Can the Twins Still Count on Andrew Morris and Yoendrys Gómez?

[Ray Stuedemann]

Image courtesy of D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

As the Minnesota Twins look toward next season, their bullpen is beginning to present more questions than answers. Andrew Morris and Yoendrys Gómez both have shown stretches of great play this season, but their recent struggles have raised concerns about whether the Twins can rely on either pitcher for a significant bullpen role in 2027. Those struggles could influence how aggressively the Twins look to add to the bullpen, whether through free agency or the trade market.

The bullpen was a topic of conversation for much of the past offseason. The Twins didn’t spend a lot to make it significantly better, adding only veteran Taylor Rogers on a major-league deal. The bullpen was still lacking at the deadline, which led to the acquisitions of Jeff Hoffman and A.J. Minter. While Hoffman will be back, relief pitching remains a topic of conversation heading into 2027 for a team that carries forward strong starting pitching depth and a relatively well-set position player group. On the relief side, the biggest question will be whether the Twins can count on Morris and Gómez in higher leverage roles, and those questions are extremely valid.

Morris, a fourth-round pick by the Twins in 2022, made his debut earlier this season and pitched well up until the end of July, earning a 3.12 ERA (2.92 FIP) in 52 innings over that span. He stuck out 23.4% of the batters he faced while walking 7.3% of batters. Those numbers have flipped since the calendar turned to August, as Morris has a 6.97 ERA (3.68 FIP) in 20 ⅔ innings since then. The 25-year-old has a diminished strikeout rate, 17.3%, and a heightened walk rate, 11.2%, during this period. Morris’ strong point is his fastball, worth 9 runs so far this year. However, his breaking and off-speed pitches have both been bad, worth -1 and -2 run respectively, so that will be something that needs to be addressed to turn around his performance.

Gómez, on the other hand, was not good for the Rays, pitching to a 6.23 ERA (7.25 FIP) in 17 ⅓ innings before being designated for assignment. The Twins acquired him for cash considerations on May 7th, and from that day until the end of July, Gómez was arguably the best reliever in the Twins bullpen, emerging as the primary closer. He posted a 1.67 ERA (3.09 FIP) in 32 ⅓ innings, converting every save attempt. The 26-year-old was striking out 24.1% of the batters he faced, which is encouraging but a walk rate of 11.3% allowed for a lot of baserunners in the middle months of the season.

Since August 1st, his ERA rocketed up to 7.71 (4.14 FIP). Gómez is still striking out a ton of batters as his strikeout rate remained the same. However, he was already issuing a lot of free passes, and his walk rate has climbed significantly, up to 17.7%, leading to him being demoted the bullpen pecking order. A key weakness of Gómez’s arsenal, unlike Morris, is his fastball; it is currently worth -4 runs and his most used pitch, with opposing hitters slugging .450 off it this season.

With both Gómez and Morris struggling to maintain their earlier success, the Twins may have to reconsider where the two fit into their bullpen hierarchy going forward.

How much should the Twins let these last two months impact their bullpen planning? For starters, it should mean bumping these two down the hierarchy of relievers, at least for the start of the 2027 season. Both players have shined at points, but their inconsistencies down the stretch can’t go unnoticed.

Hoffman should be the bullpen’s highest-leverage arm in 2027, and with the pending departures of Minter and Rogers the Twins should add at least one high-end arm via free agency. David Bednar, Jonathan Loáisiga, and Bryan Abreu could be right-handed options the Twins look to sign, especially Abreu, given their rumored interest at the trade deadline. If the Twins are looking to replace the left-handedness lost in Rogers and Minter specifically, they could take a look at old friend Steven Okert, Gregory Soto, or Brock Burke. Of course, at that point they could also just resign Minter. He has been very solid for the Twins, putting together a 2.49 ERA (4.39 FIP) in 21 ⅔ innings for Minnesota so far.

While it's smart to ratchet down their role leverage, Morris and Gómez can absolutely be important pieces of the Twins in 2027. What matters is what version of these players are going to show up. For Morris, the Twins will need to see if he can find a more reliable secondary pitch. For Gómez, the biggest focus will be limiting the free passes and figuring out how to get more out of his fastball, which has been a challenge for him in previous stops. There's a reason he's already pitched for five different teams in the majors at age 26.

Neither pitcher should be written off because of two difficult months, especially considering how effective they were beforehand. However, the Twins cannot enter 2027 assuming that either Morris or Gómez will automatically return to viability is a closer or setup man. If both can make necessary adjustments, they could give the Twins two important internal, late-inning options for the bullpen. Regardless, Minnesota will need to make an addition or two this offseason to prevent the bullpen from persisting as the question mark it has been since the 2025 trade deadline.

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[PuckettPond]

Yes, if they are used properly. Do not put a square peg in a round hole. 

[PuckettPond]

Hoffman could be going down the TJ surgery road. The limited pitch count seems he was damaged goods when Twins traded for him.

[HerbieFan]

Maki and company need to see if they can track down why both pitchers' command left them.  Morris started finding way too much of the middle of the plate and Gomez, of course, looked at times like he had no idea where the ball was going.  Command is key for any pitcher, including these two.  I'd love to see them more like 6th and 7th inning type guys.

[mikelink45]

No - can we use them yes - but they are not our high leverage guys if we are going to succeed. 

[Linus]

Gomez was walking a tightrope the whole season and it caught up to him. Morris just doesn’t command his cutter or his change so teams eventually just waited on his fastball. If he can throw something over besides the heater he could be really good. 

[Coach]

They got tired.