BREAKING: Twins Sign Left-Handed Reliever Taylor Rogers to One-Year Deal

[1985Fan]

Looks like Roger’s is on the downward slide to end of his career, so this signing doesn’t do anything other than add an arm to the BP. Hoping he won’t add too much gas to the fire when he’s called into games. We’ll see how long he stays on the roster this season, but it doesn’t look good based on his numbers. 
I’ve not lost hope for the 2026 BP. I think Preillep, or Matthews, or one of the others starters could slide into a late inning, high leverage role and do well. 

[Brandon]

13 minutes ago, arby58 said:

I'm in general not a pessimist about the Twins - I agree they will have a very solid starting rotation, and I think they can put together the pieces in the bullpen. That said, it is hard for me to agree they will be '5-7 in runs scored in the league this year.' Last year they were 10th in the AL and 23rd in MLB. Sure, maybe they get bounceback years from Lewis and Wallner and a full year from Keaschall, but otherwise they aren't notably better, other than maybe 1B, and their defense is still questionable. 

I'm already on record taking the under on 91 losses, but I think they'll be slightly below .500 on the year. That said, if Culpepper, Jenkins, and Emma make regular progress, I like the looks of the team in 2027 - even if it is a shortened season.

So they were 10th in the league and can get improvement from Wallner and Lewis and a full season of Keaschal and 1B is improved.  That is 4 out of 9 positions plus C is improved with Vazquez replacement is a much better hitter.  Are you sure that won't move the needle to slightly above average?  That is a lot of improvement and we have several prospects ready to jump in as a plan B or in case of injury..

[chpettit19]

4 minutes ago, bunsen82 said:

1 win really?   We blew 18 leads down the stretch because we didn't have enough reliable arms (and we choose to go that route).   I'm not viewing it as a closer or reliever,  what he is, is an experienced reliever that can eat up some innings,  give us time to develop a younger player,  and at $2 million gives us the chance to go after someone with more upside.   

I think you need 1 high leverage reliever.  For me Dominguez is the most likely choice.  Kopech could but that comes with some health concerns.  We could try to convert a starter,  but I think that comes with its own questions.   

If we can build a pen of 7-8 solid arms, with some decent options in AAA or prospects converted,  as a whole yes this is 1 move,  as was Orze,  but in combination with 1 more leverage reliever the sum change could be a 10-15 swing on wins and losses based on the quality of our relievers.    

Sum of parts could be worth much more than the individual War calculations.  

Agree to disagree.

[nicksaviking]

1 minute ago, bean5302 said:

Why would Rogers come to Minnesota at $2MM? I mean, it's probably pretty attractive to a guy who might be looking for a path back to closer money. The Twins have got just about nothing in the bullpen. Rogers had a nice rebound on the o-swing rate last year, but he might not be painting things quite as well as he was with a lack of called strikes. His slider velo has dropped way down, and that's hurt his high K rates.

Still fairly effective.

The league-wide narrative on him must be pretty poor. Just last summer he was traded for Ke'Bryan Hayes, who's remaining 36M contract and OPS under .600 the last two years says he has significant negative value. Rogers had decent numbers at the time but the Reds still had to throw in another player despite Rogers having less than 6M left on his contract. Then he was traded for a 7th round draft pick who's strictly a corner bat that nobody has ever heard of.

But that's fine. He's still largely effective so I think the narrative is mostly wrong.

[nicksaviking]

4 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

And yet, Funderburk pitched better than Taylor Rogers did last season.

24 innings aren't remotely close enough to a sample size anyone should put any weight on. 

[bunsen82]

12 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

And yet, Funderburk pitched better than Taylor Rogers did last season.

If they want to win in the playoffs, they need 4 or 5 of them.

So lets say we sign 1,  we develop 1-2,  we can trade for a reliever at the deadline if we are doing better than anticipated.   

More than anything it gives us time - to try to create a decent bullpen.  Maybe we find some magic left in his arm as well.  Overall- $2 million isn't something that is going to hamper us if it doesn't work out.  

[bunsen82]

11 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

The league-wide narrative on him must be pretty poor. Just last summer he was traded for Ke'Bryan Hayes, who's remaining 36M contract and OPS under .600 the last two years says he has significant negative value. Rogers had decent numbers at the time but the Reds still had to throw in another player despite Rogers having less than 6M left on his contract. Then he was traded for a 7th round draft pick who's strictly a corner bat that nobody has ever heard of.

But that's fine. He's still largely effective so I think the narrative is mostly wrong.

Its the same as Coloumbe.  We seem to get more performance out of these arms than others.   

[HerbieFan]

At that price, I see exactly zero downside.  If he posts same or similar numbers to last year, it's a bargain.  The fact that it's a "homecoming" is just a nice little side bonus.  

[NYCTK]

19 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Why would Rogers come to Minnesota at $2MM? I mean, it's probably pretty attractive to a guy who might be looking for a path back to closer money. The Twins have got just about nothing in the bullpen. Rogers had a nice rebound on the o-swing rate last year, but he might not be painting things quite as well as he was with a lack of called strikes. His slider velo has dropped way down, and that's hurt his high K rates.

Still fairly effective.

He can also get sent to a strong contender come the end of July. Not a bad position for him. 

 

22 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Funderburk was about an outing away from being DFA'd last year. 

No he wasn't. He's no star, but is reasonable RP depth with options. No one was DFAing him. 

[Blyleven2011]

1 hour ago, Twins_Fan_in_NJ said:

Solid move with little downside. 

And under the 3 million cap for a bullpen arm  , I'm 1 for 1 so far ...

He should help some , not what he once was , but good enough once in awhile  ...

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, AceWrigley said:

He looks a lot like Tyler Rogers, doesn't he?

In a mirror when on the mound, perhaps. 😁

About the level of signing I expected - someone no contending team was willing to outbid for.  It's nice to welcome back an ex-Twin but my expectations are so modest I almost didn't bother to post except that the first reply in the thread suggested something.

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, Twins_Fan_in_NJ said:

Question for TD - what's the consensus on Pierson Ohl? Seems like he got better as he got more innings last season - could he potentially turn into a mid-to-high leverage reliever in 2026? 

To me, old school, he’s the definition of a “thumber” …….. a derogatory comment on him (any pitcher) trying to get hitters out with spinning slow stuff & then slower stuff. If he is one of our 8 relievers out of Spring Training things are not looking up!

Traded for Orze - Signed Rogers - Topa - Funderburk - Sands …………. these 5 guys seem to be locks for me, with health.

REALLY hoping the organization has one more, and maybe 2, FA reliever signing(s) of note before February 20.

My head & history tells me that Prielipp & Festa need innings monitored, at least through 2026, so they are strong PEN candidates.

MATTHEWS as a closer - RAYA in a first guy up role - MORRIS - ADAMS - LEWIS - KLEIN all seem to make more sense when searching for effectiveness with stuff!!

That’s 14 -15 guys ahead of OHL at a minimum, IMO.

[Hubie29]

Maybe we can get Duffy and May back and bring back the band! Only thing positive about this move is he is left handed. Otherwise, get ready for the occassional implosions. The team has to do something RP wise, and he was in the bargain bin. 

[nicksaviking]

11 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

No he wasn't. He's no star, but is reasonable RP depth with options. No one was DFAing him. 

If he still has options, then yeah, no reason to get rid of him. And that wouldn't stop Prielipp or any other lefty from a roster spot then. I presume a player drafted in 2018 and rostered in 2023 would now be out of options.

But he was not serviceable last year until August, and he was a complete liability in 2024 when even lefties had an .800 OPS against him.

I'm not cheering against him and I hope he turned the corner. But I'm going to need to see more than those last two months to make me a believer.

[GNess]

Adding Rogers is a good move, and he becomes a solid piece in the BP. I understand that many of the moves made by the Twins to reshape the team since the trade deadline were about the future. (2027 and beyond.)

The BP last year was vastly superior to what is projected this year. That is indisputable.

If Rogers, Bell and Caratini are the final significant additions I remain concerned but a smidge more optimistic about the Twins' prospects to be competitive as we approach Spring Training.

 

[LastOnePicked]

1 hour ago, mickster said:

82-85 could win the division

1) I'm guessing the Twins won't even get within 10 wins of this range. Terrible defense, slow on the bases, patchwork bullpen, light offense, plenty of injury question marks in the rotation. 

2) Everyone seems to continue to ignore CLE, a far better team with a better farm system and a much stronger track record with regard to player development.

[The Great Hambino]

It's a good value signing, but I'd pump the brakes on this fixing the bullpen or being a reliable high-leverage option

Here's his historical K/9 starting with 2021 (his last year with the Twins):

13.2, 11.8, 11.1, 9.6, 9.4

If you squint, you can see a pattern that isn't too promising

As for BB/9 over the same period:

1.8, 2.7, 4.4, 3.3 (hey, an improvement!), 4.1 (never mind)

He's now 35, and his numbers show it.  Prime Rogers ain't walking through that door

And he's going to be competing with Cole Sands and a couple guys who've never pitched an inning of major-league relief to be the #1 high-leverage option to start the season.  That is not the sign of a good bullpen.

But it's still a worthwhile move.  He's a better bet than whatever camp invite would've otherwise gotten this roster spot, and he's a good bet to be flipped for something of value at the deadline.  Perhaps it buys them a little more time to let the young starter pecking order shake out - and by extension, identifying who should get moved to the pen

[sweetmusicviola16]

9 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

If he still has options, then yeah, no reason to get rid of him. And that wouldn't stop Prielipp or any other lefty from a roster spot then. I presume a player drafted in 2018 and rostered in 2023 would now be out of options.

But he was not serviceable last year until August, and he was a complete liability in 2024 when even lefties had an .800 OPS against him.

I'm not cheering against him and I hope he turned the corner. But I'm going to need to see more than those last two months to make me a believer.

Until his final 24IP last year he was just plain awful. I too hope he's turned a corner based on those 24 but I still consider the jury to be out. 

[DJL44]

41 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

24 innings aren't remotely close enough to a sample size anyone should put any weight on. 

41 innings for Funderburk, 50 for Rogers. Funderburk was better.

[sweetmusicviola16]

1 minute ago, LastOnePicked said:

1) I'm guessing the Twins won't even get within 10 wins of this range. Terrible defense, slow on the bases, patchwork bullpen, light offense, plenty of injury question marks in the rotation. 

2) Everyone seems to continue to ignore CLE, a far better team with a better farm system and a much stronger track record with regard to player development.

Ignoring Detroit too. And KC. It's almost like the Twins only have to play themselves, and I'm not sure if they did if there'd even be a winner. 

[nicksaviking]

2 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

41 innings for Funderburk, 50 for Rogers. Funderburk was better.

Yeah, 41 innings, the first 17 of which he was awful. This is a really weird hill to die on. I'm happy Funderburk has supporters, but this is the first I've heard anyone take skepticism about him personally.

[Hubie29]

5 minutes ago, The Great Hambino said:

 

 

5 minutes ago, The Great Hambino said:

It's a good value signing, but I'd pump the brakes on this fixing the bullpen or being a reliable high-leverage option

Here's his historical K/9 starting with 2021 (his last year with the Twins):

13.2, 11.8, 11.1, 9.6, 9.4

If you squint, you can see a pattern that isn't too promising

As for BB/9 over the same period:

1.8, 2.7, 4.4, 3.3 (hey, an improvement!), 4.1 (never mind)

He's now 35, and his numbers show it.  Prime Rogers ain't walking through that door

And he's going to be competing with Cole Sands and a couple guys who've never pitched an inning of major-league relief to be the #1 high-leverage option to start the season.  That is not the sign of a good bullpen.

But it's still a worthwhile move.  He's a better bet than whatever camp invite would've otherwise gotten this roster spot, and he's a good bet to be flipped for something of value at the deadline.  Perhaps it buys them a little more time to let the young starter pecking order shake out - and by extension, identifying who should get moved to the pen

I agree. Not going to fix the bullpen. He's a BP filler. We need bodies. We need 2-3 RP much higher on the pecking order than Rogers. Hopefully Rogers won't be a 7th, 8th or 9th inning option, unless for maybe left on left. Hopefully we sign someone better than this. 

[amjgt]

I look forward to every new signing article, so the same 5 users can reiterate to all of us how certain they are that the Twins are going to suck in 2026.

[TheLeviathan]

Twins current bullpen acquisition methodology:

[DJL44]

4 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Yeah, 41 innings, the first 17 of which he was awful. This is a really weird hill to die on. I'm happy Funderburk has supporters, but this is the first I've heard anyone take skepticism about him personally.

I wouldn't call myself a Funderburk supporter. More of a Taylor Rogers skeptic. Rogers had an awful end to the season. I don't want either one of them to block Connor Prielipp from a bullpen job.

[NYCTK]

20 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

If he still has options, then yeah, no reason to get rid of him. And that wouldn't stop Prielipp or any other lefty from a roster spot then. I presume a player drafted in 2018 and rostered in 2023 would now be out of options.

But he was not serviceable last year until August, and he was a complete liability in 2024 when even lefties had an .800 OPS against him.

I'm not cheering against him and I hope he turned the corner. But I'm going to need to see more than those last two months to make me a believer.

 

I'll always defend Funderburk because he's the exact type of pitcher that was burned by the Twins terrible defense last year. I remember how Trevor Larnach hilariously turned two flyballs into 6 TB and 4 ER in back to back pitches. 

 

[rdehring]

Having no expectations of the Twins doing anything for the pen, this came as a pleasant surprise.  I understand he isn't the TR we knew.  Still makes the bullpen better.

Now, if they will go out and trade Larnach or Larnach plus a mid-level prospect for a young reliever who can be expected to handle the 8th or 9th inning.  I also remain hopeful that the one young pitcher no one is talking about will finally be healthy and join the Twins pen by mid-May.  From everything I have ever heard about Matt Canterino, he is a class young man who deserves some good news on the health front.

[nicksaviking]

14 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I wouldn't call myself a Funderburk supporter. More of a Taylor Rogers skeptic. Rogers had an awful end to the season. I don't want either one of them to block Connor Prielipp from a bullpen job.

Agree with that. 

I don't think Rogers' 2M salary would prevent that if he's awful. Even the Twins have eaten that kind of salary plenty of times. I don't even think the Twins would be that concerned with having all three in the pen anyway. Until he's moved to the pen, Prielipp has always been a starter. I doubt they'd look at him as some kind of lefty specialist.

[old nurse]

2 hours ago, TopGunn#22 said:

I have to admit my heart rate jumped a couple of beats when I saw this headline !  I agree with every poster on TD who said:

"He's not the guy he used to be, but still pretty decent.  He's a great signing at $2 million when projections were double or triple that.  He could actually close some games for us with his previous experience.  We still need a solid veteran RH option" (both Kopech and Dominguez are good suggestions).

But Kopech is "projected" to get a contract between 2 years $14 million ($7M per) or as much as 2 years $22M (waaay too expensive at $11M annually).  Dominguez is in the 2-years $15M to $20M, so $7.5 to $10M annually.  That just doesn't seem remotely within what the Twins would do.  But adding one of them is "possible."

But if I expect David Festa to have some sort of high leverage role in the Twins BP this year, the addition of Taylor Rogers helps with depth and track record.  

Kopech had such an injury filled year last year he is not going to get a multiyear contract. Dominguez may not be as favorably as the pundits think. In trades all he has ever brought back were scratch off tickets   I would think his current asking price is way above what teams are offering 

[jorgenswest]

Topa is old but not really a veteran. He has just less than 150 innings. The many I experienced relievers will benefit from a voice from a veteran. Hawkins’ voice will be important also but Rogers will be doing it. That voice will matter more if he pitches effectively.