The Twins Aren't Serious About Rebuilding The Bullpen

[Cody Pirkl]

Image courtesy of © Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Any time you unload three or four controllable, high-leverage relievers, it’s safe to assume that the bullpen being bad will transcend multiple seasons, as Twins fans did following last year’s trade deadline. Despite their choice to do so, the Twins insisted 2026 was a continued push to contend. We all know they didn’t do enough to address the bullpen in the offseason, but it’s the way they operated in-season following the deadline, and how they continue to operate, that is the real problem.

When the Twins unloaded their controllable bullpen at the trade deadline, a big talking point from the front office was how many of the names they traded away had been developed internally, and how they would look to do so again. This was a fair point, as Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Louie Varland were all developed internally after coming up through the system as starting pitchers. This strategy became even more important when they invested less than $5M in the bullpen in the offseason. Unfortunately for all of their talk of rebuilding the bullpen internally, their actions haven’t backed it up.

 

 

It was far from an infusion of youth following the trade deadline as many had hoped. The team looked like they were running out the clock on the season rather than using that valuable time to evaluate for the following year. Innings were allocated to pitchers like 35-year-old Erasmo Ramirez and Michael Tonkin. Waiver claims were made on players like 31-year-old Brooks Kriske. A few younger names, like Travis Adams, were called up, but many bullpen spots were dedicated to veterans who had no chance to stick on the roster for 2026.

This, paired with a quiet winter, led to an underwhelming Opening Day bullpen, and they’ve performed as expected. As the team has continued to lose games on the backs of their relievers, they’ve made a few moves and call-ups to shake things up, but a lot of their behavior remains the same.

Thursday, the Twins demoted John Klein to make room for waiver claim Yoendrys Gómez (who, to their credit, could have some multi-year upside at 26 years old). The right-hander may not have had a good season thus far, but at 24 years old with a mid to high 90s fastball and intriguing offspeed pitches, Klein is the exact type of arm the Twins should want around if they’re serious about internally rebuilding the bullpen. Instead, he was sent back to St. Paul, while several veterans who look like they have nothing to offer now or in the future remain on the roster.

 

The Twins' continued deferral to veterans is one problem, but the way they’re preparing some of their arms in Triple-A is another. Klein was on the growingly common pitching plan of throwing around 65 pitches every four days in Triple-A, in a sort of hybrid bulk-inning role. In theory, this is meant to keep pitchers ready to pitch 3-4 innings if they are called upon to start, while also limiting exposure to opposing lineups. The problem is that this plan leaves many pitchers ill-prepared for whatever role they may be needed in if they get called up to the Twins.

 

Klein is unable to pitch back-to-back days, just as Andrew Morris is after he was on a similar plan. As a result, the Twins can’t afford to hamstring themselves by carrying both after Klein pitched yesterday. It’s been difficult to foresee Klein finding himself in the MLB rotation for some time now, but because the Twins have kept him in the “just in case” role, he’s now headed back to St. Paul despite being one of the prime candidates to help them achieve their self-stated goal of internally rebuilding the bullpen.

This hybrid plan makes sense in some cases, such as limiting innings and exposure for arms like Connor Prielipp. For pitchers like Klein or Travis Adams, who was one of the first in this role last season, it just doesn’t make much sense. Unless they’re called up to be a long reliever, they aren’t prepared to enter the rotation or serve as a traditional reliever. They’re essentially only prepared to be long relievers who are likely to be sent back down after they pitch. The result is that interesting arms like Klein can’t stick at the MLB level for an extended period because he can’t pitch on back-to-back days like someone such as Luis Garcia, even if the latter is allowing runs in both outings.

If the Twins send Klein back to his hybrid role in Triple-A to keep him stretched out but unable to pitch on back-to-back days, they’re doing him and themselves a disservice. For high-pedigree arms such as Kendry Rojas, this role can be justified. For pitchers like Klein, who have little chance of being even a back-end starter, they’re simply failing to prepare him for any role at the MLB level other than fungible long reliever. It’ll keep interesting young arms in limbo while keeping veteran arms with no upside in the bullpen. It’s a lose-lose situation.

The Twins have failed to back up their talk over the last year. It’s time to start doing so when it comes to internally rebuilding the bullpen. Give the young guys a shot so we don’t wind up with this situation again in 2027.

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[mikelink45]

Garcia and Banda are an example of the BP frustration.  It is easier to watch young arms struggle than to see older vets fail. 

[thelanges5]

Roster mismanagement Master Class since the end of the 2023 season. 

[DJL44]

They seem to think this every 4 day piggyback role is a great idea but it sure hasn’t shown any results.

[dxpavelka]

I wouldn't worry too much about 2027.  Might be LOTS of of folks getting all the rest they need.

[Coach JT]

I keep saying the same thing … we are tired of the old retread guys . Anyone with any type of knowledge would release the whole bullpen and bring up all the young arms and live with mistakes vs this crap . 

[CRF]

I'm not really sure that they're serious about anything. 

[Blyleven2011]

The team isn't serious about the bullpen , offense and putting fans in the stands ...

Banda sure has been bad , thought it was a good pickup at the time but he has been terrible , Garcia was and is a big NO  , Topa  is very hittable , Orze has his moment , funderburk is probably the most reliable but others they are not dependable or on the IL list  ...

Morris has had good and bad results but I'd rather see our youth pitching , it'd be alot easier to stomach the losses , Rojas should be here and Matthew's  , maybe Adam and a retread Bowman is or was having success in AAA ,..

The twins may have been a total system failure under Terry Ryan according to the Pohlad's  , they were at least a better entertainment than this colossal failure falvey has laid on us , it's a bigger hole to dig out of than the total system failures of Terry Ryan  ...

Please get away from the dumpster diving and let the youth play this game ...

How old is Hawkins  , maybe we should give him a tryout  !!!

[terrydactyls]

I'm old (79), have a pretty useless arm, but willing to sign for $1.5M.  Have the Twins call me.  And another plus, I have a bad back, two titanium shoulders, and one titanium knee.  I'm a perfect fit for this bullpen.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

The Twins aren't serious about the bullpen or winning games. That's been crystal clear for a while now.

[Hubie29]

50 minutes ago, CRF said:

I'm not really sure that they're serious about anything. 

They are just "fielding" a team of misfits because they are a member of MLB. I think it's in the bylaws that you must have a 25 man roster. They don't care about anything else. 

[TNtwins85]

You didn’t know? This team will be competitive! Pohlads words not mine. They are competitive for the most part until the starter is pulled. Then it’s a wild roller coaster ride. Very competitive until it ultimately isn’t. 

[FlyingFinn]

Is it more valuable to pitch 100 innings starting at AAA or 50 innings in the majors in the bullpen? It seems to me that the Twins aren't moving any starting pitchers to the bullpen right now (not sure this Morris and Klein in hybrid mode is working). Because they aren't going to win this year, I think this is the debate. Looking at Louie Varland, the Twins basically went with 100 innings at AAA (or as a sub for an injured Twins pitcher) until right before they decided they needed him in the bullpen for a winning Twins team.

[hitterscount]

Zero vision for the lineup, zero vision for the BP…. the starting rotation is promising, the incompetence of roster construction in the other areas leads me to believe it’s a lot of luck. The goal of the organization seems to be maintaining team control as long as possible to avoid potentially costly arbitration cases. 

[Parfigliano]

41 minutes ago, terrydactyls said:

I'm old (79), have a pretty useless arm, but willing to sign for $1.5M.  Have the Twins call me.  And another plus, I have a bad back, two titanium shoulders, and one titanium knee.  I'm a perfect fit for this bullpen.

They will sign me 1st because I will pitch for league minimum.

[JBK]

The Twins have failed to back up their talk over the last year. It’s time to start doing so when it comes to internally rebuilding the bullpen. Give the young guys a shot so we don’t wind up with this situation again in 2027.

Wow.  That really sums it all up.  What a disappointment.

[Whitey333]

Need we say anymore?  Sending down Klein and keeping stiffs like Bands and Garcia shows how totally ineptitude this so-called organization is!

[LA Vikes Fan]

The bullpen “”plan” is both short sighted and frustrating. My only thought is that keeping the vets is an effort to have tradable assets and the youth movement starts after the deadline. Other wise, this makes no sense at all. I also wonder if this is because Shelton thinks it will help them compete. I think we know by now it won’t. 
 

 

[karcherd]

4 minutes ago, LA Vikes Fan said:

The bullpen “”plan” is both short sighted and frustrating. My only thought is that keeping the vets is an effort to have tradable assets and the youth movement starts after the deadline. Other wise, this makes no sense at all. I also wonder if this is because Shelton thinks it will help them compete. I think we know by now it won’t. 
 

 

If they truly believe any of their bullpen pieces will have trade value then they should be fired immediately.  It is one thing to state belief in them, what else are they are going to say.  But if they truly believe there is value then we are in even worse shape then I thought.  The longer they wait for the youth movement, the longer it will take to know what they have and this rebuild will be going into 2040.

I don't really care what Shelton thinks, his job is to play the players given to him.  If he truly thought this was going to be a team to compete when he took the job then he needs to be gone as well.  They have to at least privately acknowledge where they are at regardless of what the standings say and take the appropriate steps to rebuild this team to a true contender.

[laloesch]

2 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

I wouldn't worry too much about 2027.  Might be LOTS of of folks getting all the rest they need.

I think that’s almost a certainty now and most of baseball knows it. It’s gonna be mostly locked out season if they play at all. Salary cap incoming 

[um_stevenel]

Seems like for the foreseeable future (specifically 2027), they have their optimal starting rotation pretty well on the roster now. Even if Ryan gets traded before the deadline for next year they’ve got Lopez, Bradley, Prielipp, and Abel, and possibly Matthews that they’ll be hoping to have in the rotation. Possibly SWR and Ober will still be in the mix, but I certainly wouldn’t count on both. Injuries will probably happen, but they’ll have the offseason to sign replacements for any if need be. Not to mention the possibility that Rojas, Quick, and Hill could be knocking on the door by next spring or mid-summer, that a mid season sell-off brings back more solid pitching prospects, and that a pitcher at the third pick in the draft quickly goes to the front of the line.

Without a competent bullpen, they won’t be competitive even if the starters stay healthy and productive and the offense does relatively well - this year or next. So having 8+ guys that are borderline 5th starters for a year or two at most staying stretched out as “maybe we’ll need them for some spot starts” just seems preposterous.

They don’t have to switch all the guys at once, but they should have at least 1-2 in an extended trial at all times. Those that succeed or at least show some promise stick in the bullpen this year to keep developing there, those that don’t go back and can stretch back out to starting. 

Morris already seems to be in the first camp. A quick list (not in any real order) that I think has a minimal chance of starting 10+ games for the Twins but could be worth a look in the bullpen seems pretty long and actually promising, and if you need 30+ starts in total this year from this group, with the current bullpen, the season’s going to be officially over well before the trade deadline.

At AAA - Adams, Klein, Lewis, Culpepper. 

At AA - Armstrong, Bengard, Langenberg, Nowlin, Ryan.

Later in the season (August-September), Rojas and Gallagher could get a look after a mostly full season of starting and staying pretty well stretched out.

But out of the first nine, are any realistically thought to have a good chance of having a multi-year run (literally just two at least) as a starter, especially for a competitive team?

If not, start switching one or two at a time right now and give them the chance to work with the major league staff and figure out what they might look like in the bullpen. If 2-3 more of them pan out, with Morris and Funderburk and maybe a little more spending on free agents, you maybe have at least competence as early as next year. And maybe you actually find a Jax or Varland (or multiple). If you hit on more, maybe you even have a good bullpen by later next year. 
 

 

[Hunter4848]

But, but, but, Tom Pohlad said we were going to be competitive...

 

The sadder thing is some Twin's fans still trust that family 

[karcherd]

5 minutes ago, um_stevenel said:

Seems like for the foreseeable future (specifically 2027), they have their optimal starting rotation pretty well on the roster now. Even if Ryan gets traded before the deadline for next year they’ve got Lopez, Bradley, Prielipp, and Abel, and possibly Matthews that they’ll be hoping to have in the rotation. Possibly SWR and Ober will still be in the mix, but I certainly wouldn’t count on both. Injuries will probably happen, but they’ll have the offseason to sign replacements for any if need be. Not to mention the possibility that Rojas, Quick, and Hill could be knocking on the door by next spring or mid-summer, that a mid season sell-off brings back more solid pitching prospects, and that a pitcher at the third pick in the draft quickly goes to the front of the line.

Without a competent bullpen, they won’t be competitive even if the starters stay healthy and productive and the offense does relatively well - this year or next. So having 8+ guys that are borderline 5th starters for a year or two at most staying stretched out as “maybe we’ll need them for some spot starts” just seems preposterous.

They don’t have to switch all the guys at once, but they should have at least 1-2 in an extended trial at all times. Those that succeed or at least show some promise stick in the bullpen this year to keep developing there, those that don’t go back and can stretch back out to starting. 

Morris already seems to be in the first camp. A quick list (not in any real order) that I think has a minimal chance of starting 10+ games for the Twins but could be worth a look in the bullpen seems pretty long and actually promising, and if you need 30+ starts in total this year from this group, with the current bullpen, the season’s going to be officially over well before the trade deadline.

At AAA - Adams, Klein, Lewis, Culpepper. 

At AA - Armstrong, Bengard, Langenberg, Nowlin, Ryan.

Later in the season (August-September), Rojas and Gallagher could get a look after a mostly full season of starting and staying pretty well stretched out.

But out of the first nine, are any realistically thought to have a good chance of having a multi-year run (literally just two at least) as a starter, especially for a competitive team?

If not, start switching one or two at a time right now and give them the chance to work with the major league staff and figure out what they might look like in the bullpen. If 2-3 more of them pan out, with Morris and Funderburk and maybe a little more spending on free agents, you maybe have at least competence as early as next year. And maybe you actually find a Jax or Varland (or multiple). If you hit on more, maybe you even have a good bullpen by later next year. 
 

 

They have yet to commit Morris to a bullpen role.  He has pitched nearly 3 innings or more in each of his outings.  His last outing was his shortest but he probably should not have been used for another day.  This is the whole point of the article, they will not commit any of these bulk guys including Morris to one role or another, they just keep straddling the fence.

[The Great Hambino]

3 minutes ago, karcherd said:

They have yet to commit Morris to a bullpen role.  He has pitched nearly 3 innings or more in each of his outings.  His last outing was his shortest but he probably should not have been used for another day.  This is the whole point of the article, they will not commit any of these bulk guys including Morris to one role or another, they just keep straddling the fence.

If I didn't know any better, I'd think that keeping all your prospects in a role they won't be used in at the MLB level because you're afraid to commit them one way or the other would be considered a half measure.

But that can't be right, cuz they don't do half measures

[um_stevenel]

2 minutes ago, karcherd said:

They have yet to commit Morris to a bullpen role.  He has pitched nearly 3 innings or more in each of his outings.  His last outing was his shortest but he probably should not have been used for another day.  This is the whole point of the article, they will not commit any of these bulk guys including Morris to one role or another, they just keep straddling the fence.

Yeah, I agree with all of that. Seems like Morris has shown enough promise already to start moving toward a regular bullpen role and for Klein to replace him as the long reliever still stretched out for an emergency spot start if need be.

Just adding how I’ve been thinking about it, and curious if people disagree with any of those guys as candidates to switch right now. 

[USAFChief]

The whole "4 innings once in a while" minor league thing is just stupid. Incredibly stupid. And that includes for Prielipp and Rojas. 

"Too smart by half" comes to mind. 

 

[dberthia]

In other news, water is wet.

[Omardog]

Nothing about the Twins is "serious" until the Pohlads are gone.

[shimrod]

3 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

I wouldn't worry too much about 2027.  Might be LOTS of of folks getting all the rest they need.

Again, the intent is to conserve resources (money and prospects) until the CBA situation has been sorted out. The talk about competing was just that, cheap talk from cheap owners. The organization will continue to tread water through 2027

My worst fear is the new CBA incentivizes current ownership to hang on to the team. 

[killercarewoliva]

3 hours ago, CRF said:

I'm not really sure that they're serious about anything. 

I have a thought. is Bowman a major league pitcher in AAA with an era somewhere around 3 is not brought up but instead Klein is with an era of 7? it's not often you need to bring a guy up with a 7 era in AAA to the Major League level. if they had just kept Louie. OMG