stewart being healthy for most of the season. If he is, consider it a nice bonus but don't plan around him.

3) Move Varland to the pen full-time as a one inning reliever and see what happens. Start him at AAA if necessary.

[stringer bell]

10 minutes ago, Danchat said:

My answers to these questions:

1) Bet on Duran rebounding. It's not weird for relievers to have off-years like this.

2) Do not count on Stewart being healthy for most of the season. If he is, consider it a nice bonus but don't plan around him.

3) Move Varland to the pen full-time as a one inning reliever and see what happens. Start him at AAA if necessary.

I pretty much agree with @Danchat. I would add that it is really time to decide on the role for Varland at 27 years of age. 

I would also add that Topa hasn't been healthy for much of his professional career, so it is probably a risk, although not as much as Stewart. 

Left handed pitching is really scarce in the upper levels of the Twins' organization. If they go outside the organization, I think it will be for a left handed pitcher. 

[TopGunn#22]

DocBauer, I agree with everything you laid out.  They have some LH guys with potential that could very well bounce back...Funderburk, Headrick, Moran.  But I'd like to see one or two of them emerge as the solid #2 LH and find someone (who that is, neither you are I know at this point) to be the primary LHP for the bullpen.

I must add that the idea of Jax getting a chance to be part of the rotation intrigues me.  The only reason that would keep me from giving him a chance was if they were able to land a SP on a very team friendly contract that could be good enough to slot in at #3.  There aren't many guys who would fit that profile.

But as bad as the bullpen was at times this year, I think it has a chance to be pretty good next season if they aren't decimated by injuries and some guys bounce back.