There Is Still Plenty of Upside on the Free Agent Reliever Market

[Cody Pirkl]

Image courtesy of © David Frerker-Imagn Images, Kirby Lee-Imagn Image, Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Twins have done very little to address their significant holes in the bullpen. The hope was that they would be able to bring in at least one proven relief arm from the high end of free agency. As we head into the new year, it appears unlikely that they will do so, as options are becoming scarce. It looks like they’re going to wait out the market once again and continue seeing just how little a team can value relief pitchers while still trying to compete. Luckily, the remaining free-agent pool is not without options capable of putting up elite seasons in the bullpen.

Evan Phillips
Phillips was a legitimate high-end reliever before Tommy John surgery cut his season short in May. At 31 years old, Phillips may not be quite ready to start the season, but he may match up well at the top of the Twins bullpen hierarchy as he looks to prove to the league that he’s healthy and deserving of a bigger deal in 2027.

When last healthy in 2024, Phillips was solid, posting a 3.62 ERA in just under 55 innings. However, he was flat-out dominant during the 2022-2023 seasons, striking out around 30% of hitters and posting a sub-2.00 ERA across 124 innings in the Dodgers' bullpen. His velocity had dipped just a touch before injury, which begs the question as to whether he can once again average above 96 mph on the fastball now that the elbow is fixed.

Evan Phillips would be a proven name to lead the Twins' bullpen, as he is inarguably better than any of their other options if healthy. His health will be the main question. At this point, we have no reason to believe there are any unforeseen concerns heading into 2026. If he’s willing to take a prove-it deal, Phillips and the Twins would be an excellent match for a mutually beneficial 2026 season.

Seranthony Dominguez
Though far from consistent in his career, Seranthony Dominguez has the big-time stuff the Twins bullpen is lacking, and 2025 was something of a breakout. The fact that he’s still available says the league may be skeptical. This may lead to a prime opportunity for the Twins to take a gamble.

Dominguez had a few dominant seasons with the Phillies at the start of his career, then spent 2025 with the Orioles and later with the World Series runner-up Blue Jays. He posted a 3.16 ERA overall across 62 innings, with the second-best strikeout rate of his career. He developed a devastating splitter, which posted a near-50 % whiff rate, along with a dominant slider to match, as well as his usual high-90s fastball. It’s easy to see how Dominguez could dominate at the back end of games.

The primary concern is the control, as his 13.8% walk rate was borderline untenable. It’s worth noting that this was the worst rate of his career, and was really the only red flag in his profile. Perhaps teams are wary of him for this reason, but for a team  in need of upside, Dominguez is a terrific fit. The longer he stays available, the more likely their price points will match.

Jose Leclerc
Falling into a similar bucket to Evan Phillips, Lecerc suffered a lat strain early in the 2025 season, which required surgery. As a result, teams haven’t been quick to sign him despite his career stretches of success and strong raw stuff. For this reason, he’s another potential high-end reliever who could benefit from a one-year prove-it deal at the top of a needy bullpen.

Leclerc has a solid 3.34 ERA across 370 innings with an exceptional 30.8% strikeout rate. Walks are the big concern for him, and at times, they have kept him out of the closer role with the Rangers. With a mid to high-90s fastball and a dominant slider, he’s shown the ability to overcome the walks, making him another option to likely slot in at the very top of the Twins’ bullpen depth chart.

Teams are unlikely to overpay for Leclerc, given concerns about his control and his significant injury last season. Unlike Phillips, he also lacks a sustained stretch of high-end production at the MLB level. That being said, the Twins can’t be too picky. His stuff is good enough to make him a worthwhile gamble, and if he continues to hang around on the market, the Twins would be wise to check in.

It’s easy to get panicked watching the high-end relief options fly off the board, but it’s important to note that there are plenty of legitimately good relievers still on the market. The Twins are still in need of at least two additions to the group, but time remains on their side.

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Do any of the listed options interest you? Are there any other free agent relievers you feel could be legitimately dominant options for 2026? Let us know below!

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[thelanges5]

Thanks for the analysis and targets. Twins need to sign 2-3 relievers with MLB experience. Dominguez and Coulombe would work out great. Stay away from the $1mil Jackson/Staumont-types. 

[miracleb]

Phillips would need to be a two year deal similar to Paddock.  Get basically zero from him in 2026 (after Tommy John surgery,) and hope he is good again in 2027.......

 

[TNtwins85]

11 minutes ago, miracleb said:

Phillips would need to be a two year deal similar to Paddock.  Get basically zero from him in 2026 (after Tommy John surgery,) and hope he is good again in 2027.......

 

Agreed. If he went down in May when does he come back? June/July at the earliest?Probably a good flyer to take on a 2yr deal or even a cheap 1yr prove it but they need guys in April and May. 

[TNtwins85]

I say they need all 3! Phillips is your wild card mid season and Dominguez and Leclerc are your veteran depth to start the season. That is if they are truly “competing” which I’m not yet convinced they’re trying to do yet.

[Ricky Vaughn]

This front office isn't going to sign anybody with more than 20 innings of MLB experience, and wont spend more the the minimum on them. 

[thelanges5]

A couple other options for the Twins:

Junis - https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/junisja01.shtml

Johnson - https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnspi01.shtml

[TopGunn#22]

Thank You Cody for putting this out there !!  As a Twins fan, watching the bullpen candidates blow away to other teams on a day by day, week by week basis it's frustrating.  There have been some "diamond in the rough" sort of guys that the Twins let get away, but you've just listed 3 guys who, while they have some concerns, are each very capable.

Phillips is the guy who absolutely just jumps out.  He was dominant in 2022 & 2023.  Had a serviceable but "down" season by his previous standards in 2024 and then lost nearly all of 2025 to TJ.  He has been a CLOSER.  I think it would be well worth the gamble to give him a 2-year deal to allow him to rehab and come back. The Dodgers likely won't "wait" for him.  They've got a 3rd consecutive World Series to win after all.

If I had to choose one of the other two it would be Dominguez.  He could begin the season as the closer while the Twins challenge Festa with some 7th and 8th inning work.  If Festa flourishes in the BP you've got a good competition to determine who closes games.  Throw someone like Matthews or Prielipp into the conversation (if they aren't in the mix for the rotation) and you've got the potential for a BP that can be a plus rather than a minus.

But my experience with the current Twins ownership and FO is that they will continue to "study the issue" until suddenly there is no one left to dance with.  Maybe the new minority partners will cause some aggressive action that I'm not accustomed to.  That would be a pleasant surprise.  

[karcherd]

These articles about the bullpen are great but we all know the Falvey plan.  He will wait until late February to sign whatever is left over and annoint this pitcher as the closer because they will unlock something that no one else has been able to.

This is where Falvey doesn't do a good job with his limited resources.  We need an anchor in the bullpen and at least one or two other guys who can pitch late innings.  But instead of using his finite resources to fix an obvious area of need he spends $7m on another bat first DH when we have players on the roster who can match the production of Bell.  Bell is redundant on this roster and with all the moves being made we will be blocking potential difference makers.  But we won't know anything about these players, ie. ERod, or GG because they won't be given opportunities.

We need needle movers, which an anchor of the bullpen could be, not another average bat.  Use the resources given in a more efficient manner and give us some hope at least of being competitive.

 

[Blyleven2011]

As of now i think falvey is sticking with his statement from the general managers meetings , ( we will see our homegrown players in the bullpen , Festa,  raya , Prielipp , Morris and anyone that doesn't hold a starters role ), will he add a veteran  , he should ( someone like coloumbe as a veteran  )...

He will be adding pitchers to the minor league to bolster the depth in AAA,  because if we use our pitching pipeline for the bullpen this season we won't have much for depth  ...

Any word on Canterino  ???

[tony&rodney]

Wondering why the Twins would spend more than $2-4M on a relief pitcher when they traded away their three best relievers. Anything could happen but the odds have to be low on the Twins signing established relievers. 

[sweetmusicviola16]

Dominguez isn't coming here. He's going to get some serious money I believe. I'd guess 8-10 mil. Phillips coming off of serious injury, how will that help. Yeah he's been good in the past but coming back from injury and being good takes time. LeClerc could be worth a one year prove it deal. But that comes with much uncertainty. Falvey though is likely shopping in the out of date aisle. 

[Blyleven2011]

1 hour ago, Ricky Vaughn said:

This front office isn't going to sign anybody with more than 20 innings of MLB experience, and wont spend more the the minimum on them. 

There's got to be a wild thing out there somewhere  , forget get the curveball Ricky give them the heater ...

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

I like the idea Phillips, but how available will he really be this season? 

Relievers can be inconsistent from year to year.  Top of my list is filling the closer position. I feel if we can get a quality closer, there will be enough talent to fill out the rest of the pen.

[Permanent Twins Fan]

Compared to what the Twins have right now any of these names seem attractive. I think to be competitive the Twins need to at least 2 more major league caliber veteran relievers, but I won't get my hopes up. Seranthony Dominguez sound especially interesting.

[Dman]

I do think the Twins need at least one more reliever they can use in the 8th or 9th inning.  Still what this article ignores is that the Twins have a 40 man with 12 young arms with 2 option years or more.  You can't just keep all of those arms at AAA you need to develop some of them.

They have Lopez, Ryan, Ober and SWR locked into four of the rotation spots as they have no options remaining. That leaves one of Abel, Bradley and Matthews for the last spot.  I'd give Bradley the inside track since he only has one option year left.  So they need to find out this year if he is a starter or needs to move to the pen where they should be able to carry him no matter what.

There isn't much set in the pen as things stand. I'd say Topa and Sands for sure and likely Funderburk as he is currently the only lefty they have.  Orze still has an Option year but just like Bradley they'll want to get him as much MLB experience as possible to see if he can make it. That is four arms max that seem likely.

Ohl pitched well down the stretch and maybe he could be included in the group above, but I'd still say he needs to prove it as does Adams who I'd only trust in low leverage situations.  Festa could be included in the starter grouping but with potential shoulder issues the pen seems safer and if disaster strikes injury wise they could slowly stretch him out if needed. 

So that is seven potential arms already and you still have Morris, Prielipp, Klein, Rojas and Raya taking up 40 man space and two of Matthews, Able or Bradley with one winning the 5th starter spot.  That is 7 arms waiting in the wings.,  I have to believe the Twins go with more young arms than maybe we'd like but since they all have options they would have the ability move arms up and down and thus hopefully figure out who is going to excel and be a part of the future and who is going to struggle and need more time.

So bottom line I don't see them signing a bunch of vets.  Maybe two tops but more than likely just one with a bunch of signings for AAA invite to spring training arms.  Given the offense for this team is so up in the air and far from elite I think going young is the way to go.  Find out what you have.  There's just too many young arms that need chances to succeed.  AAA is full of 40 man arms.  I think the only starter not on the 40 man is MaCleod.

Also for those that want to wait on these arms we have a group of Hill, Soto, and Bohorquez at High A who may work themselves up to AA or AAA next year and at AA they have Gallagher, Oliveros and Culpepper who will be looking to pitch themselves up to AAA. There is a point where there just isn't going to be room for all these guys., They need these young arms to prove themselves to keep things moving.

I know hope is not a strategy, but this season is going to depend on how fast young players can develop IMO.  I know that might be wasting a year of Ryan and Lopez and Buxton, but I also don't see the Twins buying their way out of the current situation.  It's young guys or bust with good experienced starting pitching.  Will it be enough to compete I guess we'll find out.

[Patzky]

Cue the Orlando Arcia bashing

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, Patzky said:

Cue the Orlando Arcia bashing

In a thread about relief pitching?  Sure, I can supply some.  Any particular angle of interest to you?  Arcia's control is probably decent but he surely has very little stuff - he'll get lit up except in very carefully curated appearances on the mound.  His best bet will be to develop either a knuckleball or the eephus pitch. That suit your fancy?

[lecroy24fan]

There is no timeline for Leclerc's recovery from shoulder issues so I'd stay far away from him. Dominguez is the best option left. 

[David HK]

I do like me some Seranthony.

That said, Taylor Rogers is just out there, chillin' in free agency.   Just sayin'.  😂

[Patzky]

11 hours ago, ashbury said:

In a thread about relief pitching?  Sure, I can supply some.  Any particular angle of interest to you?  Arcia's control is probably decent but he surely has very little stuff - he'll get lit up except in very carefully curated appearances on the mound.  His best bet will be to develop either a knuckleball or the eephus pitch. That suit your fancy?

Until he's Jonah Bride he's a work in progress. 

 

(Honestly this dropped into the wrong thread but didn't fail to disappoint)

[bean5302]

On 1/3/2026 at 10:38 AM, sweetmusicviola16 said:

Dominguez isn't coming here. He's going to get some serious money I believe. I'd guess 8-10 mil. Phillips coming off of serious injury, how will that help. Yeah he's been good in the past but coming back from injury and being good takes time. LeClerc could be worth a one year prove it deal. But that comes with much uncertainty. Falvey though is likely shopping in the out of date aisle. 

Spotrac has him at 3yrs $32MM. MLBTR had him at 2yrs $18MM. Dominguez is not elite so he won't be able to set market demands with a ton of suitors, but spending on relief pitchers hasn't been Falvey's typical MO.

[bean5302]

21 hours ago, Dman said:

I do think the Twins need at least one more reliever they can use in the 8th or 9th inning.  Still what this article ignores is that the Twins have a 40 man with 12 young arms with 2 option years or more.  You can't just keep all of those arms at AAA you need to develop some of them...

The problem is Falvey was hoarding clock time on all of them rather than calling them up last year to get a look at them. Even if they weren't ready, Falvey committed to a path of gutting the entire bullpen with no money to rebuild it, and the waiver wire guys we brought onto the 26 man to finish the season aren't solutions for the future. Can't have your cake and eat it, too. On top of it, I've seen some conflict in the front office when it comes to how pitching depth is to be utilized. Falvey has been on record multiple times talking about Prielipp as a reliever while Zoll has been clear he wants to use Prielipp as a starter.

There doesn't appear to be any strategy whatsoever for this team right now. It's Falvey's job to create one and carry it out. Anybody from this site could do the job Falvey has done with the roster after the trade deadline was over last year.

[DocBauer]

The Twins don't have it in their budget to pay Phillips $2M to sit and rehab this season snd maybe get 2- 2 1/2 months of actual ML work, plus add a 2nd season of $7M in 2027. (Rough $ numbers by me).

IMO, they need 3 adds, of various ability and experience, to the pen to insure it's viable opening day. They need an experienced LH option. Rogers, Coulombe, and Chaffin are all out there and available and all 3 are coming off solid seasons. Stop messing around, make your selection, and go get him.

I have little issue with either Dominguez or Leclerc. I'd take either as a "better than 2025 Sands" option for the back end of the pen. And I'd really like BOTH, or similar. But can the budget find room for all 3? Call me hopeful but doubtful.

I think a said LH arm, 1 of the aforementioned veterans, and the 3rd option probably comes from a Larnach and a prospect to someone who could use his LF bat for a DH and part time OF role and could use another solid prospect, for that team's #4 or #5 pen option. Maybe their version of Varland, for example, someone who just debuted and showed promise, or is about to be moved to the pen, but with ML experience. 

FA, FA, FA/trade, Festa (IMO), Sands, Funderburk, Topa, Orze are your 8 spots for opening day. The 8th spot might be open depending my proposed 3rd addition option. So the final spot might be open. Your depth comes from the obligatory 2-4 MILB deals of fliers, plus Lewis, Raya, Klein, Ohl, Adams, Prielipp, and possibly MacLeod as well.

That is a potentially solid, functional pen with some interesting depth options that will work themselves in over the course of the season to get even better, but also a build up for 2027.

[bean5302]

On 1/3/2026 at 10:35 AM, Blyleven2011 said:

Any word on Canterino  ???

Shoulder surgery at the end of March last year with a typical recovery period of 12 months. Nick Paparesta indicated it was likely Canterino will take longer than that. Honestly, I'd be surprised if he was on the mound prior to the end of Spring training. It's a 2 year MiLB contract, but I'd say the odds Canterino ever pitches in the big show are very long.

[1985Fan]

I have doubts that the BP is beneficial to a guy like Festa. BP arms need to be available on short rest and he couldn’t handle pitching short innings on standard rest. He should start the season in AAA to build strength and see if the surgery cured his health issues. TOS surgery doesn’t have a a track record of success, so counting on him to step into a BP role is not smart IMO. I know he was diagnosed with the lesser version of TOS, but it’s still going to 50-50 if he can regain his form. 

[DJL44]

46 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

the odds Canterino ever pitches in the big show are very long.

For Canterino, retirement is more likely than pitching again in the minors.

[DJL44]

9 minutes ago, 1985Fan said:

I have doubts that the BP is beneficial to a guy like Festa. BP arms need to be available on short rest and he couldn’t handle pitching short innings on standard rest. He should start the season in AAA to build strength and see if the surgery cured his health issues. TOS surgery doesn’t have a a track record of success, so counting on him to step into a BP role is not smart IMO. I know he was diagnosed with the lesser version of TOS, but it’s still going to 50-50 if he can regain his form. 

Festa isn't good enough to pitch in the rotation and he's 26 years old. That's exactly the guy you convert to a reliever.

[1985Fan]

34 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Festa isn't good enough to pitch in the rotation and he's 26 years old. That's exactly the guy you convert to a reliever.

Don’t count on Festa being successful in the BP. Him coming off of TOS surgery there is not a guaranty that he’ll be back to form at all. Could be a career limiting surgery. Hope for the best, plan for the worst. 

[bunsen82]

So lets call it what it is, how much money do we have to work with.  We had $20 million and Bell is $5.75 million for this year.  The option is next years money.   At this point I think Larnach is traded.   There just isn't enough at bats unless someone gets injured.  If we trade that removes $4.7 million off the books, so we are back to $19 million.  

2 relievers - 1 a closer and 1 a set up man still appears to be the goal.  I hope beyond hope we stay away from Robertson.  It just feels like he will be the one we pick up with offering him to be our closer.  

Robertson, Dominguez, LeClerc, Johnson, Loaisiga, Suter, Swearld, Coulombe, Chafin, Stanik, Junis, Rogers King Kinley Barlow, Neris, Desclafani.   

Thats whats left.  I think we have to sign 2.  1 of Coulumbe or Rogers.   Who will be your closer and who will be your set up man and how much will we pay.  I know we have tons of young arms, but we need to stabilize the bullpen.   You need 2 more veteran arms.  I still think through trade or otherwise we get another utility player.