Minnesota Twins 2026 Position Analysis: Relief Pitcher

[Mike Sixel]

On 3/19/2026 at 8:49 AM, LambchoP said:

They should be trying to trade Jackson and Larnach for some RH relief help. We need someone who can handle the late innings and protect the rare leads we might have:)

Who's trading a good RP for either of those two? No one. 

[NYCTK]

23 hours ago, USAFChief said:

What's the big deal?  I read here all the time how bullpens are the easiest thing to build. Nothing to it. 

 

You say this derisively, but what you won't admit is that there's a decent chance the bullpen is the most "successful" of the three units at the end of the year - looking at Position Players, Rotation, and Bullpen - when comparing them against the rest of the league. And this is precisely because bullpens are extremely finicky, not worth investing heavily into, and, yes, quite easy for a competent GM to rebuild. 

The Twins have made little to no effort to build a formidable bullpen and its still projected 20th, whereas their "strength" of the rotation is projected 14th and their position players projected 22nd. 

[Nick Nelson]

On 3/19/2026 at 9:54 AM, Nick Nelson said:

He'll make the team and he'll be pitching in the ninth inning. I can almost guarantee that at this point. 

What do I know 🙃

[Cris E]

1 hour ago, Major League Ready said:

When Tom Pohlad took over, he made it quite clear he rejected the idea of rebuilding.  He clearly stated that we had to be a contender this year.  Never mind that we were rated in the bottom tier of the league and never mind he was unwilling to spend.  We just have to.  I mean it sounds like a ranting teenager.  The Pohlad's were never the solution but making a 180 in the middle of a rebuild demonstrates a considerably higher level of incompetence.  

Tom Pohlad is just speaking at folks who aren't paying attention and might rubber-stamp the ticket renewals for 2026.  

[IndianaTwin]

And now Hendricks granted his release. 

I'm a little surprised. Disappointed, actually -- I was rooting for him. 

[Vanimal46]

There’s room for Altavilla now I guess? 

[TheLeviathan]

On 3/19/2026 at 7:54 AM, Nick Nelson said:

He'll make the team and he'll be pitching in the ninth inning. I can almost guarantee that at this point. 

I hope you didn't go to Vegas with that one.  Hit some, miss some.

First "this looks like an actual rebuild" move.

[Nick Nelson]

10 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

I hope you didn't go to Vegas with that one.  Hit some, miss some.

First "this looks like an actual rebuild" move.

True, ultimately if you're gonna be bad anyway, just go with the younger arm that offers any promise vs the 37-year-old wash-up. I mainly thought Hendriks was a lock because he was continually getting the most meaningful spring innings, but I see now that was for evaluation purposes and they didn't see him cutting it.

The flip side is that those important build-up reps didn't go to someone else who evidently will be in the bullpen. How many real MLB hitters has Altavilla faced this spring? A few in the WBC, I suppose.

[TheLeviathan]

1 hour ago, Nick Nelson said:

True, ultimately if you're gonna be bad anyway, just go with the younger arm that offers any promise vs the 37-year-old wash-up. I mainly thought Hendriks was a lock because he was continually getting the most meaningful spring innings, but I see now that was for evaluation purposes and they didn't see him cutting it.

The flip side is that those important build-up reps didn't go to someone else who evidently will be in the bullpen. How many real MLB hitters has Altavilla faced this spring? A few in the WBC, I suppose.

All good points.  I think your prediction had a legit basis.

This team's process continues to bewilder me.

[USAFChief]

2 hours ago, NYCTK said:

And this is precisely because bullpens are extremely finicky, not worth investing heavily into, and, yes, quite easy for a competent GM to rebuild. 

Disagree, times three.

Also, Fangraphs projections arent worth the electrons they're published with.

 

[Mike Sixel]

1 minute ago, TheLeviathan said:

All good points.  I think your prediction had a legit basis.

This team's process continues to bewilder me.

process? This is the team that kept Martin at SS, even though they knew he'd never play there. You can't just move to LF or 2B with no reps.....(unless you are a HOF player like Betts, which Martin isn't).

[Mike Sixel]

Just now, USAFChief said:

Disagree, times three.

Also, Fangraphs projections arent worth the electrons they're published with.

 

What projection system would you like to use? That is better? Have you actually looked at these, and compared them to other systems? Of course not, you hate math.

[NYCTK]

Just now, USAFChief said:

Disagree, times three.

Also, Fangraphs projections arent worth the electrons they're published with.

 

On this point, we agree. 

On the point that bullpens are finicky, that's just a fact, whether or not you care to agree. Which sort of proves the point that you shouldn't overly invest in them.

As for the "easily rebuilt" part, we may never know since we haven't had a competent GM is decades at this point. 

[USAFChief]

12 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

On this point, we agree. 

On the point that bullpens are finicky, that's just a fact, whether or not you care to agree.

Short term results can appear finicky. A bad outing for a reliever will look bad, stats wise, for a long time. Small samples act that way.

But a bad outing doesnt turn a good pitcher into a poor one. I'd want him to pitch tomorrow and the next days.

Good pitchers don't change into poor ones willy nilly. Nor vice versa. There's nothing "finicky" about them, no more so than a good hitter having poor results on a day. 

And since good bullpens are by necessity deep bullpens--at least 6 or 7 deep, ideally 8 or 9--they are very difficult to build. There aren't a lot of good pitchers available. 

Why is relief pitching the universally sought after asset to add every trade deadline? By everyone?

Edited March 20 by USAFChief

[NYCTK]

5 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Short term results can appear finicky. A bad outing for a reliever will look bad, stats wise, for a long time. Small samples act that way.

But a bad outing doesnt turn a good pitcher into a poor one. I'd want him to pitch tomorrow and the next days.

Good pitchers don't change into poor ones willy nilly. Nor vice versa. There's nothing "finicky" about them, no more so than a good hitter having poor results on a day. 

To all this, I would respond, what do you think of Emilio Pagan? Good pitcher? Bad pitcher? 

Truth is, he's a good pitcher that a lot of people here hate because they're unable to look past 2022 where his results were...finicky. 

Just saying, if you take a look at payroll spending compared to output, the correlation is going to be weakest for bullpens compared to position players and rotations. 

[Brandon]

On 3/19/2026 at 7:54 AM, Nick Nelson said:

He'll make the team and he'll be pitching in the ninth inning. I can almost guarantee that at this point. 

This comment didn't age well.  I thought he would make the team too.  At least see what results he could have 

[mikelink45]

Time for a rewrite  

[Doctor Wu]

The signings of Chafin and Hendriks had me somewhat encouraged that we were belatedly putting together a fairly decent bullpen. But as others have pointed out, there is a reason why they were still available that late in the post-season. But it's also not surprising the Twins are in this position. Instead of going out and targeting a truly solid arm (or two), they waited until February and went dumpster diving again. Will they ever change their strategy?