3 Free-Agent Fits For Minnesota Twins In The Bullpen

[Cody Schoenmann]

Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

With just two relievers penciled in for Opening Day, the Minnesota Twins face a familiar offseason challenge: how do you rebuild a bullpen on a budget?

Following Minnesota outrighting veteran relievers Michael Tonkin, Thomas Hatch, Génesis Cabrera, and Anthony Misiewicz off the 40-man roster, declining Justin Topa’s $2 million team option, and losing Cody Laweryson off waivers to the Los Angeles Angels, only two relievers can be penciled in as anticipated members of the club’s Opening Day bullpen: Cole Sands and Kody Funderburk.

Young, inexperienced right-handed arms Travis Adams, Pierson Ohl, and Marco Raya are strong candidates to inherit three of the open spots entering next season. Still, with the bullpen thin on depth and experience, Twins decision-makers will need to acquire multiple veterans to fill out the eight-pitcher unit. What veterans could they bring in to help bolster first-time bullpen coach LaTroy Hawkins’s group? Let’s take a look.

Tyler Kinley
Selected with the 13th pick of the 2017 Rule 5 Draft, Kinley pitched 3 ⅓ innings over four games for the 2018 Minnesota Twins, generating an uninspiring 24.30 ERA and 12.15 FIP over that stretch. Unsurprisingly, the then-27-year-old was returned to the Miami Marlins, where he spent one-and-a-half seasons before being traded to the Colorado Rockies. Given his home ballpark and the overall ineptitude of the organization he pitched for, the hard-tossing righty surprisingly mustered moderate success during his time in Denver, generating a 5.05 ERA, 4.26 FIP, and a 261-to-110 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 246 innings pitched over five seasons.

The now 34-year-old was rewarded for his services by being traded to the Atlanta Braves during the 2025 trade deadline, where he generated an eye-popping 0.72 ERA, 2.74 FIP, and a 17% K-BB rate over 25 innings pitched. Atlanta declined Kinley’s $5.5 million team option earlier this month, making the wily veteran a free agent this winter.

Throwing his plus slider 64% of the time while using his four-seam fastball as his primary secondary pitch (a combination Twins decision-makers often seek out in relievers), Kinley excelled with Atlanta last season by suppressing hard contact and missing bats. The former Twin likely won’t pitch like one of the best relievers in baseball next season as he did with Atlanta in 2025, yet he should be able to immediately insert himself as a high-leverage right-handed arm at a price tag hovering around $2-3 million. Given how thin Minnesota’s bullpen is currently constructed, Kinley would be the favorite to receive the bulk of save opportunities if he returned to the Twins.

Hoby Milner
Signed to a one-year, $2.5 million contract by the Texas Rangers last December, Milner performed admirably for the playoff-missing Rangers, posting a 3.84 ERA, 3.81 FIP, and a 58-to-21 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 70 ⅓ innings pitched. Interestingly, Minnesota was in on Milner before he signed with Texas last offseason, signaling that the Twins could again pursue the soft-tossing lefty this winter.

As noted earlier, fellow southpaw Funderburk is slated to be part of Minnesota’s Opening Day bullpen, meaning Milner would be the club’s second left-handed option. Traditionally, Twins decision-makers have shied away from carrying two lefties in the bullpen, yet given Milner’s strong performance last season, the club would be pursuing the 34-year-old based on skill rather than handedness.

Milner, like Kinley, would immediately step in as one of Minnesota’s most experienced relievers, likely receiving high-leverage opportunities early next season. Sporting a sweeper-sinker mix, the former Brewer is more effective against same-handed hitters, evidenced by allowing a .224 wOBA to left-handed hitters compared to a .353 wOBA to right-handed hitters in 2025. Still, the established veteran can hold his own against hitters from either side while generating a high number of ground balls, an archetype the current bullpen is missing. Milner should net another one-year deal in the $2-3 million range, a price tag even the salary-restricted Twins could afford.

Shawn Armstrong
Speaking of relievers who pitched for the 2025 Rangers, the final reliever on this list is Armstrong. Sporting three fastball variations (four-seam, sinker, and cutter) and a near-elite sweeper, Armstrong pitched like one of the AL’s most effective late-inning arms in 2025, recording a 2.31 ERA, 3.07 FIP, and a 74-to-20 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 74 innings pitched for Texas. The now-35-year-old broke out with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2023, generating a 1.38 ERA over 52 innings pitched. Yet, his 2025 campaign, where he also netted nine saves, was arguably his most impressive.

Given his strong performance last season, the veteran will be one of the more expensive relievers on the market, likely commanding a one-to-two-year deal worth $5-6 million annually. That being the case, he is the least likely of the listed candidates for Minnesota to pursue this offseason. Still, if Twins decision-makers were to take a modest, high-upside swing in the free-agent reliever market this winter, Armstrong is the most plausible candidate for them to invest in.

If signed, Armstrong would step in as the club’s closer heading into 2026, potentially serving as a mentor for the aforementioned inexperienced right-handers Adams, Ohl, and Raya. Also, if Minnesota falls out of contention come the 2026 trade deadline, the front office could trade Armstrong, netting a return package similar to what they received for Brock Stewart or Danny Coulombe last July. Regardless, Minnesota needs to address the bullpen in some capacity this offseason. Signing elite late-inning arms like Edwin Díaz or Robert Suarez is an unrealistic proposition given the club’s current self-imposed spending limitations. Yet, there is reason to believe the front office could unearth strong value in veteran arms like Kinley, Milner, Armstrong, or others.

 

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[DJL44]

Good look at underrated relievers. We will see if any are still available in late January. They do need a couple experienced players to provide a good example for all the rookies.

[Otaknam]

“Traditionally, Twins decision-makers have shied away from carrying two lefties in the bullpen”. It’s not a “tradition” for them to not have more lefties in the bullpen. No organization would make a conscientious decision to not develop lefties. They just have not developed many left handers in the system, which is another black mark on this regime.

[tony&rodney]

Solid choices and a fine article. Will the Twins spend any money? 

[Blyleven2011]

Veteran leadership , this isn't the senior league  ...

Kinley , Milner and Armstrong ....

How about signing someone who is familiar with the organization , thats a new MO for this organization and if they got ty France for 1 million you can bet they don't want to spend more than that on any player  ...

Lets try it again ..

Coloumbe  , theilbar  and Stewart again ...

Im just kidding , I'm not sure who I want but let's just let the young players have there chance from our over stocked falvey pipeline ...

Why didn't we get any major league ready bullpen arms from our deadline purge for 2026 , that would be a great article to analyze  ....

[TopGunn#22]

It's gotta be hard  digging these kinds of players out of the woodwork, and I appreciate the effort.  Of the 3, Tyler Kinney seems the most interesting to me.  For a 2nd lefty out of the pen, I'd rather bring back Theilbar or Coulombe.  

This off season really underscores the panic of the FO at last season's trade deadline.  I was all for trading Ty France for a bag of baseballs (I remember reading that he was a very "sub par" 1B prior to and just after we signed him) but the Varland trade irked me at the time and still does.

Varland was a young, controllable arm that was just coming into his own and would have either been our Closer or primary Set-Up man.  Having Varland in this bullpen would have made rebuilding it so much simpler.  The prize was Roden, and I don't think our need for Roden was THAT great.

So without someone like Varland available, I think the Twins need to sign a higher profile Closer who is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2025.  Ryan Helsley, Devin Williams, Kirby Yates...there are actually quite a few guys who either weren't effective, weren't used as Closers, lost the Closer job, were traded to a team to be a Set-Up man...

Rather than give Shawn Armstrong $5-$6 million, why not just entice one of the pitchers I've mentioned above or someone with a similar profile with a 1-year $10 million dollar deal that can bring you a much higher prospect (or prospects) back than a Shawn Armstrong could.

The Twins will have plenty of Tyler Kinney types vying for a role in the Twins 2026 bullpen.  But they need a guy who's been an effective Closer in the past and just needs a chance to build that value back up.  With a little luck, it works out, and David Festa emerges as a viable Closer Candidate and he can be auditioned as the guy who Closes in 2027.  (provided we're playing baseball).  

[mluebker]

Good to see the focus on pitching. If they aren’t getting hammered, maybe the kids scattered elsewhere can scratch out some runs and play some defense and we’ll actually have something like baseball to watch.

[jorgenswest]

In the spring of 2023 the DFA’d or released Trevor Megill, Jeff Hoffman and Danny Coulombe. Hoffman and Coulombe joined the Twins on minor league deals. Megill was claimed on waivers. There are relievers out there like them without success on their resumes yet. They probably wouldn’t make anyone’s list. They need to identify them and this time recognize their potential. 

 

[thelanges5]

1 hour ago, tony&rodney said:

Solid choices and a fine article. Will the Twins spend any money? 

All about that roster. Kinley seems like a good fit and won’t break the bank. 

[tony&rodney]

It is easy to agree with signing a Devin Williams type relief pitcher but the combination of expected prices as seen on various signs with the expected slashing of the roster budget may make that a long shot. I'm hoping for something good to happen this winter. 

1 hour ago, TopGunn#22 said:

the Varland trade irked me at the time and still does.

Varland was a young, controllable arm that was just coming into his own and would have either been our Closer or primary Set-Up man.  Having Varland in this bullpen would have made rebuilding it so much simpler.  The prize was Roden, and I don't think our need for Roden was THAT great.

That confusing trade is in the past and I'm trying to forget it. The positive is that Varland played in the World Series and now works in a fabulous city. I do like Minneapolis and St. Paul.

More worrisome is that the addition of Alan Roden makes me think (wonder?) the Twins do not hold out high hopes for one or both of Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez. It also points to a lack of confidence in Austin Martin and Kyler Fedko. Meanwhile both Trevor Larnach (less so) and Matt Wallner received plenty of grass time despite being clear DH's. Someone also was very impressed by the power of James Outman. There are some odd decisions being made and we are left wondering ...... hmmm.

[tony&rodney]

17 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

They need to identify them and this time recognize their potential. 

 

Isn't this exactly what all of us Twins fans are hoping for, perhaps against all odds? We hope that in this offseason and next Spring the front office will awake, see that change can occur, and they will recognize the talent available and act. Hope is what we have. We are counting on it.

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Veteran leadership , this isn't the senior league  ...

Kinley , Milner and Armstrong ....

How about signing someone who is familiar with the organization , thats a new MO for this organization and if they got ty France for 1 million you can bet they don't want to spend more than that on any player  ...

Lets try it again ..

Coloumbe  , theilbar  and Stewart again ...

Im just kidding , I'm not sure who I want but let's just let the young players have there chance from our over stocked falvey pipeline ...

Why didn't we get any major league ready bullpen arms from our deadline purge for 2026 , that would be a great article to analyze  ....

??? Nobody acquires experienced bullpen arms at the Deadline nor MLB “ready” arms IF they are selling 5 bullpen arms.

Thielbar had a nice ‘25. Coulombe had a nice ’25. Stewart is always hurt & hence traded. Stewart on a “Tonkin deal” at $1.1M along with both old lefties………all 3 for $9M? They have a couple young arms that may shift to late inning PEN guys ……… Matthews seems to have upside in that role…….a handful of other “possibilities”.

Seems to me Team already knows a couple of lefties - either one of them & maybe one of the right handers shown in the article seems to fill out a competent PEN?

Nobody has a crystal ball on who “will work”. That includes nearly every FO in the game.

I do think they can lean on LaTroy Hawkins for experience and primarily mental help and day to day regimen thoughts.

[sweetmusicviola16]

I'm sure all of these guys could produce. But where are the Twins going to get the money from to sign 3 FA RP? I don't know if the Twins could sign these guys for 9-12 mil. My estimate is it would be over the 12. So where will the dollars come from? Many estimate that this team is already maxed out on budget. Maybe they can get an RP guy for Larnach. But they have shown their complete incompetence in trading Varland away who was still a league minimum player. Then they show it again yesterday in waiving Lawyerson. So we can pickup our own Lawyerson on the wire at anytime. Right? I doubt so. We witnessed in August and September what many waiver pickups look like. I think it is just as possible that we gave away a man who has made his own personal breakthrough. Who would have pitched for minimum as well. You don't do this the first week of November. If you have to have that 40 man spot open at that time you let a Kreidler go instead. This type of player is always readily available. Incompetent, and they're still in charge. 

In summary I don't believe this team will be signing 3-5mil FA's this off-season. But I get it we have to be discussing something. 

[bean5302]

You know what I'd like to see to these articles? The writer's perspective on the Twins plan written up, and a link to it with a quick summary before the meat of the article.

In this case, maybe Cody believes the Twins will aim for .500ish ball while retooling with a $100MM payroll.

Or maybe each writer is assigned/chooses a scenario and bases their articles on that scenario.

a) Twins are in it for a Championship in 2026 and will make drastic changes to make it happen. They're sticking to the $140MM+ range

b) The Twins are willing to stay the course and keep the door open for a championship season if luck goes their way, but the payroll is cutting back to the $120-130MM range

c) Twins are aiming for 75-80 wins, not great, but not a full blown rebuild and they'll stay in the low $100MM range.

d) The Twins are entering a rebuild mode. Payroll will be under $100MM, but the Twins are still willing to hang on to some projectable team controlled guys.

e) The Twins are absolutely blowing it up. Nobody's roster spot is secure. Anything goes. Payroll is under $80MM. Clearing the books and finding value to trade at the deadline (the Noah Syndergaard lottery ticket stuff) to turn into prospect pipeline material is the name of the game.

The real strategy of the front office will make any of these articles more or less plausible and connect me (and probably other readers) to the article.

[TopGunn#22]

Spot On sweetmusicviola16.  A guy like Kreidler probably won't even be on the roster come spring training.  

But I also refuse to believe (until they clobber me over the head with it) that this team can't afford to spend just a little more than we expect.  A salary structure of $100-$110 million should be a minimum expectation...IF the ownership and FO have ANY intention of fielding a team with the possibility of contention. 

It's not like we have to compete in the A.L. East or N.L. West.  It's the doggone A.L. Central !!

For EVERY team, certain things need to happen.  At the top of the list is HEALTH.  A healthy Byron Buxton is a REALLY good player.  Keaschall & Lewis are key offensive contributors.  Any "ready for MLB" talent we acquire in a Joe Ryan or any other trades needs to be as good, or better than expected.  A couple of the young SP's take a big step forward.

All of these things happening is unlikely.  But if enough do, they mountain in the A.L. Central isn't prohibitively high that it can't be climbed.  The Twins need to get out of the gate reasonably well and be "in the picture" or the Pohlad family is going to lose a TON of money in 2026 and Target Field will be a grave yard.   

 

[Clear Lake Twinsfan]

Another name that I'd add for consideration is Hunter Harvey.  Soon to be 31 years old, he pitched well for Washington in 2022 and 2023, took a step back in 2024, and then only appeared in 12 games last year due to injuries.  He made $3.7 million last year with the Royals, but will likely have to accept less on a one year deal this year.  If healthy, he has experience pitching in the late innings that could be valuable for the Twins.

[sweetmusicviola16]

3 minutes ago, TopGunn#22 said:

Spot On sweetmusicviola16.  A guy like Kreidler probably won't even be on the roster come spring training.  

But I also refuse to believe (until they clobber me over the head with it) that this team can't afford to spend just a little more than we expect.  A salary structure of $100-$110 million should be a minimum expectation...IF the ownership and FO have ANY intention of fielding a team with the possibility of contention. 

It's not like we have to compete in the A.L. East or N.L. West.  It's the doggone A.L. Central !!

For EVERY team, certain things need to happen.  At the top of the list is HEALTH.  A healthy Byron Buxton is a REALLY good player.  Keaschall & Lewis are key offensive contributors.  Any "ready for MLB" talent we acquire in a Joe Ryan or any other trades needs to be as good, or better than expected.  A couple of the young SP's take a big step forward.

All of these things happening is unlikely.  But if enough do, they mountain in the A.L. Central isn't prohibitively high that it can't be climbed.  The Twins need to get out of the gate reasonably well and be "in the picture" or the Pohlad family is going to lose a TON of money in 2026 and Target Field will be a grave yard.   

 

I agree with your points. A lot of my hopes for this team have vanished. But I do have a slim glimmer of hope in the hiring of Shelton. Though at the beginning it was uninspiring, maybe to a degree still is. But what I hope for is that Shelton and the new coaches that come in, Hawkins is a start, that the culture, confidence, heart and mind of this team is repaired. Based on some comments from Hawkins this at least seems possible. It has been obvious to me that something was wrong with this team for years. I mean years aside from the last 1/3 of the 2023 season. Continually a lackluster heartless effort. I'm hoping that this aspect of the Twins can be fixed by the new incoming staff and that Falvey and co will allow them to do so. 

[stringer bell]

Just about every roster has a bunch of "who's that" relievers, many of whom are very effective for a period of time. Just about all of the guys mentioned fall in that category. Relievers are so volatile it is very difficult to feel totally secure with almost all of them including Louis Varland. The front office apparently feels that they can rebuild the bullpen for a lot less money than if they stuck with Jax, Durán and Varland. That remains to be seen, of course.

I hope whatever signings the Twins make for the bullpen work out, but IMHO it is a crapshoot and the Twins recent history isn't full of good decisions.

 

[stringer bell]

2 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

In the spring of 2023 the DFA’d or released Trevor Megill, Jeff Hoffman and Danny Coulombe. Hoffman and Coulombe joined the Twins on minor league deals. Megill was claimed on waivers. There are relievers out there like them without success on their resumes yet. They probably wouldn’t make anyone’s list. They need to identify them and this time recognize their potential. 

 

Coulombe and Hoffman both had "upward mobility" clauses in their minor league contracts. Other clubs saw what the Twins field staff didn't see on both those guys.

Megill had only shown potential with both the Cubs and Twins before he "hit" with the Brewers. Is he a late bloomer or is he Yennier Canó, who was an All-Star, but ended up in the minors last year?

[ashbury]

Kinley: His breakthrough at Atlanta was on a foundation of a .156 BABIP, so I wouldn't expect that kind of outcome to be repeatable (soft contact or not).  Still, if he's no longer tied to a $5.5M pricetag, I would consider him worth bidding on.  So will other teams.

Milner: He showed even more extreme platoon splits than Funderburk, so if they go after him they'd better have a plan for his usage, in an era where LOOGY is pretty hard to choreograph.

Armstrong: It's not that BABIP is the only thing I look at, LOL, but as with Kinley, will you be paying a premium price for a .196 BABIP that probably won't be sustainable?  If I were GM I'd put in a bid and expect to be outbid, in which case "oh well."

Three interesting candidates. It could turn out that none are quite the fit for a bottom-feeding 2026 Twins squad.

[Nshore]

Last year Falvey demonstrated his urgency and said "what the heck, might as well have a first baseman", and signed France during spring training.  The Twins'll probably have 7 open spots on their 40 man roster the day before the opener.

[KBJ1]

So after we trade away ALL of our good, young, controllable & cheap pitching, plus a couple of reasonably priced solid veterans - We are going to sign a bunch of ho hum middle aged retreads for $2-3 Million each?? The entire bullpen was less than $10M last year. 

No chance they spend that kind of money. 

What was their interest in Roden?? He is not a 5 tool player, just more mediocrity. They'll pick up some cheap options out of desperation, throw whatever AAA & AA arms they have into the mix at Spring training. It going to be a brutal year, especially if they trade away starting pitching. 

Even if they decide to spend big money on someone, what player would want to come here to play for this organization?

After finally breaking out of the lower tier market with the Donaldson & Correa signings, they are now at the bottom again with Pittsburgh,  Miami & Colorado.

[DocBauer]

There's 3 or 4 LH options I like better than Milner, and they shouldn't cost a lot more. (Coulombe, Rogers, Chaffin, and maybe Thielbar).

But this is the direction not only available to the Twins, but probably the only real path open to them. And these RH options may or may not be on the Twins radar. They may or may not be smart choices. But this does go to show there are arms like this out there that could be smart, 1yr options as bridge arms for 2026. 

They need bodies, hopefully of some quality. And those veteran options keep the team from continuing to blow games. And those veteran options provide that bridge while the younger, internal arms gain some experience.

It's a question of the FO/scouts making the smart/right choices. 

[Jacksson]

Don't waste your time bullpen shopping with these guys.  Concentrate on the recent list on MLBTR of all the players who just became minor league free agents.  That's where the Twins will be doing their shopping = The Bargain Bin !!

[ashbury]

54 minutes ago, KBJ1 said:

So after we trade away ALL of our good, young, controllable & cheap pitching, plus a couple of reasonably priced solid veterans - We are going to sign a bunch of ho hum middle aged retreads for $2-3 Million each?? 

That is the high-end aisle they'll be shopping in. And, a "bunch"?  No, one or two.

It's so cute, people clinging to the notion that the Twins plan to compete this coming season.  Sure, if a bunch of players have careers years or some prospects simultaneously break out, it could happen.  But that's not a plan.  New manager Shelton made it pretty clear when he was asked a question that included the word "rebuild" - given the opportunity to say "rebuild? that's preposterous," he instead said "I'm not using the term rebuild. People are always gonna go to a certain term, but I think we're gonna develop young players."  It doesn't take a fortune-teller with special skills in reading tea leaves to decipher that code.

When they traded Jax the day after they traded Duran, the die was cast.  Well, I mean for public consumption; the die was cast in internal discussions sometime before, surely.

[Blyleven2011]

57 minutes ago, KBJ1 said:

So after we trade away ALL of our good, young, controllable & cheap pitching, plus a couple of reasonably priced solid veterans - We are going to sign a bunch of ho hum middle aged retreads for $2-3 Million each?? The entire bullpen was less than $10M last year. 

 

That's exactly how the ball has been bouncing and you can expect it to continue bouncing this way , this organization has failed its fans ...

This organization has failed  Mlb baseball from trying to go from a small market to a mid market team and now back to small market ...

Will they be gun shy in the future to try and spend high for players like Correa and Donaldson in free agency, more than likely  ...

[stringer bell]

The Twins succeeded with middle class free agents like Nelson Cruz, CJ Cron, Jonathan Schoop, Michael Pineda and Martín Pérez in 2019. They did not take a step forward despite signing top free agents Josh Donaldson and Carlos Correa in 2020 and 2022. It seems that Falvey wasn't able to adjust to a lower payroll starting in 2024. I don't think it was the free agents they signed as much as players failing to back up big years or develop into stars.

Yes, the BP was low dollars last year, but both Durán and Jax were due for raises in '26. Varland will be pre-arb. 

[GNXman]

Good luck signing any of these guys.. twins just don’t have it in them.

[Parfigliano]

3 hours ago, Jacksson said:

Don't waste your time bullpen shopping with these guys.  Concentrate on the recent list on MLBTR of all the players who just became minor league free agents.  That's where the Twins will be doing their shopping = The Bargain Bin !!

Same as it ever was ... Same as it ever was.

[Parfigliano]

TC if shopping will be concentrating on players near the league minimum.