Sorting Out The Bullpen

With Michael Tonkin and Ryan Pressly both being optioned in the past two days, the Minnesota Twins' bullpen picture is starting to come into focus, but there are still a lot of relievers in big-league camp.

Part of that is the team needs plenty of arms to get them through these exhibition contests, but another part is that they face some tricky decisions. Let's take a shot at handicapping this race as it stands with about two weeks left to go.

First, a quick look at the guys who are essentially locks:

Glen Perkins, LHP

Perkins was slowed early in camp by an oblique strain, but he pitched in a minor-league game on Thursday with no issues, and is expected to make his Grapefruit League debut this weekend. Both he and Terry Ryan have expressed full confidence he'll be ready to roll at the start of the season, barring any setbacks.

Casey Fien, RHP

Fien is inked in as the setup man presently, and if Perkins were to experience a setback, he'd be first in line to fill the closer role. Fien saw a few key numbers drop last season, causing his xFIP to rise to 3.87 from 2.71 in 2013, but he also added almost two full miles per hour to his average fastball velocity. He's been throwing hard and getting very good results in spring training.

Brian Duensing, LHP

Entering his seventh season with the Twins, Duensing is in line to be the bullpen's foremost lefty specialist, and it's a role for which he is well suited. In his career, he has held same-sided batters to a .233/.277/.322 slash line, and last year those numbers checked in at .242/.282/.305. Hopefully Paul Molitor can limit his exposure against righties.

Tim Stauffer, RHP

It's been a rocky spring so far for the veteran, but with a guaranteed $2.2 million contract, he's in as long as he's healthy. The Twins have ruled him out of the rotation race, so he'll be in the bullpen. He's likely to be a guy who will be called upon frequently to pitch multiple innings, with perhaps the occasional spot start as needed -- a la Anthony Swarzak. I don't think he really has the stuff to be an impact late-inning arm.

That leaves three spots in a seven-man pen. Two of them are pretty close to being penciled in, though not quite as certain as the above four.

Caleb Thielbar, LHP

Thielbar is almost a lock, because I think Molitor will want to have multiple lefties at his disposal; Perkins doesn't really count as he's obviously not a match-up guy. Still, Thielbar hasn't had the greatest spring, allowing 10 hits in five innings, and the coaching staff might have confidence in some of the right-handers in the mix to get lefty bats out. Still, he seems very likely.

Tommy Milone, LHP/Mike Pelfrey, RHP

Whoever loses out in the fifth starter competition probably ends up in the bullpen as a long reliever, capable of being stretched out to join the rotation when a need arises. Ryan has stated strongly that he prefers Pelfrey as a starter, citing the veteran's preparation routine as one reason, so Milone is the leading candidate. Asked about the possibility of a relief role earlier this week, Milone sounded open to the idea: "Wherever they want me to go, I'm going to trust what they want to do and go with it." (If you're wondering whether the southpaw Milone's presence in the bullpen could make Thielbar more expendable, that's possible, but Milone has actually allowed a higher OPS against lefties than righties in his career.)

Short of a surprise with one of the names above, that leaves one opening -- likely a middle relief role. Let's take a look at the remaining contenders, ranked in order of how likely they are to win that final spot from my view…

J.R. Graham, RHP

This year's Rule 5 pick has impressed this spring, flashing surprisingly huge velocity from his smallish frame. The Twins need to keep him on the 25-man roster in order to retain him -- unless they work out a trade with Atlanta -- so there's plenty of incentive to have him rounding out the bullpen if he's healthy and they believe in his ability.

Blaine Boyer, RHP

The veteran was signed to a minor-league deal after coming out of an injury-prompted retirement and playing for San Diego last year. He has a live fastball that draws rave reviews and has looked good in Grapefruit play for the most part. "He's made a nice impression over here, there's no denying that," Paul Molitor said following another strong outing on Friday. "He's making a run for it."

Mark Hamburger, RHP

He's a great story, and while he entered camp as somewhat of a long shot, I keep hearing positive things about him from different people. He was pitching extremely well in his first three spring appearances, striking out six with only one hit allowed in five innings prior to coughing up four earned runs against Baltimore this week. Molitor termed that outing a "little hiccup."

A.J. Achter, RHP

The tall, lanky 26-year-old has somewhat quietly been a tremendous performer in the Twins' minor-league system. Last year he allowed only 44 hits in 72 innings at Rochester, and had a decent September debut for the Twins. Achter has looked good this spring, and he eventually could be quite useful as a guy who can be counted on to get more than three outs, but he has multiple options and I believe he heads back to Rochester.

Stephen Pryor, RHP

Acquired from the Mariners last July in the Kendrys Morales trade, Pryor has big stuff but has always had a hard time throwing strikes. That hasn't been as much an issue this spring but it's tough see the Twins trusting him over some of the names listed above. He could be a factor at some point this season.

Trevor May, RHP

The pitching prospect appears to be behind Milone and Pelfrey in the fifth starter race, and could theoretically latch on in the bullpen, but the Twins have consistently downplayed that idea. They want to keep him acclimated to starting.

Aaron Thompson, LHP

Thompson has had a couple decent seasons at Rochester, and he can get left-handed batters out, but the only way I can see him making the roster is if Duensing or Thielbar gets hurt.

Want to play the role of Twins general manager? Check out our free-to-use "You're The GM" offseason tool and build your own Twins roster!