Life After Jhoan Duran: Sizing Up the Spring Closer Competition

For the better part of the last few seasons, the Minnesota Twins did not have to think very hard about how they were going to finish games. When a lead made it to the ninth inning, the ball went to Jhoan Duran, and the rest of the league usually understood what came next.

Duran developed into one of baseball’s most dominant closers thanks to his overpowering fastball and splinker combination that made even elite hitters look overmatched. He brought consistency to a bullpen that had spent years searching for a true shutdown presence. When he took the mound in save situations, there was a level of calm that had been missing in Minnesota for a long time. That stability is now gone.

At last year’s trade deadline, the Twins made the difficult decision to part ways with Duran, along with Griffin Jax and Louis Varland. All three had experience pitching in high-leverage roles, and any one of them could have entered spring training as the favorite to close games in 2026. Instead, Minnesota will attempt to piece together the ninth inning with a mix of veteran reclamation projects and internal arms looking to take the next step.

LHP Taylor Rogers
Minnesota signed Rogers to a one-year, $2 million deal, but that does not mean the left-hander cannot provide value in the closer role to begin the season. In fact, it probably makes the most sense for the Twins to lean on his experience early in the year, given the number of other lefties projected to make the bullpen, like Kody Funderburk and Anthony Banda.

On a recent episode of Inside Twins, Rogers spoke about the adjustments he has made later in his career to rely more on sequencing and pitchability as his velocity has dipped. He also mentioned that new bullpen coach LaTroy Hawkins has been a valuable resource when it comes to finding ways to extend a reliever’s career and remain effective in high-leverage spots. Rogers seems to have the inside track to the closer role, but he’s told Twins manager Derek Shelton that he must earn the spot.

RHP Liam Hendriks
Hendriks has been one of the best closers of his generation, but the reality is that he has thrown fewer than 20 innings over the last three seasons. Since 2022, Hendriks has dealt with seemingly constant adversity, beginning with a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that offseason, which delayed his 2023 debut until May 29. He was only able to make five appearances that year before suffering an elbow injury that ultimately required Tommy John surgery.

“[He’s a] veteran guy that people speak so highly of in the game in terms of who he is as a human being,” Shelton said. “Obviously, he’s had some challenges in his life over the last couple years. Just talking about the person, [we're] excited to add him into that group.”

If Hendriks can rediscover anything close to his previous form, he could quickly move to the front of the closer conversation.

RHP Cole Sands
Sands might possess the highest upside of anyone currently projected to make the Twins’ bullpen. However, he also seems like a candidate to slide into the fireman role that Jax occupied in recent seasons, which takes him out of the full-time closer conversation.

Minnesota may prefer to keep Sands flexible enough to enter during the middle innings to escape a jam or bridge the gap to one of the more traditional ninth-inning options. He has been working on adding a gyro slider that could help neutralize left-handed hitters more consistently.

“So the big idea here is just try and put lefties away," Sands told reporters this past week. "And that's kind of where the gyro came into play. And we're always going to continue to push all, you know, all these pitches to try and execute lefties as well as I [do against] righties.”

RHP Justin Topa
Topa arrived in the Jorge Polanco trade after a breakout season with the Mariners that saw him post a 152 ERA+ and a 3.15 FIP. He has recorded a handful of saves throughout his career, which gives him at least some credibility in late-inning situations. However, his 18.3 K% last season suggests his skill set is better suited for a setup role. Minnesota will need reliable right-handed options throughout the year, which should still allow Topa to carve out meaningful opportunities even if they do not come in the ninth inning.

Dark Horse Candidates David Festa and Connor Prielipp
Festa and Prielipp are both expected to begin the year building starter workloads, but the reality is that each comes with injury concerns, and the Triple-A rotation is likely to be crowded. Both pitchers feature electric arsenals that have allowed them to succeed as starters in the minors.

Limiting their pitch mix in shorter bullpen stints could unlock additional velocity and give Minnesota another potential late-inning weapon. The organization has already seen how that transition can work with pitchers like Jax, Varland, and Sands in recent seasons.

Replacing a talent like Duran is not something that can be done with a single move. The Twins are not just searching for someone who can collect saves but for someone who can bring a sense of stability to the bullpen’s most important moments. That responsibility could shift month to month depending on performance and health.

There is also value in keeping the role fluid early in the season. Locking in a closer on Opening Day might provide clarity, but it could also limit the Twins’ ability to deploy their best relievers in the highest leverage spots, regardless of inning. Minnesota has leaned into that philosophy at times over the last few years and may now be forced to embrace it more fully.

Ultimately, this bullpen will look very different from the one that opened last season. New opportunities often create unexpected outcomes, and the Twins will be hoping that one of these veterans or emerging internal options can seize the ninth inning and make it their own.

If that happens, Minnesota might not completely replicate what Duran provided at the back end of games, but they could still find a path toward building their next trusted late-inning presence.

Who should be the team’s closer on Opening Day? Who will have the most saves for the Twins in 2026? Leave a comment and start the discussion.