The Need to Build a Bullpen Quickly Will Force Tough, Potentially Unpopular Decisions

[Nick Nelson]

Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

At the GM Meetings in Las Vegas this week, Derek Falvey insisted that his hope is to build around what he currently has, rather than further subtracting pieces, in an earnest effort at competitiveness in 2026. This is a semi-plausible notion in theory, with the team possessing enough rotation depth and intriguing hitters make themselves a threat. 

The glaring flaw in this vision, of course, is the bullpen. You can't compete without at least a decent one, as we've seen, and the Twins are starting nearly from scratch after selling off the entire unit in July. No reliever who auditioned in the latter part of the season looked very good, so the Twins are going to need to rapidly identify and activate arms to fill these roles. 

External additions will be part of the picture, for sure. But from the moment they shipped off four future-controlled relievers at the trade deadline, Minnesota's intention was clear: draw from the abundance of decent-to-great pitching prospects in their system — a pool that expanded from all their trades — to develop the next wave of outstanding homegrown relievers.

In some ways, this approach is hard to argue against. After all, it's the same formula used to forge the relief corps that was in such high demand at the deadline. Falvey noted as much when speaking to reporters, including Twins Daily's John Bonnes, in Las Vegas.

"When you look across the game at good bullpens that emerge from within, a lot of them are starters that transitioned," Falvey said. "We ourselves had multiple of those, whether it's Griffin Jax or Jhoan Duran or others that came through our system as starters. I wouldn't expect that to be any different."

This is valid. But one factor that must be considered with this approach is the player's preference and receptiveness. Generally speaking, professional pitchers want to pursue a path to starting first, and exhaust the possibility before they submit to a bullpen role. There is, quite simply, a lot more money to be made and more stability to be had in a rotation spot. 

Duran and Jax are interesting examples to cite. In each case, you could see why the team would envision a well-suited relief role. But in each case, you could also why the player would be amenable to the plan when it was implemented. Duran had long struggled with arm injuries, and missed nearly the entire 2021 season with a forearm issue before stepping into the Twins bullpen in 2022 and immediately thriving. Jax had been bashed into submission with a 6.37 ERA as a 26-year-old rookie in 2021 before making his own successful role pivot in 2022.

Ultimately, the team and coaches make calls about player usage, but forcing players down paths they aren't necessarily aligned to can create friction. In this sense, it's worth noting the two prospective candidates that Falvey specifically called out in his answer:

"I am kind of excited about some of the arms we have at Triple-A and Double-A over the last couple of years that while they haven't always hit their stride as starters, they might have an ability to impact us in different ways. I'd hate to put too much pressure on any of them, but you see Connor Prielipp throw the way he can at times, you see Marco Raya throw the way he has."

Similar to Jax and Duran, one can see the appeal on both sides for reliever transitions in these cases. Prielipp has been besieged by injuries since he was in college, and has thrown barely 100 innings in three years since being drafted. The idea of building up a starter workload is all but impractical at this point. Raya is coming off a brutal season at Triple-A that now has him questioning if he'll reach the majors rather than when. 

Both these guys are probably open to immediate bullpen transitions, with the promise of an MLB fast-track, and I'm guessing it's already been broached with them if Falvey is discussing it openly. But at best, that leaves several other vacancies needing to be filled, and while there are certainly a number of pitchers in Minnesota's mix with the makings of quality relievers, they make for tougher decisions and conversations.

David Festa, Zebby Matthews, Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, Simeon Woods Richardson, Kendry Rojas, Andrew Morris. Some of these pitchers are going to end up in the bullpen. But who? And how do you get them on board with it when, by circumstantial necessity, it's got to happen now? The Twins don't have the luxury of waiting around for some of their higher-upside relief candidates to fully fizzle out as starters if the team has any hopes of shocking the world with a good bullpen in 2026. 

I find myself wondering if this was a big part of the motivation for hiring LaTroy Hawkins as bullpen coach, while keeping Pete Maki in place to lead the staff. There's value in familiarity and trust when navigating these kinds of tricky situations. Hawkins, specifically, can be a voice of experience and validation in this journey. He's the perfect real-world example: a promising young pitcher who came up, didn't take as a starter, transitioned into bullpen role in his mid-20s, and then enjoyed a tremendously long and fruitful career. 

Can he sell some of the current young Twins pitchers on a similar path, and a relief transition before they've really had their fair shake at starting? That's one of the biggest questions facing the team as they look ahead to a high-stakes bullpen experiment in 2026.

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[DJL44]

Age, injury history and remaining team control are all factors. Festa, Prielipp and Raya are the most likely candidates.

I would like to see them grab some candidates out of other organizations as well.

[Peter Gravett]

Great insight on the hiring of Hawkins. Smart, earnest and respected. 

[Rod Carews Birthday]

I completely agree that any good bullpen building that happens this year needs to come from the starter pool that they have amassed. It will be challenging for sure to convince guys to make the move, but come spring training, it will probably be apparent to the pitchers that they are #8 or #9 in the starting pitcher pecking order. When faced with taking a bullpen role or going back to AAA, possibly to only get a spot start in the majors, that may loosen their stance a bit. Hopefully the guys are smart enough, and the Twins are transparent enough with them to make the transition go smoothly. 

[Fatbat]

Great article!! I would expect no more than 2 external guys are on the opening day roster as a bullpen guy. The FO wants it home grown and they will make it happen… for better or worse.  We are going to see low budget baseball in ‘26. Player development, growing pains and a lot of exciting young players find their way or flame out. 

[PatPfund]

Some you can get on the FA market for cheap (like Coulombe last year). But the high leverage arms are more likely conversions. Beyond the two the OP mentions, I could see the Twins talking to Bradley and Festa. The Bradley approach being along the lines of his having extended starts with mixed results while his stuff could play at star-level out of the 'pen. For Festa it would be more along the lines of whether his slender build can hold up under a SP inning load (it hasn't so far). Both have stuff that could play up. Zebby's could as well, though he has the frame to throw a lot of innings, and I'd guess they want to give that a shot first.

[jmlease1]

I mean, the bullpen is decimated to the point where they simply can't stay internal and expect to have a competent bullpen in 2026. so if they plan to force bullpen moves on a lot of guys, we'll know they're not serious about competing in 2026.

Unless the Cheap and Incompetent Pohlad ownership sets a payroll level designed to guarantee 8 figure profits for the family and it's new investors, they should have sufficient resources to add some external arms to supplement the internal options. But there's zero reason to trust the Cheap and Incompetent Pohald ownership when it comes to money, unfortunately.

It would make sense to shift Raya & probably Preilipp to the bullpen, and Adams and Ohl have already made the move. Do they really need to move anyone else right now? And if the Cheap and Incompetent Pohlads functionally force a trade of Lopez or Ryan then we'll need the starting pitching depth.

[tony&rodney]

This is a timely and well constructed post on a major challenge for the Twins management team. 

A big issue for some pitchers is in how their bodies, in particular their arms, responds to pitching on a more regular basis. Few pitchers have the ability to throw every day or three out of four days. Michael Tonkin had value, partially, for that reason. Eddy Guardado, who was a starter, could throw nearly every day. Pitchers who cannot break into and hold a starting pitcher role need to transition to the bullpen and it isn't always easy in a physical fashion. Nick is quite correct to identify the challenge of accepting a career shift as the major mental obstacle. LaTroy Hawkins could be the voice to help individuals react positively to a position shift.

There are a few players who could move quickly into the bullpen. No doubt people on Twins Daily as well as other fans will disagree on some of the players picked for roles in the bullpen. Connor Prielipp, Marco Raya, Andrew Morris, and John Klein could enter MLB as relief pitchers. We saw Cole Sands, Travis Adams, and Pierson Ohl make the move previously. David Festa and/or Zeb Matthews seem like natural choices to become relievers as well.

A key factor in who transitions to the bullpen will hinge on whether the Twins trade any of their top three starters. Additionally, we should expect that the front office identifies two veteran relief pitchers to act as leaders and lend experience to the group that gathers beyond the outfield wall. There are number of reasonable options. Caleb Thielbar and Danny Coulombe were past examples and could be brought back. I like Pete Fairbanks.

I do see the opportunity for a positive group to emerge and form a solid relief corps. I'm more nervous about how the front office builds the position side of the roster.

[mikelink45]

What if ober continues his 2025 production? Could we see him moved to the bullpen for shorter max effort stints?  

And where do the new acquisitions fit I didn't see them in the discussion and somebody like Abel seems suited for the bullpen.  

[DJL44]

Deeper in the minors, the clock is ticking on Sam Armstrong (25 years old in AA),

[Parfigliano]

46 minutes ago, Fatbat said:

Great article!! I would expect no more than 2 external guys are on the opening day roster as a bullpen guy. The FO wants it home grown and they will make it happen… for better or worse.  We are going to see low budget baseball in ‘26. Player development, growing pains and a lot of exciting young players find their way or flame out. 

I'd much prefer buying tickets to see if the young players can find their way or flame out at the MLB level then buy tickets to see Margot-DeScalf level MLB veterans play.

[Parfigliano]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Age, injury history and remaining team control are all factors. Festa, Prielipp and Raya are the most likely candidates.

I would like to see them grab some candidates out of other organizations as well.

Another factor is what the little voice in a player's head called " agent" is telling them about a career transition from starter to reliever early in their MiLB-MLB journey.

[Blyleven2011]

59 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

What if ober continues his 2025 production? Could we see him moved to the bullpen for shorter max effort stints?  

And where do the new acquisitions fit I didn't see them in the discussion and somebody like Abel seems suited for the bullpen.  

I didn't see them in 2025 after the deadline trades either , no auditioning for our in-house candidates prospects ....

We filled the bullpen with nobody's that wouldn't be on the club in 2026 , fans were screaming , what do we have to lose , let's play our pitching pipeline and see what candidates we might look forward to staying with the 2026 club  ....

Now we are going about this rebuilding the bullpen blind , Falvey's hope can't inspire hope ...

But i look forward to all the hype our prospects have been given and I'd like that hype to be real  ...

Go twins  ...

[Doctor Gast]

I'm also happy to see Hawkins as the BP coach to help these young arms to make that transition to the BP. IMO, Festa, Prielipp, Raya & hopefully Canterino should be transitioned to short relief to begin with. Hopefully we start out with Ryan, Lopez, Ober & SWR (most of the time) should be in the regular rotation. Matthews, Bradley, Rojas & Abel could be rotated in the spot starter role out of long relief role as needed & whoever has the hot hand.

Johann Santana started out in the BP & became a starter, IMO, many of these can do the same & thrive. IMO, Twins greatest pitching problem is the BP & rotation get overextended, resulting in pitchers running out of gas or ending up on the IL. There is an arm injury epidemic inside the MLB. MLB will confront this problem in the next labor meetings. IMO, a rotation of spot starting as needed & long relief to help to conserve, especially young arms. At the same time, using the young arms bullets more in the MLB, instead of in AAA. I'm all in favor of doing this for a long time.

[chpettit19]

If the Twins were happy with what the 3 or 4 innings every 4 days experiment looked like, I would like to see them implement that with a few guys in the MLB pen this year. Festa, Prielipp, Raya, Morris, etc. 

Whether Matthews, Abel, and/or Bradley are involved in that as well would depend on whether or not Ryan and Lopez are still in the rotation. If your opening day rotation is Ryan, Lopez, Ober, SWR, Matthews (for example) then you can add Abel and Bradley to the every 4 day group or have them in AAA as depth depending on how easy it is to switch from a 3 day rest cycle to a 4 day rest cycle when injuries open spots in the rotation. If Lopez and/or Ryan are moved that obviously opens spots in the rotation for those 2. 

I think this plan keeps those young guys stretched out and allows them to get experience working through multiple innings at the major league level while also not making them go through the lineup numerous times. If they can succeed with that it gives them a nice stepping stone to rotation spots in the future. If they struggle they get moved down to 1 inning guys to see if they can do that better. 

It also gives them a need for fewer 1 inning relievers. If you have 3 (as an example) guys covering 3 or 4 innings every 4 days you are able to give your 5 one inning guys more rest. It'd be a pretty sizable change in how a team is managed and it'd take Shelton buying in and also being willing to let those guys finish games instead of always going to 1 inning pen arms. If Lopez goes 6 and it's a day that Festa is scheduled to do his bulk pitching, is Shelton willing to let Festa go all 3 instead of pulling him for a 1 inning guy in the 9th? There may be some situations where it makes sense; like if the 1 inning guys are all very well rested and it's a 1 run game in the 9th and Festa has been a little wobbly in his first 2 innings. But if he's cruising and the pen isn't super rested, would Shelton let him role for the 9th and give the pen an entire night off?

My plan for 15 game chunk:

Game 1- Lopez backed by 1 inning guys
Game 2- Ryan backed by bulk guy1
Game 3- Ober backed by bulk guy2
Game 4- SWR backed by bulk guy3
Game 5- Zebby backed by 1 inning guys
Game 6- Lopez backed by bulk guy1
Game 7- Ryan backed by bulk guy2
Game 8- Ober backed by bulk guy3
Game 9- SWR backed by 1 inning guys
Game 10- Zebby backed by bulk guy1
Game 11- Lopez backed by bulk guy2
Game 12- Ryan backed by bulk guy3
Game 13- Ober backed by 1 inning guys
Game 14- SWR backed by bulk guy1
Game 15- Zebby backed by bulk guy2

I don't think the Twins have a great chance to compete in 2026 so I'd take the season to experiment with this. The Twins have a lot of young starting pitching prospects. Some are going to be good enough to be legit starters and some won't. This gives them the chance to get all those arms a lot of innings in a season where I don't think the roster will be good enough to truly compete. 

Lopez, Ryan, and Ober get to go as long as they can in games so there'll be some days where the "bulk guy" doesn't get 3 or 4 because Lopez went 7 or 8 (as an example). That's fine. Little extra built in rest for that arm. Off days obviously make it so there'll be days where "bulk guy1" is supposed to pitch but there is no game and you have to make a decision on what that looks like from a prep perspective for that pitcher (when they do their bullpens, etc.) but teams already have to do that with starters so it shouldn't be a problem.

I just think 2026 provides a unique opportunity to try this since they have so many young starters they want to learn about and it's a kind of "resetting" season for them as they work towards the future. And I'd bet it's easier to sell Festa (as an example) on a move to the "pen" if he's still getting bulk innings.

[Pat]

I just find it fascinating that the most volatile portion of any MLB team is the bullpen.  With the devolution of starting pitching driven by analytics, teams now have to depend on the most volatile part of their team for success. That doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.

[bean5302]

A lot will depend on what happens with the Twins' strategy on payroll and veteran rotation members along with options, IMHO. 

(no options) SWR might get more opportunity to prove he can go more than 60-80 pitches with Shelton. That will determine whether or not he belongs in the rotation AFAIC. I think he'll be best suited to the 'pen.

(has options) Taj Bradley will be in the rotation someplace.

(has options) Mick Abel is likely going to the bullpen until he can throw strikes if he makes the MLB roster. A reliever can get away with a little less command and some bigger velos and movement.

(has options) Matthews will be in the rotation, I think. Has to prove his durability with the higher velo which makes him viable as a mid-rotation starter.

(has options) Festa's TOS is a serious concern. The spin on his situation is positive, but the red flag is real for me. 

(has options) Andrew Morris. Doesn't have the stuff to be an MLB starter in my opinion. He's a reliever if he can make it in MLB.

(has options) Kendry Rojas. Not a consideration for opening day 26 man roster, I don't think.

(has options) Connor Prielipp. Good question. I think the Twins will make the call during Sprint Training for him. Is he ready for MLB? Does he have what it takes to go through the lineup TTO?

 

[jorgenswest]

I appreciate this discussion. Some good ideas and hope. I think they need to take the best 12 arms and at this point it looks like many of those 12 were starters last year.

Will the pitchers buy in? I think so. Wouldn’t every pitcher listed here prefer a spot on the major league roster in the bullpen as opposed to starting in AAA?

Does a move to relief block them from starting in the future? Not at all. In a different discussion I looked at the starters chosen for the last two all star games. Many spent seasons as relievers and some moved roles in season.

The Brewers don’t spend resources on their bullpen and trade off relievers when they get expensive. The Mariners have traded a string of 5 closers including Edwin Diaz. Diaz who was traded after two seasons as closer. Sewald didn’t quite make it to two seasons. He was traded at the deadline in a year the Mariners were buyers. These teams have built a bullpen without spending in free agency or trading prospects to acquire those relievers. 

 

 

[tony&rodney]

3 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

I'd much prefer buying tickets to see if the young players can find their way or flame out at the MLB level then buy tickets to see Margot-DeScalf level MLB veterans play.

The additions of two experienced players would be relief pitchers, not position. The conversation is about building back a reliable bullpen. Only two guys are currently penciled in - Funderburk and Sands. It would be best if they were in the bottom four out of eight relievers. 

[Peter Gravett]

7 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Age, injury history and remaining team control are all factors. Festa, Prielipp and Raya are the most likely candidates.

I would like to see them grab some candidates out of other organizations as well.

Agreed on criteria and trepidation on the part of players. Would like to see Morris stick as a starter given his arsenal, competitive spirit and young for his draft class.

[DocBauer]

I want Prielipp as a starter. I want Prielipp as a starter. But despite that, it's possible moving to the pen is not only best for the Twins, but also for his career. And it just makes so much sense, and for obvious reasons, for Festa to be a power arm at the back end of the pen.

That makes a 4-some of Festa, Sands, Prielipp, and Funderburk. Interesting and possibly pretty solid.

You could do a lot worse than Topa as your #7 option. And I'd guess Adams/Ohl fit the 8th "shuttle" spot in the pen.

In theory, you have 2 open spots. It would really be nice if those last 2 spots were occupied by a pair of solid veterans to provide some experience. 

But who else is possible internally? IIRC, Raya is already a reliever, and Lewis is also going to convert. Lewis has been pretty good up until 2025. I'm very intrigued by him throwing as hard as he can, throwing his best stuff, and mixing in that crazy knuckleball of his. 

At some point, I expect at least 1 of Bradley, Matthews, Abel, Morris, Klein, and CJ Culpepper to move to the pen. But someone here is the #5 starter and you still need depth and to fill out the Saints rotation. So I don't know if any of this list converts immediately. Not every potential SP actually makes it as a SP. But that doesn't mean they can't make $ and have a nice ML career as a reliever. And Hawkins is a perfect ambassador to promote and assist with such conversions.

But keep an eye on MaCleod, Nowlin, and Bragg from the left side, and Parades, Whitaker, and Hoopes from the right side as possible help at some point next season. They all had great seasons, or at least flashed at times, out of the pen and all should be in the St Paul pen at some point, if not to begin the season.

[mrguy]

I can definitely see this year being primarily spent on finding ways to get their high minors players opportunities to find ways to the big leagues. The ones with solid seasons last year that start strong. This year's spring training will probably have a lot of those guys trying out and potentially making it as low cost bullpen options. With so many high minors pitchers approaching/being rule 5 eligible, I feel like they're probably going to put a decent amount of them on the remaining 40 man spots since they'll likely shuffle a lot of them around throughout next season. Decisions like this were also probably what motivated their approach to minor league pitching this year, having a lot of guys serving as quasi-starter/reliever roles with a lot of players having 3-4 inning games, to hopefully fast track and develop some of their minor league depth in preparation of them offloading their higher contracted pitching options. I wouldn't be surprised if quite a few of the AA/AAA pitchers that were placed in that role this last year show up at some point next season.

[HerbieFan]

To me Prielipp and Festa are the most obvious high-upside guys.  Similar story to Duran in terms of injuries.  Bradley also makes a ton of sense....he just hasn't shown enough ability/consistency as a starter but if he can trim his arsenal to two pitches, he might be solid in the pen as well.

I wanna see Zebby starting for another season.  I hope Abel shows enough to threaten the rotation on opening day.  

[mark sills]

12 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

I didn't see them in 2025 after the deadline trades either , no auditioning for our in-house candidates prospects ....

We filled the bullpen with nobody's that wouldn't be on the club in 2026 , fans were screaming , what do we have to lose , let's play our pitching pipeline and see what candidates we might look forward to staying with the 2026 club  ....

Now we are going about this rebuilding the bullpen blind , Falvey's hope can't inspire hope ...

But i look forward to all the hype our prospects have been given and I'd like that hype to be real  ...

Go twins  ...

they didn't want to waste the moves on there future  players

 

[Whitey333]

Good article.  It must be tough to have to quote Falvey. 

[mluebker]

If we’re talking about converting  starters, I’d love to see SWR and Matthews finishing games—in essentially the slots occupied by Jax and Duran last year—with Ryan, Lopez, and Ober starting, and the 4th TBD. Sort out the rest in spring training from among the young guys, last summer’s acquisitions, and the bargain free agents.

[Otaknam]

If I was Prielipp or Raya, with the decision is to make the club as a reliever or be sent back to AAA to continue development as a starter, I would opt for the bullpen to make a ML salary. They could still work towards being a starter as their career proceeds, especially Prielipp, who needs innings. 

[stringer bell]

8 minutes ago, mluebker said:

If we’re talking about converting  starters, I’d love to see SWR and Matthews finishing games—in essentially the slots occupied by Jax and Duran last year—with Ryan, Lopez, and Ober starting, and the 4th TBD. Sort out the rest in spring training from among the young guys, last summer’s acquisitions, and the bargain free agents.

I am resigned to the conclusion that the Twins will trade at least one starting pitcher before Opening Day 2026. The last headline I saw was that the most likely is Lopez (i hope not), but it wouldn't surprise me.

I just don't see SWR as a bullpen piece, particularly not a late-innings, high leverage guy. He doesn't have one outstanding pitch, but he has a good pitch mix with several pitches in the average range. That sounds like the profile of mid-rotation guy, not a setup guy or a closer. 

Also Woods Richardson has stayed pretty healthy, outside of illness, and durability as a starter is another reason to keep him in a rotation.

[bean5302]

4 hours ago, stringer bell said:

...Also Woods Richardson has stayed pretty healthy, outside of illness, and durability as a starter is another reason to keep him in a rotation.

He has been pretty healthy, but his velo often tanks after 60ish pitches and late in the season, and he's not efficient because he doesn't have the stuff. If SWR tries to attack hitters in the zone, he gets destroyed so he needs to play on the edges. At 94mph, SWR can be effective, but SWR throwing 91-92 can't get guys out anymore.

When he first came up in 2022-2023 at 88-91mph, he wasn't even effective in MiLB. In 2023 his boost up to 92-93 was effective at the MLB level, but as the scouting reports caught up, SWR needed that extra 1mph on top of that based on what I've seen.

Unless SWR commits to improved conditioning, he's not going to be able to pitch more than 4 innings reliably. At that point... is he really a "starter" worth having in the rotation? He's going to cap out at 1.5-2.0 WAR. Not that much better in terms of value added than a multi-inning reliever.

Durability means more than just injury history to me.

[stringer bell]

On 11/16/2025 at 1:20 PM, bean5302 said:

He has been pretty healthy, but his velo often tanks after 60ish pitches and late in the season, and he's not efficient because he doesn't have the stuff. If SWR tries to attack hitters in the zone, he gets destroyed

Unless SWR commits to improved conditioning, he's not going to be able to pitch more than 4 innings reliably. At that point... is he really a "starter" worth having in the rotation? He's going to cap out at 1.5-2.0 WAR. Not that much better in terms of value added than a multi-inning reliever.

Durability means more than just injury history to me.

I don't have SWR's velo numbers. but I from memory I disagree that he is only good for 60ish pitches. In September after he recovered from an intestinal parasite, SWR went at least five innings every start with at least 80 pitches. Again, from memory, Sim looked like he could go longer than he was allowed. 

I do agree that with his stuff his margin is small. He needs to have command plus near maximum velo and break on his pitches to be successful. To me, that is not the profile of a relief pitcher