3 Relief Pitchers Twins Could Target to Fix Their Bullpen

[Sam Caulder]

Image courtesy of © Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins are just one game below .500 and only three games back of the White Sox and Guardians in the AL Central. For most of the season, they've been viewed as deadline sellers, but that might not end up being the case. Their offense has been the best in the AL this season, and a few additions to the pitching staff might get them over the hump. The bullpen, in particular, has been extremely shaky. So, who are some relief pitchers the Twins could target over the next couple of weeks? Here are three names that make a lot of sense.

Kenley Jansen 
On paper, the Tigers probably have the best roster in the AL Central. But in fact, they're eight games below .500, and Jansen is a 38-year-old reliever. There have been injuries. There have been blowups. There have even been way too many walks, which is a bit uncharacteristic. Jansen is one of the best closers of his generation, but he's very much in the later stages of his career. He's no longer the guy who carved out a plausibly Hall of Fame-caliber career shutting the door in the ninth inning.

But that's also exactly why he feels like such an intriguing buy-low candidate, should Detroit be willing to move him to a division rival. The underlying metrics offer a lot more encouragement than the ERA does. Jansen owns a 3.82 expected ERA and continues to limit hard contact at a very impressive rate. While the cutter isn't the 98-MPH weapon it once was, he's still throwing it over 80% of the time, and hitters aren't doing much with it. He can still be one of the most uncomfortable at-bats in baseball when he's commanding that pitch.

He can't be the relief ace that every contender is chasing at the deadline, which could work in Minnesota's favor. If the Twins are looking for an experienced late-inning arm without paying a premium prospect cost, Jansen feels like someone who could really stabilize this bullpen.

Brock Burke
Burke profiles similarly to Jansen, in the sense that both have struggled with command this season, but both are also excellent at limiting hard contact. Burke's hard-hit rate sits in the 90th percentile of all pitchers, and until this season, he consistently generated a ton of ground balls. That's been one of the biggest differences in 2026.

Formerly a reliable ground-ball arm with solid command, Burke and the Reds made a few adjustments to both his delivery and pitch mix entering the season. Neither has really worked. He's lost the strike zone far more often than in previous years, and his ground-ball rate has dropped roughly 13 percentage points from where it was a year ago. Even with those issues, though, Burke has still managed to post a 3.02 ERA.

The Twins wouldn't necessarily be acquiring him for what he's looked like over the last few months. They'd be betting on getting him back to the pitcher he had been for several years before that. As a low-salary rental arm, Burke is exactly the type of reliever teams love taking a chance on at the deadline, hoping a new coaching staff can unlock the version of the pitcher that's been buried underneath ill-conceived adjustments.

Minnesota could certainly use another dependable left-handed reliever. Kody Funderburk and Kendry Rojas have both bounced between Triple-A and the major leagues this season, leaving the Twins without much consistency from the left side of the bullpen. Burke could provide exactly that, and since he'll be a free agent after the season, it wouldn't take much to bring him to Minnesota.

Keaton Winn
Of the three pitchers mentioned here, Winn would almost certainly cost the most to acquire. He's putting together an excellent season with the Giants, posting a 3.09 ERA across 32 innings while striking out 26 batters compared to just 10 walks. Unlike some of the other bullpen options who may become available, command really isn't a concern with Winn. He also comes with something teams always value: club control.

Winn still has another year of pre-arbitration remaining on his contract, meaning the Twins would have him under team control well beyond this season. That added value is almost certainly going to increase the asking price, but it's also part of what makes him such an attractive target.

Beyond his contract situation, this is an arm that could really benefit the Twins. Winn is one of the best pitchers in baseball at generating weak contact. His average exit velocity allowed and hard-hit rate both rank in at least the 95th percentile among major-league pitchers, while his barrel rate isn't far behind, in the 88th percentile. He throws strikes, he throws hard, and he keeps the ball on the ground. That's exactly the type of profile the Twins could use at the back end of their bullpen. Adding Winn wouldn't just be about fixing a problem for the rest of 2026. It would also strengthen Minnesota's relief corps moving forward, giving them another controllable late-inning option alongside the pieces already in place.

Whether the Twins ultimately decide to buy or sell over the next few weeks will depend on how they play leading up to the deadline. But if they continue hovering around a playoff spot, standing pat probably isn't the best option. The offense has already proven it's capable of carrying this team. Now, it's up to the front office to decide whether adding to the bullpen is enough to turn the Twins from a fringe Wild Card contender into a legitimate playoff threat.

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Kenley Jansen, Brock Burke, and Keaton Winn are three relievers who could help make that happen. Let me know down in the comments what other relief pitchers you'd like to see the Twins go after!

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[nicksaviking]

You can't buy a relief pitcher based on this year's or last year's modest inning inning total and try to sell yourself on the fact that his value lies in the fact that he still got years of control left. The Twins always do this, and it never works out. Target guys who have long track records with MULTIPLE teams. Otherwise you're most likely looking at a small sample size hero, like most of the relievers the Twins acquire.

And that goes double for small sample size guys with command issues because if/when they blow up, they'll blow up twice as hard considering they give up free passes.

 

[Nshore]

I don't think Jansen is a possibility for a variety of reasons  - the main one being that the Tigers are coming on strong.  Objects in your rear view mirror may be closer than they appear.

 

[Cory Engelhardt]

If Toronto does sell, I'd LOVE Jeff Hoffman here. We'll see if that comes to fruition.

[chpettit19]

I have no problem acquiring bullpen arms to try to boost that group whether they're able to stick in the race or not. But I want to know what it's going to cost before I decide if I like any certain acquisition or not.

[LA Vikes Fan]

Keaton Winn is an intriguing target. I don't know a lot about him, but he looks and sounds like exactly what we should be looking to acquire – a young, high upside arm with multiple years of remaining control. He is in the kind of guy for whom you would give up a two prospect package headlined by a higher end prospect outside of your top 10-12 with another in the back part of the top 30 or below. 

A similar value that might be available is Sam Bachman of the Angels. His statistics aren't quite as good as Winn this year but he has a 94 – 97 mph fastball that can get over 100 mph, a plus plus slider rated at 70 on the 20 – 80 scale, and an "improving" changeup. 2027 is his first arbitration year and he's not a free agent until 2030. I would love to see the Twins pick up Bachman, particularly as part of a package with Soriano or Detmers. I would be willing to part with a prospect package headlined by a top 10 prospect not named Jenkins or Culpepper and including two more in the back half of the top 30 for that kind of package in return. 

[Danchat]

1 hour ago, nicksaviking said:

You can't buy a relief pitcher based on this year's or last year's modest inning inning total and try to sell yourself on the fact that his value lies in the fact that he still got years of control left. The Twins always do this, and it never works out. Target guys who have long track records with MULTIPLE teams. Otherwise you're most likely looking at a small sample size hero, like most of the relievers the Twins acquire.

And that goes double for small sample size guys with command issues because if/when they blow up, they'll blow up twice as hard considering they give up free passes.

Sure, I know we want to avoid making the Jorge Lopez trade again, but this rationale would have killed the Jays acquiring Varland last year.

[LyleCole]

I guess how important is it to gain one of the three wild card playoff spots when this team is not really competitive?

My guess is that the Twins will be "buyers" at the trade deadline because that is the mediocrity the ownership strives for.

[bean5302]

There are a ton of teams on the bubble, and plenty of guys who will be available. The Padres are apparently even open about Mason Miller.

[BaseballBob]

Ish.

[Blyleven2011]

Sam , we still have 2 plus weeks before the deadline , I'm not thinking of the deadline acquisitions until we get over  500 and beyond consistently ...

The twins will be selling , Jeffers and Larnach can be shipped out and not hurt our chances of staying around the 500 mark ...

As for buying  , someone needs to get in the door at 1 twins way and get a feel for their plan ...

Tom needs to make his pitch to the fans before the deadline  , not after the deadline ...

As far as runs go , twins are leading with most  runs scored is kind of a blurred stat because of some high scoring games  , take them away and how many average runs per game we would have  ...

[arby58]

1 hour ago, LA Vikes Fan said:

Keaton Winn is an intriguing target. I don't know a lot about him, but he looks and sounds like exactly what we should be looking to acquire – a young, high upside arm with multiple years of remaining control. He is in the kind of guy for whom you would give up a two prospect package headlined by a higher end prospect outside of your top 10-12 with another in the back part of the top 30 or below. 

A similar value that might be available is Sam Bachman of the Angels. His statistics aren't quite as good as Winn this year but he has a 94 – 97 mph fastball that can get over 100 mph, a plus plus slider rated at 70 on the 20 – 80 scale, and an "improving" changeup. 2027 is his first arbitration year and he's not a free agent until 2030. I would love to see the Twins pick up Bachman, particularly as part of a package with Soriano or Detmers. I would be willing to part with a prospect package headlined by a top 10 prospect not named Jenkins or Culpepper and including two more in the back half of the top 30 for that kind of package in return. 

You’re going to have to give up a couple of good prospects for Winn, let alone getting Soriano. The Angels owner has never gone for a full tear down, so my guess is you’ll have to give up at least a couple of MLB (or just about ready) players plus prospects if you want Soriano as part of the deal.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

54 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

There are a ton of teams on the bubble, and plenty of guys who will be available. The Padres are apparently even open about Mason Miller.

Mason Miller would cost the entire St. Paul Saints  roster.