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.

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

We have 4 relievers who could be on most bullpens right now.  Morris, Gomez, Nance and Sands.  
 

There is reliever that’s been dfa’d and has to be traded in the next couple of days.  Coulombe is a nice depth piece.  There may be another team such as Washington who may have more bullpen issues than us, but say what you will I think Tom is willing to put some investment into fixing the bullpen. I think he is the next shoe to drop,  

After that we will see which teams are willing to shop their relievers and what the prices are.  I still think we need a #3 starter as well.  How much are they willing to invest. So far they have gotten by pretty cheaply.  

[S Bart]

1 hour ago, Blyleven2011 said:

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  ...

The upcoming away games against the Cubs and Guardians will provide a hint as to the future trades in my view. I hate the idea of trading Jeffers and Larnach, but a small market team will not have a choice. Hey, there may not even be a season next year...or a delayed one..may exist. THE ATHLETIC did a poll of 101 players and almost 80% predicted that it would be the case.

[DJL44]

Camilo Doval might get squeezed out of the Yankees bullpen if they decide to acquire someone. It would cost the Twins very little to acquire him. Doval was great for the Giants, throws 98 and is only 29. He seems like a good project for Maki like Yoendrys Gomez.

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

28 minutes ago, S Bart said:

The upcoming away games against the Cubs and Guardians will provide a hint as to the future trades in my view. I hate the idea of trading Jeffers and Larnach, but a small market team will not have a choice. Hey, there may not even be a season next year...or a delayed one..may exist. THE ATHLETIC did a poll of 101 players and almost 80% predicted that it would be the case.

The next 7-10 days are big, which is why Tom was unwilling to wait til the deadline to get help. Competent arms are needed now.  So far it’s a start and nothing game changing but instead of just trying to get the game to Gomez you have a couple competent arms to use now.  

[Alex Wilde]

4 hours ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

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

We didn’t want him here a few years back unfortunately…

[Cory Engelhardt]

17 minutes ago, Alex Wilde said:

We didn’t want him here a few years back unfortunately…

Relievers are fickle aren't they? Great one year, bad the next. Such is life.

[bean5302]

2 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

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

Miller was at about +55 last year when he was traded. He's probably +40ish now. He'd be expensive, but he's not Paul Skenes expensive or something.

[DocBauer]

I actually like the early addition of Nance. He's a decent, solid middle arm. And for this bullpen, that's saying a lot. But he helps.

I can see the Twins going a couple directions here. I can see trading a couple lower level prospects for a veteran arm like Jansen, maybe with the trading team eating a small portion of his contract.

Based on how Falvey used to trade, and Zoll is his incumbent, I can easily see a slightly higher prospect payment for a younger arm that has control remaining. I keep thinking Varland version 2023-24 before he broke out. That would be an awesome get if the cost isn't too high.

But I think what we should expect is trades similar to 2019, I believe I have the year right, where the Twins added Romo and Dyson for a couple marginal prospects. Romo was so solid, he was resigned. And just for a moment, let's forget Dyson was hiding an injury and turned out to be a poor human being. On paper, it was a great trade of rentals for next to nothing. 

Could Jansen be the next Romo who doesn't cost much as a rental? Yes, he might be.

But I expect,  IF the Twins remain in contention a couple weeks from now, ONE veteran arm on an expiring contract to help stabilize the pen. And one additional arm from some team that hurts a little, but has 2yrs of control that will make it worthwhile. 

 

 

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

4 hours ago, DocBauer said:

I actually like the early addition of Nance. He's a decent, solid middle arm. And for this bullpen, that's saying a lot. But he helps.

I can see the Twins going a couple directions here. I can see trading a couple lower level prospects for a veteran arm like Jansen, maybe with the trading team eating a small portion of his contract.

Based on how Falvey used to trade, and Zoll is his incumbent, I can easily see a slightly higher prospect payment for a younger arm that has control remaining. I keep thinking Varland version 2023-24 before he broke out. That would be an awesome get if the cost isn't too high.

But I think what we should expect is trades similar to 2019, I believe I have the year right, where the Twins added Romo and Dyson for a couple marginal prospects. Romo was so solid, he was resigned. And just for a moment, let's forget Dyson was hiding an injury and turned out to be a poor human being. On paper, it was a great trade of rentals for next to nothing. 

Could Jansen be the next Romo who doesn't cost much as a rental? Yes, he might be.

But I expect,  IF the Twins remain in contention a couple weeks from now, ONE veteran arm on an expiring contract to help stabilize the pen. And one additional arm from some team that hurts a little, but has 2yrs of control that will make it worthwhile. 

 

 

That was before the expansion of teams in the playoffs.  Supply vs demand is a little different now but your point remains the same with just a little more compensation needed. If we get Coulombe my guess is 1 more 7th to 8th inning arm. Something cheaper than a closer. If you can get an additional arm cheap so be it.  I will say this game of paying cash or a small prospect for a solid reliever from a good team with a roster crunch seems to be more available than I expected.  I can see a scenario where the Bullpen has essentially been rebuilt.  Yes the team will continue to tweak, but this is much further along than I expected. Injuries and underperformance in the bullpen was expected. Especially when working with arms initially with minimal velocity.  The quality of of arms is definitely moving in the right direction.  No one will mistake it for last years bullpen to start the year but it could be one of the biggest transformations from beginning to end of the year on record in the MLB.  
 

 

[NYCTK]

3 hours ago, Hawkeye Bean Counter said:

That was before the expansion of teams in the playoffs.  Supply vs demand is a little different now but your point remains the same with just a little more compensation needed. If we get Coulombe my guess is 1 more 7th to 8th inning arm. Something cheaper than a closer. If you can get an additional arm cheap so be it.  I will say this game of paying cash or a small prospect for a solid reliever from a good team with a roster crunch seems to be more available than I expected.  I can see a scenario where the Bullpen has essentially been rebuilt.  Yes the team will continue to tweak, but this is much further along than I expected. Injuries and underperformance in the bullpen was expected. Especially when working with arms initially with minimal velocity.  The quality of of arms is definitely moving in the right direction.  No one will mistake it for last years bullpen to start the year but it could be one of the biggest transformations from beginning to end of the year on record in the MLB.  
 

 

I just looked and last year there were about a dozen sellers, which surprised me it was that high. 

My other team, the Mets are going to be one of the most prominent sellers, and they have 2-4 bullpen pieces they will be shipping off. Brooks Raley or AJ Minter the easiest buys. Do the Twins trade Kyle DeBarge / Brandon Winokur for a bullpen arm of that quality? Maybe Bruin Agbayani, son of cult Mets "legend" Benny. 

Eh, I could be swayed either way. These level of prospects rarely amount to much, but this current Twins team just isn't quite ready for primetime and I don't think is worth investing too much into right now. Buying for the purpose of signaling to fans isn't going to work, so that shouldn't be part of the equation, in my mind. But, a small investment can have a pretty big trickle down impact on the rest of the bullpen, and really help them stay above water. 

[stringer bell]

13 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

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  ...

Nah, the Twins have been one of the more consistent run-scoring teams in the AL. They've had relatively fewer "spike" games than other teams leading in runs scored. 

[JD-TWINS]

13 hours ago, Hawkeye Bean Counter said:

We have 4 relievers who could be on most bullpens right now.  Morris, Gomez, Nance and Sands.  
 

There is reliever that’s been dfa’d and has to be traded in the next couple of days.  Coulombe is a nice depth piece.  There may be another team such as Washington who may have more bullpen issues than us, but say what you will I think Tom is willing to put some investment into fixing the bullpen. I think he is the next shoe to drop,  

After that we will see which teams are willing to shop their relievers and what the prices are.  I still think we need a #3 starter as well.  How much are they willing to invest. So far they have gotten by pretty cheaply.  

“……gotten by pretty cheaply” Agreed - understatement.

$106M total player spend in ‘26 ($22M to Lopez & $10M to Correa) and $76M for players on the field.

Relative to being able to trade & spend on guys owed money for balance of ‘26 …….. the amount should be $15M at a minimum, IMO. Trying to be “competitive” or not??? I’m not saying throwing money at guys with minimal value or upside for the stretch run makes sense. I’m all for moving prospect types to acquire an arm or two.

Jeffers and a prospect should get something of decent value back! I just want to see them try with a move or two………., in addition to what’s been done in the PEN periphery the past few weeks.

[nicksaviking]

15 hours ago, Danchat said:

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.

Definitely concede to that point. Fair to add the caveat that if there's a young-ish fireball, strikeout artist who was just converted from a starter, I'd more likely be interested.

[mnfireman]

2 BP additions are rehabbing right now, Sands and Acton. 

They just added Nance, Anderson, and Go, and recalled Rojas.

Maybe more importantly they've demoted/DFAd Orze, Laweryson, Voth and Lawrence, among others - addition through subtraction.

If recent performance from Rogers, Funderburk and Adams can hold through the end of the season the BP can actually become a strength (wishful thinking, I know).

[bean5302]

I consider Nance to be middle innings reliever. I wouldn't trust him pitching in higher leverage situations near the end of the game in a good bullpen, but he's kind of cleaned up his history of actual results being worse than expected the last couple years. 

Basically, I like him because he clearly belongs in MLB. 

[JD-TWINS]

2 hours ago, NYCTK said:

I just looked and last year there were about a dozen sellers, which surprised me it was that high. 

My other team, the Mets are going to be one of the most prominent sellers, and they have 2-4 bullpen pieces they will be shipping off. Brooks Raley or AJ Minter the easiest buys. Do the Twins trade Kyle DeBarge / Brandon Winokur for a bullpen arm of that quality? Maybe Bruin Agbayani, son of cult Mets "legend" Benny. 

Eh, I could be swayed either way. These level of prospects rarely amount to much, but this current Twins team just isn't quite ready for primetime and I don't think is worth investing too much into right now. Buying for the purpose of signaling to fans isn't going to work, so that shouldn't be part of the equation, in my mind. But, a small investment can have a pretty big trickle down impact on the rest of the bullpen, and really help them stay above water. 

Keaschall is definitely bumpy to watch but he’s been ascending offensively & is slowly settling into OF role……… Keaschall - Buxton & Larnach/Martin are a reasonable group if trying to compete.

Lee - Kreidler - Clemens - Lewis is an average defensive infield. The offense from this group is probably considered average as well - with Lewis apparently able to hit at a reasonable level - Lee stabilized - Clemens above average (somehow) ………. Kreidler as the weak offensive link is tolerable.

Bell - Caratini - Jackson are all at least average to date ……. Bell & Caratini can’t keep up the pace of recent weeks.

Offense is good enough….have seen them knock around guys at Top Level ……. Valdez - Skubal - Gray - Crochet  - etc …… so, the Playoff capabilities are there, not terribly consistent but that’s baseball.

My point is they need to buy and figure out a trade that moves the needle. Jeffers - prospect should bring back some positive contribution.

Rojas - Paredes - Sands should help solidify the PEN over next 10 weeks……probably only need 1 more arm. Matthews to the PEN in first round of Playoffs.

[bean5302]

14 minutes ago, mnfireman said:

2 BP additions are rehabbing right now, Sands and Acton. 

They just added Nance, Anderson, and Go, and recalled Rojas.

Maybe more importantly they've demoted/DFAd Orze, Laweryson, Voth and Lawrence, among others - addition through subtraction.

If recent performance from Rogers, Funderburk and Adams can hold through the end of the season the BP can actually become a strength (wishful thinking, I know).

Tough to place faith in Acton based on his mediocre/poor results in AAA through age 27 and his whopping 13.1 innings pitched in MLB.

Sands should be a solid relief pitcher when he returns, fingers crossed his velo looks okay.