Make Or Break Players On The 2025 Twins: Kody Funderburk

The potential success of the 2025 Twins’ season largely rests on the shoulders of its best players, and it’s those players that provide a very solid floor for the team to win 70 or more games. It’s the contributions of the role players that elevate any team from a fringe competitive team to a team vying for a playoff spot and division title. Funderburk is one of two southpaw relievers on the 40-man roster and 2025 may be a make or break season for him.

What Went Wrong in 2024?
Funderburk was very effective in 24 of his relief appearances in 2024. Unfortunately, he made 27 total appearances. Nearly half of his earned runs last season came in those three appearances. The three ineffective outings inflated his overall line to a 4.55 FIP with a poor 10.6% strikeout minus walk rate and an elevated home run rate. Other than a four earned run outing on May 5th, Funderburk was well on his way to establishing himself as a very reliable big-league reliever two months into the 2024 season.

Then, on May 28th, he was optioned to St. Paul in favor of veteran Diego Castillo. His peripherals in St. Paul were very good which led to him being recalled on June 21st. After another stretch of effective appearances, Funderburk’s pitch velocities and spin rates dropped considerably in back-to-back appearances on July 8th and 12th. While a link between injury and those data points has never been publicly confirmed, it may explain why he wasn’t used for nine days and placed on the injured list with a left oblique strain which effectively ended his season.

It’s not unusual for a reliever's stats to be heavily inflated by just a few appearances so, aside from staying healthy, there is little reason to be overly concerned with his ability to make an impact for the Twins in 2025, even if he finds himself with the Saints to start the season.

What Can Go Right in 2025?
Although we have a fairly limited sample of just 46 2/3 big-league innings across 38 appearances, Funderburk has been a very good reliever outside of the three aforementioned outings. He’s an extreme groundball pitcher who has excelled in generating weak contact, so there is little reason to worry about his home run rate from 2024. Moreover, he’s been serviceable against both left and right-handed hitters, but particularly effective against lefties due to having three pitches with above average movement.

 His slider features some of the best glove-side movement in baseball and devastated his left-handed counterparts with a 46.5% whiff rate and 90.2 mile-per-hour average exit velocity. While righties don’t whiff on the pitch nearly as often, they’re also susceptible to weak contact and had a .241 batting average against in 2024.

His sinker, used almost exclusively against left-handers, is another offering with good movement. However, opponents handled the pitch fairly well in 2024, posting a .422 wOBA (for what it’s worth, it was .058 in 2023). Again, it’s important to remember we’re dealing with pretty small sample sizes here. When he gets his opportunity, projection models like the 28-year-old to be an above average reliever in 2025. That seems quite reasonable considering his arsenal and the depth of the Twins bullpen that should allow for Rocco Baldelli to use his relievers in the positions that make them the most successful.

How Will This Impact the Twins?
You may have noticed that I previously suggested that Funderburk’s impact may not happen “right away” in 2025. This is due to the bullpen only having two or three open spots for about five competing arms, and if we read the tea leaves from Baldelli’s first interviews from camp, we get an idea of how things may shake out.

While answering a question regarding recently-acquired southpaw Danny Coulombe, the Twins skipper said “We have a [need for a left-handed reliever] to fill out our roster. And I have longer term hopes that Kody Funderburk can also do some of those things too.”

Coulombe’s spot on the active roster was never up for debate, so it’s not surprising to hear Baldelli talk about him filling that spot on the roster. What may be a little surprising is the phrase “longer-term hopes” that seems to indicate Funderburk is likely to start the year with the Saints before he gets his first opportunities in season. Regardless, as Twins’ fans are all too familiar with, injuries and poor performance will come and when they do Funderburk likely represents one of the first bullpen arms to get recalled.

While the Twins' success in 2025 hinges on the performance of their star players, the contributions of role players like Kody Funderburk will be crucial in determining how far they can go. Funderburk's 2024 season was marred by a few disastrous outings and an injury, obscuring his underlying potential. If Funderburk can recapture his form and stay healthy, he has the potential to be a difference-maker for the Twins, solidifying their bullpen and contributing to a successful campaign.

What are your thoughts on Funderburk entering 2025? How about Baldelli’s comments? Join the conversation in the comments!