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Although Derek Falvey brought in Josh Staumont on a major league deal, and acquired Steven Okert through a trade for Nick Gordon, the Minnesota Twins also cycled through some waiver claims. Ryan Jensen was among those, but it has been Daniel Duarte that has stood out during Spring Training.
The 27-year-old Duarte was claimed off of waivers from the Texas Rangers at the beginning of February. Having spent time in the Kansas City Royals system prior to making a debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 2022, it was last season that he got significant big-league run. Across 31 2/3 innings for the Reds, Duarte posted a 3.69 ERA. That’s where the good numbers stopped though as he struggled with command, didn’t generate strikeouts, gave up a ton of walks, and was hurt by the longball.
Clearly Minnesota saw something they liked though, and being able to keep him in the rotation while removing him from the 40-man roster was a nice come-up. Similar to last spring when Brock Stewart, Danny Coulombe, and Jeff Hoffman were vying for bullpen spots, Duarte is looking to crack a much better group. Of course, the Twins made a poor decision in allowing Coulombe and Hoffman to walk, but they saw Stewart become a high-leverage arm for Rocco Baldelli’s bullpen.
The Twins should be expected to have among baseball’s best bullpens this year, and that may mean arms like Cole Sands and Jorge Alcala could start out in Triple-A. Duarte is a run below them, but his performance this spring has definitely stood out. Through his first five innings he had faced 17 batters and allowed just a pair of hits. His 7/0 K/BB was impressive, and a much better show of command than he had shown a year ago. On Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays he finally suffered his first setback. Brandon Lowe tagged the Twins reliever for a homer, but the second run only scored on a bloop single.
There was never a reason to bet on Duarte cracking Baldelli’s group out of the gate as there just aren’t enough spots to go around. Rather than being jettisoned after Grapefruit League action though, his final option could be used to stash him with the Saints. He’d get a longer leash to establish what he has shown this spring, and working in a group with the aforementioned depth could prop up his value.
Most of the offseason pitching talk regarded the Twins needing to replace both Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda’s production from 2023. The hope would be that Chris Paddack and Anthony DeSclafani can do that, but the depth behind them may be tested early. Taking some pressure away from the rotation is something that can be accomplished by a lights out bullpen, and if Duarte can become part of a group that’s reliable in St. Paul, then the waiver claim would be another nice development for the organization.
Minnesota can use spring training as a launching pad for Duarte, and if the success continues in St. Paul, while still throwing 95 mph, he should find his way back to the big leagues. The Twins have made a habit of building bullpens without spending much money, and being able to get the most out of otherwise overlooked assets is a good way to accomplish that.
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- Oldgoat_MN, arby58, nclahammer and 4 others
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