What Should the Twins Do About Their Bullpen?

[Nick Nelson]

Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

We knew coming into this year that the Minnesota Twins were going to have a bad bullpen. When you trade all of your best relievers and do little to replace them, that's inevitable. But it also seemed like there was a good chance this inevitably lackluster relief corps was not going to matter. 

The Twins lost 90 games last year and their Vegas over/under this year had them in the same vicinity. If the team was going to be flat-out bad, then there wouldn't be many leads to protect, no postseason race in the balance. 

Alas, here we are. As we head into July, the Twins are firmly on the radar of contention, four games below .500 but within spitting distance of playoff position. Through 88 games, Minnesota's offense has outscored every other American League team. Their rotation, if Bailey Ober can return at the level of a decent back-end starter, is solid one through five with a legitimate ace at the top.

That is, theoretically, the makeup of a club that should be fancying itself a contender in one of the weakest AL competitive landscapes we can remember. But, that bullpen, whew. We knew it would be bad but it's been worse than bad, with the highest ERA in the majors at 5.43 and an egregious 6.94 mark in June. 

In some ways, the impact of this this run-hemorrhaging relief corps has been muted, because a lot of their ugliest moments have come in lopsided games that were already more or less decided. That's why the Twins look relatively better by Win Probability Added, ranking 23rd in the majors versus dead last. But this unit is direly short on dependable options, and there's little doubt it will torpedo any chance of a legit second-half push as currently comprised — especially with the offense likely to come back to earth. The loss of Anthony Banda, who'd shaken off a slow start to post a 2.45 ERA in his past 30 appearances, is a devastating blow.

Is there anything they can do? The trade deadline will represent an opportunity for modest additions and upgrades (I'm not expecting much more), but the Twins also need to sort out what they have and optimize internally for the final three months. Here's a look at their current relief corps and how they might proceed, in order of confidence level to play a valuable role. 

Yoendrys Gómez
He looks like a true find amid a sea of waiver claim flops. Certainly I'm not expecting him to keep up at his current level — the 3.4% HR/FB rate is a glaring regression red flag — but he's got a quality arsenal and he's thrived after being thrust into a high-leverage role. In an ideal scenario he's probably pitching in the seventh rather than closing, but he's a viable late-inning arm. That's one at least. 

Andrew Morris
The most promising success story in Minnesota's bullpen so far. In contrast to Gómez, Morris' surface numbers actually understate how well he's pitched: his 2.79 FIP and 2.97 xERA are well below the 3.89 ERA, and his Statcast sliders are blazing red. This looks like the prototype scenario for transitioning a marginal starter to a standout reliever, and the Twins will have to make it happen several more times.

Eric Orze
Big drop-off from the top two to number three on this list. Orze, like Morris, has underperformed his peripherals (3.18 FIP and 3.97 xERA vs. 5.08 ERA) but I'm less convinced there is a credible back-end relief arm here. His K-rate is under 20%, his control has been poor and to the extent his numbers are adequate, it's in large part because he's allowed only one home run in 39 innings. That's not sustainable. Nevertheless, the 28-year-old worth keeping around as a lower-leverage option.

Taylor Rogers
I'm torn on Rogers. At times he has looked completely cooked, including last Tuesday when he got clobbered by the Dodgers for five earned runs in one inning. But he's sort of a microcosm of the Twins bullpen at large: very bad overall, less so situationally. Many of his worst outings have come in situations like the Dodgers game, where the Twins were already down 7-2 when he entered. His experience and left-handedness are worth keeping in the mix with Banda down, but again, you'd much prefer if he was your third lefty relief option versus your first.

Travis Adams
Another guy I'm a bit torn on. Adams throws reasonably hard and his 29.9% K-rate outranks all Twins pitchers (including Joe Ryan) dating back to last year's trade deadline. At the same time, his fastball is crushable as a Coors Light, and he's got a 7.23 ERA and 5.22 FIP in 55 MLB innings. Adams had a mediocre 4.50 career ERA in the minors. He's the kind of guy who you'd be interested in seeing more of in a non-competitive season but a clear liability if the Twins are trying to consistently win.

Marco Raya
Called up last week, he's only made two relief appearances for the Twins but Raya has avoided melting into a puddle, and that's an accomplishment for a 23-year-old with a history of yips, getting his first taste of the majors. Raya has solid long-term potential but is a shaky bet to produce at an above-average level or deliver in key situations right now. Another guy best suited for taking lumps in a lost season versus pitching meaningful innings down the stretch.

Kody Funderburk
He can't throw strikes. Seventeen walks versus 11 strikeouts in 20 innings this year. Yuck. He's gotten decent enough results when in the strike zone, so Funderburk is maybe not worth giving up on, but you can't count on him under any circumstances at this point. We've reached the tier of the bullpen where the Twins have absolutely got to upgrade if they want to be any kind of threat.

Cody Laweryson
I've got nothing against Laweryson but I also haven't been given any real reason to believe. His velocity is lowest of any bullpen righty. He lacks a legit secondary pitch. Laweryson looks like a minor-leaguer pitching in the majors, which I guess is what should be expected from someone who made his MLB debut at 28, out of sheer need last September, and got designated for assignment by two bad teams during the offseason, passing through waivers the second time.

There's your Twins bullpen. There are two remotely dependable options for late innings or high leverage, and even they carry a certain degree of blow-up potential. It's not impossible that Orze and Rogers could round into respectable form, but the bottom half of the relief corps needs major improvement if this team is going to make a push. Here are the possible reinforcements from within worth tracking:

Kendry Rojas: Easily the most intriguing figure on the farm. He's shown electric stuff in six appearances for the Twins, even while struggling to command the zone. There's no bigger wild-card in the system with regards to the rest of this season, but the Twins have to decide how they want to proceed with the lefty. Can they afford to not have him stretched out when he's their only remaining line of defense in the rotation?

Cole Sands: He experienced a setback with his forearm two weeks ago, stalling his rehab, but threw an encouraging bullpen session on June 27th, and could return this month. Aside from Rojas, Sands is likely the best hope for a difference-making internal add.

David Festa: Higher potential impact than Sands but much lower odds of returning for a substantial portion of the second half. Dealing with a persistently balky right shoulder, Festa was still multiple weeks from facing live hitters at last check. He hasn't pitched in almost a full year.

Mike Paredes: With Ober on track to rejoin the rotation, shifting Paredes into a relief role would be an option. He's performed admirably as a rotation plug, albeit with ugly underlying numbers. I'm not sure he's got the stuff to be anything more than a Laweryson-caliber piece out of the bullpen.

C.J. Culpepper: A sleeper in Triple-A. He's got relatively high-caliber stuff with a 3.20 career ERA in the minors and a track record of keeping the ball in the park. But he has made only seven appearances above Double-A and strike-throwing can be an issue. Probably more of an interesting candidate for 2027 than this year.

John Klein: The Twins liked him enough to protect him on the 40-man last offseason, but haven't shown much inclination to deploy him in their MLB bullpen this year. He's made three appearances for the Twins, two of them as an opener. In Triple-A he has allowed 13 home runs in 45 innings. Like Culpepper, he's being treated as more of a future-looking option.

The Twins are thin on upside in their current bullpen and there's not a whole lot more looming in the minors, although Rojas is a notable exception and Sands has the capability to move the needle if he comes back healthy. What becomes clear through this exercise is that they need outside help if they're going to support a contention effort versus sabotaging it. 

And it brings us to the defining question of this season, which the next several weeks may sort out: Is this a team worth investing in, at its core? There are major implications in trading away from the future value pool, even as light buyers, rather than adding to it as sellers. You don't want to end up severely regretting your decision by mid-August.

If they're leaning in the "buy" direction, the front office would be wise to try and act sooner than later, because they are going to have a hard time staying in the range of competitiveness with this current assortment of relief arms.

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[Czelgert]

The trade deadline is organizationally the most expensive time of the year to fix a bullpen.  Guys who can be picked up for low to medium salaries in the offseason are traded for solid prospects.  I deeply want this team to improve its bullpen for my own entertainment but now is not the time to move prospects to cover for poor offseason planning.

[tony&rodney]

The trades last July did create a problem with the bullpen. The time to rehash, regret, and bemoan those transactions has run its course. One wonders if a couple of trades might manage to stabilize and hopefully strengthen the current pen. 

[mike8791]

Spot on, Nick!  Only 2 "reliable" options right now.  No one else in that bullpen belongs on a major league contending team.  After analyzing what's down in the minors, the only way for improvement is via trade.  Unfortunately, based on his 5 months as GM, there is little reason to believe Zoll has the chops to make wise trades - ones that can improve the team this year without hurting the longer term rebuild to contention.  His continuing dumpster dive into the waiver wire is perhaps a good window into his mindset.

No doubt there are trade possibilities out there.  The top 2 who could land a late-inning closer are Ryan and Jeffers. More than a reliever would be needed in return but a deal that invoves a top 2B prospect, perhaps a corner OFer with some pop, and an established reliever could lead to a better team even this year.  More likely, trading one orb more of our veterans like Larnach, Bell, Wallner. or Lewis might yield a couple of capable arms for the pen.  Throw in one of our AAA OF prospects(not Jenkins) and the yield would be even better.

Time for Zoll to earn his salary!  I'm a big sceptic here - he looks like Failvey 2.0 but one has to hope!

[JD-TWINS]

Parades, IMO, immediately becomes a real asset. He’s respectable as a potential “longer guy”. I think any guy going to one inning v. starting picks up a little juice……….need Ober back!

Rojas is back up as soon as he’s eligible.

Pick em between Adams & Funderburk. I trust Funderburk more ……, zero confidence in Adams.

Lawyerson doesn’t have MLB stuff.

If Sands can get back in 3-4 weeks, it would push Raya into the 8th spot in the PEN…… to me, that’s an acceptable group at this point.

Chris Paddack off waivers to throw an inning at a time? He’s been LIT up as a starter. Released at least twice & I think, again by Texas after one start - not positive? If he plays for minimum, he’s better than Adams!! Desperate times…….desperate measures.

 

[DJL44]

Aaron Rozek has out pitched Funderburk in AAA. He’s worth a look. He could give them an ERA around 5 instead of around 7.

Relief pitching is the most overpriced thing to buy at the trade deadline. The Twins are about 5 relievers away from a playoff bullpen. I expect them to grab an arm or two off waivers from a team that upgraded their bullpen by trade and that’s about it.

[Patzky]

He wouldn't have been a difference maker but I'm still puzzled they let Matt Bowman walk 

[Patzky]

8 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Aaron Rozek has out pitched Funderburk in AAA. He’s worth a look. He could give them an ERA around 5 instead of around 7.

Relief pitching is the most overpriced thing to buy at the trade deadline. The Twins are about 5 relievers away from a playoff bullpen. I expect them to grab an arm or two off waivers from a team that upgraded their bullpen by trade and that’s about it.

Finderbroke is Genesis 2026.

[Julian Bernick]

12 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Parades, IMO, immediately becomes a real asset. He’s respectable as a potential “longer guy”. I think any guy going to one inning v. starting picks up a little juice……….need Ober back!

OK, here we go with the soft stuff.  Despite being totally overmatched in all numerical categories and probably not a serious prospect in any way... Paredes looks like a gamer out there.  We need a guy who can just come in and do some work and not be way over his head, whether a fifth starter, spot starter/cleanup guy, or maybe 6th-7th inning guy.  TayTay has lost some mph too but when you get on the mound, at least he's a *pitcher* and if he has his command, he will get some guys out.

Don't sleep on how horrible the Twins defense has been behind this bad bullpen either. I don't totally get how these analytics guys don't see the difference that defense makes day in, day out when TK and Earl Weaver certainly knew.

[HrbieFan]

Ryan needs to be moved with some high end arms coming back. The BP is not a 1 month fix, it will take into next year to find 4 more reliable arms. The only ones I count on for 2027 are Gomes, Raya, Sands, Orze and maybe Funderburk.  Maybe Paredes can be a every 2nd day, 2-3 innings guy. 

[stringer bell]

As usual, a really good analysis from Nick. Not a pretty picture, but there’s some reason for optimism.

The club needs to decide if they should add or subtract and the recently completed month of June gives mixed signals. They haven’t been overwhelmed by injuries, have some strengths, but pretty glaring weaknesses.

I believe they should trade their two most high-profile guys (Jeffers and Ryan) and that pretty much rules out a postseason. Getting bullpen help from trades probably should happen.

[Nshore]

A look at the buzzsaw schedule coming up and.....they're going to need a bigger bullpen.  It's probably too late to fix.  They could be 10 games under pretty soon and in clear "sell" territory.  Everybody - fans, writers, baristas, Uber drivers, fans' pets knew this was an issue from before day 1 of the season, and they haven't done enough to address it.

[mickster]

13 minutes ago, HrbieFan said:

Ryan needs to be moved with some high end arms coming back. The BP is not a 1 month fix, it will take into next year to find 4 more reliable arms. The only ones I count on for 2027 are Gomes, Raya, Sands, Orze and maybe Funderburk.  Maybe Paredes can be a every 2nd day, 2-3 innings guy. 

Hopefully Festa is in the BP mix in 2027

[Mike Sixel]

Probably nothing to do this year, other than prep for next? 

I want pitching back for Jeffers, Ryan, and anyone else they deal. The Yankees have two or three minor league guys you could convert to RP right now, if you really wanted for this year. For example.

[mikelink45]

If we trade Ryan as expected what next?  That removes Rojas for BP to replace Ryan.  Then we have a rotation that lacks an Ace, a BP that lacks shut down arms.  Not good for a run to the playoffs.  I am worried about Ober.  I see Gomez, Morris, and Raya needing to continue or step up.  I like Parades approach and keep him.  The rest do not give me any encouragement.  We will be forced to keep Rogers and Erze, but they are not good.  Then what?  

First we start forcing SP to go seven, even the third time through they are better than the alternatives.  Second we bring up Culpepper and we experiment with more minor league arms.  

[Jeff K]

Larnach and Jeffers both ought to be able to bring some relief to our relief pitching.  Bell could too...but he sure is hitting a ton right now and it's painful to move both he and Larnach.  That said, the Twins are chock full of DH's who should not be in the field.  Time to change that and bring in relief pitching could improve the team this year.

[stringer bell]

19 minutes ago, Nshore said:

A look at the buzzsaw schedule coming up and.....they're going to need a bigger bullpen.  It's probably too late to fix.  They could be 10 games under pretty soon and in clear "sell" territory.  Everybody - fans, writers, baristas, Uber drivers, fans' pets knew this was an issue from before day 1 of the season, and they haven't done enough to address it.

One would have thought that the last two weeks plus would have moved them to clear “sell” territory, but they’ve played .600 baseball in the last 15 games (including nine road games). I fear that they will be paralyzed into inactivity at the break, which might be worse than a selloff. 

[DJL44]

33 minutes ago, HrbieFan said:

Ryan needs to be moved with some high end arms coming back. The BP is not a 1 month fix, it will take into next year to find 4 more reliable arms. The only ones I count on for 2027 are Gomes, Raya, Sands, Orze and maybe Funderburk.  Maybe Paredes can be a every 2nd day, 2-3 innings guy. 

Morris might be better than all of those guys.

[terrydactyls]

The Twins are on a pace to lose 85 games.  That's a five game improvement over 2025.  But, only three teams have made the playoffs with a losing record and those were in altered seasons (two shortened by strikes and one by Covid).  If the Twins somehow grabbed a playoff spot, they would be the worst winning percentage team in history to make the playoffs.  This is no time to be a buyer.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Last year's sell-off is just so frustrating. If they would have kept Lou and Duran, they're in first place right now. I can understand wanting to get out of Correa's deal but they threw the baby out with the bathwater. There's a universe where Abel gets and stays healthy and where Rojas finds his command and all is forgiven. But those two things remain lottery tickets as opposed to two 'ace' closers.

Put me in the camp of wanting to keep Ryan. I still want to see what the new CBA looks like and if there's any type of salary floor or something that would make keeping Ryan long-term more feasible for the Twins.

Jeffers is likely gone. Caratini's play of late coupled with Jeffers' comments last summer, and I think the Twins are more than happy to send him packing. If he is going to the Yankees, there's young talent to be had there - I just hope the Twins identify the right prospects.

Larnach is trickier, IMHO. You would definitely be selling high but even with his recent hot streak, how robust is the market? If you're not getting back a legitimate prospect, or a controllable arm for the pen, just hold onto him. 

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Oh - and if Orze and Fundy are in the bullpen plans for 2027 - something has gone horribly wrong. 

[jorgenswest]

How would Jackson Flora do in a major league bullpen? The White Sox did it with Chris Sale after drafting him with the 13th pick in 2010. It didn’t stop Sale from being an elite starter.

[Linus]

1 minute ago, Twins_Fan_in_NJ said:

Oh - and if Orze and Fundy are in the bullpen plans for 2027 - something has gone horribly wrong. 

Or Adams or Rodgers

[terrydactyls]

1 hour ago, mike8791 said:

More likely, trading one or more of our veterans like Larnach, Bell, Wallner. or Lewis might yield a couple of capable arms for the pen.  Throw in one of our AAA OF prospects(not Jenkins) and the yield would be even better.

The only teams that would be willing to trade a "capable" arm are teams that are building for the future.  And those teams sure ain't looking at Larnach, Bell, Wallner, or Lewis as their future saviors.  They would want at least one of Rodriguez, Culpepper, or Gonzales and an A ball pitcher.  As the Twins new GM, I'm not making that sort of trade.

[stringer bell]

7 minutes ago, Twins_Fan_in_NJ said:

Oh - and if Orze and Fundy are in the bullpen plans for 2027 - something has gone horribly wrong. 

Honestly, I thinkthey are major league pitchers who might be the seventh or eighth guy in a bullpen.  

[Dman]

Great analysis and I pretty much fully agree on most of it. I was looking at this the other day in relation to trying to figure out who might get bumped off the 40 man if space was needed. It's hard to believe just how bleak the bullpen situation is.

It really is just Morris and Gomez that seem like legit options. with Rojas and maybe Raya as potential arms that could get to that level.  The rest are all suspect to this point. And there isn't much behind them either.  There are no arms in the minors that appear close to ready.

I was a big advocate for keeping Klein on the 40 man but his home run problems are still very pronounced.  Culpepper isn't even on the 40 man and as noted by Nick while he has some pretty decent stuff his control has been an issue this year.  Hidalgo also not on the 40 man has the stuff to K guys but he is homer prone as well.

The cupboard is bare and as noted by most of this board that were screaming for additions to the bullpen in the offseason they decided not to spend the money,  At the time they had a lot of young arms on the 40 man that they needed to try out at the MLB level, but if they truly wanted to compete this year building their bullpen via castoffs and waiver wire seemed pretty short sighted IMO.

I would not deplete this system further by trading for bullpen depth. There are just way too many holes to make this pen playoff worthy.  They need four arms better than what they have right now.  They are going to have to make the guys they have better or move to higher octane arms in Klein and Culpepper.  Need to hope Raya can be "a guy" that gets it done.  Rojas as mentioned does he fit into the rotation or pen?  The Twins are just short on impact arms at the moment but I wouldn't burn future assets to fix it unless this team looks better than it is right now.

[thelanges5]

48 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Probably nothing to do this year, other than prep for next? 

I want pitching back for Jeffers, Ryan, and anyone else they deal. The Yankees have two or three minor league guys you could convert to RP right now, if you really wanted for this year. For example.

Yes - who is the core? They should buy and sell:

Jeffers to NY starts with Lagrange

Larnach to SD for Bradgley Rodriguez. Opens a path for Roden or Jenkins

Love to keep Ryan, maybe that’s why they are keeping Rojas stretched out?

Gray down and Culpepper up

Wallner for a lottery pick arm

[Road trip]

The likely solution for immediate help this season will continue to be DFA pickups from other teams.  You hope to find another Gomez, knowing that you will have to sort through a variety of unsuccessful claims.  Sometimes it works.  It'll be an assortment of guys with injury histories (think Brock Stewart 2.0), control problems (Gomez 2.0), or maybe a failed starter they think they can convert.  It isn't an exciting strategy... you could even call in depressing, but if they can find another Gomez that is controllable I'll call it a success.

 

[mickster]

46 minutes ago, Jeff K said:

Larnach and Jeffers both ought to be able to bring some relief to our relief pitching.  Bell could too...but he sure is hitting a ton right now and it's painful to move both he and Larnach.  That said, the Twins are chock full of DH's who should not be in the field.  Time to change that and bring in relief pitching could improve the team this year.

I will say again, I believe Larnach must stay if we are still in this thing.   He is over .290 with his average and might just be our best overall hitter.   I so want to keep Jeffers, but I also don't want to lose him for nothing.  

[mickster]

56 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

If we trade Ryan as expected what next?  That removes Rojas for BP to replace Ryan.  Then we have a rotation that lacks an Ace, a BP that lacks shut down arms.  Not good for a run to the playoffs.  I am worried about Ober.  I see Gomez, Morris, and Raya needing to continue or step up.  I like Parades approach and keep him.  The rest do not give me any encouragement.  We will be forced to keep Rogers and Erze, but they are not good.  Then what?  

First we start forcing SP to go seven, even the third time through they are better than the alternatives.  Second we bring up Culpepper and we experiment with more minor league arms.  

Extend Ryan and have him and Lopez at the top of the rotation followed by Bradley, Prielipp/Zebby/Ober