Three Bargain Relievers for the Twins to Target in Free Agency

[Cody Pirkl]

Image courtesy of Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

Assuming the Twins have their eyes set on competing in 2026, they're probably four or five relievers away from having a shot. It's a peculiar place for this regime to be, as their budget is likely limited and they've rarely invested in bullpen arms. The front office will be looking for affordable upside. Though they may not be shopping at the top of the free agent pile, plenty of names stand out as potential targets.

Jordan Romano
Romano is two seasons removed from being an effective reliever, but he's shown enough to earn another bounce-back opportunity in 2026. There's no sugarcoating his 6+ ERA in just under 60 innings pitched since 2023, but the Twins may be able to squint and see a path to Romano returning to his dominant ways.

Romano's slider remains a dominant offering, and the pitch helped him maintain respectable strikeout and whiff rates. His fastball has been the problem: he's lost a tick of velocity, and his heater has been crushed. Being a two-pitch pitcher, Romano will either have to get that velocity back at age 33 or make a fundamental change in how he throws his fastball. The Twins could help him with this, and the two parties can match up on a mutually beneficial bounce-back deal. If it pays off, Romano may earn himself another contract, and the Twins can get a high-end reliever at a bargain price.

Taylor Rogers
A Taylor Rogers reunion makes too much sense. The Twins could use an experienced left-handed reliever, and Rogers could benefit from a return to his roots.

Rogers has been solid since leaving Minnesota, but has lost some of the dominance we were accustomed to. He's lost two miles per hour in fastball velocity, which may cap his ceiling. The reliance on his sinker to combat this loss of velocity has led to fewer swings and misses, but Rogers has continued to get outs and avoid the longball. He’s thrown 226 innings since the Twins dealt him in 2022, posting a 3.61 ERA and supporting peripherals. At the right price, anything resembling those numbers would provide a massive boost.

While the Twins need high-end relief help, Rogers doesn't necessarily need to fill that need in 2026. Adding him to fill the primary left-handed relief role would be valuable and likely affordable. He's still a plenty effective relief arm, and his experience and leadership may bring plenty of intangible value to a Twins bullpen that will likely require all the help they can get.

Ryne Stanek
The ship may have sailed on the 34-year-old Stanek making a much-needed adjustment to his pitch mix, but the Twins could give it a shot for minimal risk. His fastball still averaged 98.5 mph in 2025, but he appeared to have leaned on it too much, and that, paired with an ugly walk rate, led to an ERA over 5 with the Mets last season.

Stanek has a dominant slider and an effective splitter in his repertoire, and it's worth wondering whether these secondary pitches should be his bread and butter, despite the velocity of his fastball. His pitch mix lends itself well to being able to retire hitters on both sides of the plate, and his raw stuff could be worth gambling on even after years of failing to break out fully. At the very least, it's easy to see a path to a secondary setup man role, which he's filled at times throughout his career.

The names may not be exciting, but the Twins will likely have to shop in this tier of free agency to fill the many needs in their bullpen. Are there any under-the-radar relievers you'd like to see them target in free agency? Let us know below!

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[old nurse]

No

doubt he would sign here

no

[JD-TWINS]

Romano appears to be washed …… at $2.2M or lower, probably worth a shot.

Rogers isn’t significantly better than , to me………. again, at some lower end number of $3.0M or lower, worth a shot.

Stanek has enough experience and at 98.5 MPH, he seems to just need a better scheme…..at $2.6M or less, probably a good risk.

To start: I make Coulombe & Thielbar offers for a total of $7.5M in some split. These two, paired with Funderburk - Adams - Topa - Sands gets Team to a repaired PEN ……. I’d pluck Matthews and maybe Morris or Festa  (2 of 3) to fill out the PEN. To me Matthews is the back end guy. ……. I like the psychology and habits that LaTroy Hawkins will bring to the group!

[Paul Walerius]

3 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Romano appears to be washed …… at $2.2M or lower, probably worth a shot.

Rogers isn’t significantly better than , to me………. again, at some lower end number of $3.0M or lower, worth a shot.

Stanek has enough experience and at 98.5 MPH, he seems to just need a better scheme…..at $2.6M or less, probably a good risk.

To start: I make Coulombe & Thielbar offers for a total of $7.5M in some split. These two, paired with Funderburk - Adams - Topa - Sands gets Team to a repaired PEN ……. I’d pluck Matthews and maybe Morris or Festa  (2 of 3) to fill out the PEN. To me Matthews is the back end guy. ……. I like the psychology and habits that LaTroy Hawkins will bring to the group!

Agreed with Matthews.   I like him as a starter but he does appear to be someone who has the stuff and attitude to be a closer.    Priellipp could be 1-2 punch with Zebby

 

[Blyleven2011]

The front office is not going to change in buying expensive bullpen arms , they won't spend more than 3 million for an arm  ....

Roger's,  stanek and Romano  , Romano would be my guess at 1 million to try and reestablish himself  , he's probably a good fit for them to gamble on ....

So if they can find someone for 1 to 3 million to gamble on that would be my guess of their plan ...

By the way it's illegal to gamble in baseball  ...

[rv78]

Twins need arms for the bullpen. Insert washed up player name here _____________. Thank you!

[Blyleven2011]

8 minutes ago, rv78 said:

Twins need arms for the bullpen. Insert washed up player name here __COLOMBE , RODNEY ___________. Thank you!

 

[Jeff K]

I think the Twins should convert 2 or 3 starters to relievers.  Prielipp, Festa and possibly Matthews.

[saviking]

Shopping in the bargin bin. What could go wrong 🤔 

[DocBauer]

You don't have to twist my arm to convince me Rogers would be a solid signing. But Coulombe, Thielbar, and Chaffin all also had nice years and shouldn't be expensive. Just pick the right one and make it happen. We need a couple decent, veteran pen arms for experience, IMO.

I don't know if Romano or Stanek are the right choices for the Twins or not. But they are what the Twins should be looking for: experienced, decent stuff, possibly a tweak or two away from being solid again.

I wonder about Pressly as an option. His season ended poorly, but IIRC he was pretty good for the first couple of months.

 

[KBJ1]

Even Johan Duran was less than $3M last year. Does anyone honestly think they are going to spend $2-3M  each on 4 arms this off season?  Coulumbe was a $1M pickup. No chance this bullpen tops $10M. It's going to suck.

[Doctor Wu]

I like the article and the idea of finding some good arms without breaking the bank. They all seem to have some upside, and obviously the Twins have good memories of Rogers. Any of them are worth a shot. But I hope the front office doesn't do their usual procrastination dance and wait until the week before spring training to sign some arms.

[jmlease1]

Rogers might be a good fit, but coming off a season where he made $12M does anyone really think he's only getting $3M or so? He's probably landing in the $4-6M range, which isn't bargain bin. I still like him as a fit to bounce back a little, be a primary lefty in the bullpen to take pressure off Funderburk, and with his experience take on a 9th inning role as appropriate to take pressure off someone like Sands too. But he won't be a bargain bin guy.