Taylor Rogers, Liam Hendriks, and Building the Next Great Twins Bullpen

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images (Rogers), Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports (Hendriks)

For a Twins team that has spent the last calendar year reshaping its pitching depth chart, the 2026 season represents something more than just another attempt to stabilize the late innings. The Twins are asking two veteran relievers to do more than get outs in high-leverage spots. They are being tasked with helping mold the next wave of pitching talent that could define the organization for years to come.

Taylor Rogers recently said that veteran relievers are most effective in helping younger players when they come to you. You don’t want to insert yourself into their development because that might screw them up. Also, he appreciated that when he was coming up to the big leagues, nobody made a big deal about it. But when they come to you, they are receptive.

“Unfortunately," Rogers said, "that’s usually because the ****’s hitting the fan.”

That kind of hands-off leadership style might prove especially valuable this spring, as several young arms attempt to find their footing in roles that could change quickly based on need. Twins manager Derek Shelton emphasized the importance of constructing a bullpen that balances experience with adaptability when discussing how the front office approached its offseason additions.

“When you have that mix of people, and then Jeremy did a really good job in our conversations of being diligent about the guys that we brought into this group in another way," Shelton said. "Taylor Rogers is a perfect example.”

Shelton also pointed to the return of a familiar face as a critical piece in building a cohesive pitching group.

“I mean, even signing Liam Hendriks and bringing him back, a guy that … has been at the end of the game and has done things and has relationships here,” said Shelton. “Yeah, it's very important how we add people to that group.”

From the player's side, the messaging has been consistent. Opportunity often comes down to performance and the ability to adjust when roles change.

“You look at it from a point of view where there are lot of guys that have flip-flopped between (starter and reliever) and been very successful," Hendriks said. "There's a lot of guys that may not necessarily have been the best starters but turned out to be really good relievers. You want the opportunities, you've got to go out there and pitch.”

There will be plenty of young pitchers who will be walking a fine line between starter and reliever this spring. Minnesota has already discussed using Marco Raya and Travis Adams more regularly in relief. Connor Prielipp, one of the team’s top pitching prospects, has told reporters that he is building up to be a starter, but things could certainly shift later this year.

Minnesota also has other starters, like David Festa, Zebby Matthews, and John Klein, who could get more time in a relief role. St. Paul’s rotation could include Prielipp, Matthews, Festa, Klein, and other options such as Andrew Morris, Kendry Rojas, and Mick Abel. That’s a lot of arms for the beginning of the year, which usually has plenty of weather-related postponements.

Jeremy Zoll and the rest of the front office understand that bullpen development is rarely linear. The organization has increasingly viewed relief work as a way to both manage innings and accelerate major league readiness for pitchers who may not have a clear rotation path in the short term.

If that strategy works, the impact could stretch far beyond the 2026 season. Veteran relievers might be remembered not just for locking down wins, but for helping a new generation of arms learn how to navigate the mental and physical challenges of pitching in the late innings.

In that sense, this bullpen is not just about protecting leads. It's about building the framework for the next great Twins pitching staff and making sure that when the next wave arrives, they are ready for whatever role the team needs them to fill.

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How can Rogers and Hendriks help rebuild the team’s bullpen this year? Leave a comment and start the discussion. 

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[Jose Herrera]

Aside from matchups, taking turns closing games will help lessen their workload. Given they are both former all-star closers, Hendriks and Rogers will be a great duo for now.

[DJL44]

The Twins have a remarkably old and experienced bullpen. That should be helpful for Hawkins in his first season as a coach.

[Jim H]

Jamming up your bullpen with past their prime relievers really only makes sense if you think your potential one inning relievers need some time in the minors to figure out what they are doing. In the Twins case they don't seem to know yet who is going to transition from starter to reliever.

These old relievers aren't going to be around when the Twins are competitive again unless a bunch of players play much better this year and next then they've shown so far. So, what is better? Getting some of these young guys up to the majors in the role they are most likely to fill anyway, and let them figure out things as they go? Or hold them in the minors longer and wait for the old guys to either fail or get hurt? 

This old guy mentorship thing seems overrated to me. You have 3 major league pitching coaches afterall.

[IndianaTwin]

I've actually reached the point of being cautiously optimistic about the bullpen. I don't know that it will be top level, but I could see it being middle of the pack by the middle of the year as things get sorted out.  

• Rogers, Hendricks, Sands, Topa, Banda, Chafin, Orze as a starting point.
• Altavilla, Bowman, Brito, Hartwig, Laweryson, Merryweather as non-roster invites who have at least gotten a cup of coffee. Several of them have pretty solid K/IP numbers. 
• Raya, Adams, perhaps Prielipp and others as converted starters.
• Rolling the dice on guys like Baker, Bash, Brito and MacLeod. Again with solid strikeout numbers.

A couple years ago, they tried the approach of throwing lots of stuff against the wall to see what sticks. That's the approach again this year, but I think there is more and better stuff to throw at the bricks.

 

[miller761]

I am curious what effect LaTroy Hawkins has on this group. I am hoping we are pleasantly surprised. From his broadcasts I liked his honestly and forwardness. I hope that translates well.

[Whitey333]

Just a lot of what ifs and hopefully attached to the entire Pitching staff especially the bullpen.  We have a couple of decent possible additions but mostly again it's pitchers that the rest of baseball didn't want.  I do hope they do well but certainly not counting on it.

[OregonTwinsFan]

As far as Hendriks goes, I will believe it when I see it. I hope he is great.

I hope the overall bullpen is passable, but again, I will believe it when I see it.

[LastOnePicked]

3 hours ago, Jim H said:

This old guy mentorship thing seems overrated to me. You have 3 major league pitching coaches afterall.

Exactly. These guys are hired to pitch, not to coach. If you have an organizational plan, you don't put this kind of expectation on past-their-prime veterans.

[DocBauer]

I'm cautiously optimistic the pen can be relatively decent to begin the year. At least good enough where they don't just create bonfires when they come in, and can help the team finish off some wins.

I don't think the 8 men who make up the opening day bullpen are going to make up those 8 spots when the season is done.

While not going out if their way to announce what exact role everyone is going to have, we do know that Adams, Raya, and probably Klein are going to be relievers going forward. I also strongly suspect the same for Lewis when healthy and ready to go. Even with Lopez out for the season, I'm still expecting one of the SP candidates to move to the pen to begin the season.

When we look back at the top closers and set up men in the Twins past, most began their ML careers as starters for a period of time. This includes Jax, Sands, Varland, Duffy, Guadardo, Trombley,  and so many others. While the results as starters didn't turn out well, their ML experience...even with poor results...gave them a floor to stand on in regard to what it's like to throw at that level.

Raya, Klein, Lewis, and any/all arms transitioning to the bullpen in 2026...with a couple exceptions...haven't thrown at the ML level yet. It's different for Festa, Matthews, etc, as they've already seen a degree of good and bad performance at the ML level. For them, it's about adjusting their daily approach to get ready when called on. For the others, it's about making that adjustment, and waiting for an opportunity that IS going to come. Maybe they come up and stay. Maybe they get a taste, go back down, and then come back up again.

Duran is/was a unique story in jumping right in to the mix at the ML level and running with opportunity. But his is, again, a rather special case.

There's more than a couple "IF's" to be part of the bullpen to begin the season. But if they can hold serve for the first couple of months, it would allow someone like Festa to begin in lower level spots, and then move up. It would provide someone like Klein...who I'm rather excited about...to come up, pitch, and either stick, or take that initial experience and go down again, and build on that experience. 

I like having the ability to give those younger arms a little time to settle in instead of being thrown to the proverbial wolves and told to sink or swim immediately from opening day. And Hawkins, Rogers, and Hendricks, if he makes it, can provide some veteran examples as current players as to how to approach each day, and good and bad results.

I'm just hoping for general competence for the first couple of months. And when someone gets hurt...and someone always gets hurt...or just doesn't do the job, there will be opportunities provided for the younger arms to get their initial auditions.

IMO, the bullpen is a lot like the OF. Who begins the season is going to be different than who ends the season with the Twins. Let's just hope for competency from the pen for those first couple of months so the transition can take place without the season imploding by June. 

[TheLeviathan]

Article: "The next great bullpen"

Photo: "Dudes closer to their first discounted meal at Denny's than their first beer"

[Brandon]

The bullpen has a nice floor now.  It's now one that won't blow every game that's close.  Should be a 7-10 ranked pen in the AL.  And we have young guys capable of coming up throughout the year and getting experience and opportunities to win a spot.  That's exactly what I wanted for this year.I mean I would have preferred the Twins go all in and sign Diaz and Chapman but within the reality of who the Twins are, they did what I hoped for. And they did enough for me to pay to go watch them.