Twins Replace Woo-Suk Go with Jack Anderson in Latest Bullpen Shuffle

[Cody Christie]

The revolving door in the Minnesota Twins bullpen kept spinning on Tuesday. Minnesota optioned right-hander Woo-Suk Go to Triple-A St. Paul and recalled Jack Anderson, the organization's newest bullpen addition. It's another move that highlights the reality of the Twins' season: they're still searching for anyone capable of providing consistent innings out of one of baseball's least reliable bullpens.

Go's latest opportunity came to an abrupt end after Monday's outing, when he surrendered three runs on four hits while recording just three outs. It was another reminder that, despite the intriguing upside that made him worth acquiring, the results simply weren't there.

When Minnesota initially acquired Go, the club was required to place him on the active roster because of a clause in his contract. That requirement never meant the Twins had to keep him in the majors indefinitely, and after four appearances, they decided it was time for him to continue working at Triple-A.

The numbers made that decision relatively straightforward. Over four innings with Minnesota, Go allowed four earned runs on eight hits while posting a 5-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The strike-throwing wasn't necessarily the issue. Instead, opposing hitters consistently squared him up.

A 53.5% hard-hit rate paired with a 94.9 mph average exit velocity tells the story. Big league hitters were making loud contact and that's a difficult formula for any reliever to survive, especially one trying to establish himself with a new organization.

The Twins clearly still believe there's something to work with. Otherwise, they wouldn't have targeted him in the first place. But for now, Triple-A offers a better environment to make adjustments without the pressure of protecting late leads in the American League playoff race.

His departure opens the door for another fresh arm. Minnesota claimed Anderson from the Boston Red Sox organization just over a week ago, and Tuesday marks his first opportunity with his new club.

The 27-year-old already checked one milestone off his list this season by making his major league debut with Boston. He also represented Great Britain during the World Baseball Classic, where he threw three innings, allowing one earned run while striking out three.

In limited major league action with the Red Sox, Anderson logged eight innings across three appearances, allowing three runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and only two walks. It's a small sample, but one that showed enough promise for Minnesota to take a chance. His Triple-A numbers were more modest, posting a 4.57 ERA while striking out 20.0% of opposing hitters and walking 8.1%.

Anderson isn't going to overpower hitters. His fastball sits just above 90 mph, but his arsenal relies more heavily on movement than velocity. He leans on an 81.4 mph sinker and an 80.9 mph slider, giving hitters a different look than many of the power arms found throughout today's game.

Whether that profile translates consistently at the major league level remains to be seen. For the Twins, though, this isn't about finding the next All-Star closer. It's about finding competent innings.

The bullpen has been one of the organization's biggest weaknesses throughout the season, forcing the front office to cycle through waiver claims, internal promotions, and role changes in hopes of uncovering a reliable contributor. Anderson becomes the latest pitcher to receive that opportunity.

Sometimes those moves produce unexpected success stories. Other times, they're simply placeholders until someone else earns the next chance. Minnesota hopes Anderson falls into the first category.

For now, the latest bullpen shuffle reflects where the organization is today: rebuilding relief depth one roster move at a time.

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[JADBP]

YAWN....when will this lame, unoriginal BS end?  

Is this really the best that Zollie can do?  If so, then we need to rethink the GM position.  Because this is pretty embarrassing.....

I am thinking that a lot is resting on how Zoll performs in this trade deadline.  Not so much for the team but definitely for Zoll.  He could have a short leash if he messes up this trade season.  I realize that he faces an extremely narrow path to improvement.  He doesn't really have a lot of star power to trade away (Larnach, Jeffers, Bell) but has some tremendous holes and every trader is going to want to raid our young, controllable assets (just like last year).  The chances of doing significant harm to the team is very high.  What will he do?

[Parfigliano]

13 minutes ago, JADBP said:

YAWN....when will this lame, unoriginal BS end?  

Is this really the best that Zollie can do?  If so, then we need to rethink the GM position.  Because this is pretty embarrassing.....

I am thinking that a lot is resting on how Zoll performs in this trade deadline.  Not so much for the team but definitely for Zoll.  He could have a short leash if he messes up this trade season.  I realize that he faces an extremely narrow path to improvement.  He doesn't really have a lot of star power to trade away (Larnach, Jeffers, Bell) but has some tremendous holes and every trader is going to want to raid our young, controllable assets (just like last year).  The chances of doing significant harm to the team is very high.  What will he do?

I want Zoll gone.  He has Falvey stink.  Might not be fair but I don't care.

[IndyTwinsFan]

20 minutes ago, JADBP said:

YAWN....when will this lame, unoriginal BS end?  

Is this really the best that Zollie can do?  If so, then we need to rethink the GM position.  Because this is pretty embarrassing.....

I am thinking that a lot is resting on how Zoll performs in this trade deadline.  Not so much for the team but definitely for Zoll.  He could have a short leash if he messes up this trade season.  I realize that he faces an extremely narrow path to improvement.  He doesn't really have a lot of star power to trade away (Larnach, Jeffers, Bell) but has some tremendous holes and every trader is going to want to raid our young, controllable assets (just like last year).  The chances of doing significant harm to the team is very high.  What will he do?

I second the YAWN viewpoint!

[HarmonK03]

56 minutes ago, JADBP said:

YAWN....when will this lame, unoriginal BS end?  

Is this really the best that Zollie can do?  If so, then we need to rethink the GM position.  Because this is pretty embarrassing.....

I am thinking that a lot is resting on how Zoll performs in this trade deadline.  Not so much for the team but definitely for Zoll.  He could have a short leash if he messes up this trade season.  I realize that he faces an extremely narrow path to improvement.  He doesn't really have a lot of star power to trade away (Larnach, Jeffers, Bell) but has some tremendous holes and every trader is going to want to raid our young, controllable assets (just like last year).  The chances of doing significant harm to the team is very high.  What will he do?

I don't think Zoll is up to the task and I think he is tied to Falvey's way.  He has been a part of the personnel decisions for the last 5 years, those are Falvey's words not mine.  And he feels like he is a lame duck in the position, so I am hoping they don't try to make any big moves.  This is not the year for that.