Twins Sign Reliever Josh Staumont

Since Derek Falvey and Thad Levine took over the Minnesota Twins front office, spending on relievers isn’t something that has been part of the plan. Addison Reed represented the only significant financial commitment, and no other reliever had ever earned a multi-year deal. In signing Josh Staumont, they don’t deviate from that process, and his one-year deal won’t represent a significant splash on the bottom line coming in at just under $1 million.

Staumont is a familiar name for Minnesota as he has spent the entirety of his five year career with the Kansas City Royals. A former 2nd round pick in the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft, he has thrown more than 38 innings just once in a single season. The standout year for the righty came back in 2021, and that is certainly what the Twins hope to unlock.

Last season Staumont underwent surgery to repair his thoracic outlet syndrome issue. That may sound familiar as it is the same procedure former Minnesota start Phil Hughes underwent. Matt Harvey would be another high profile arm to have dealt with the same issue. Staumont is younger at just 30-years-old, but the track record for players bouncing back can vary wildly. The Washington Post's Jesse Dougherty wrote about thoracic outlet surgery and how the cases can be substantially different depending on the procedure. Vascular surgery, which is what Merrill Kelly underwent, has a much higher success rate than the neurogenic procedure, which is what all but ended Stephen Strasburg.

Looking at Staumont’s production, there is certainly something to dream on here. He has a career strikeout rate in the double-digits, and when right, the stuff sits in the upper-90’s. At his best in 2021, he owned a manageable 3.7 BB/9. Over the past two seasons though, he owns a 6.09 ERA and a 6.6 BB/9 to water down the 10.5 K/9. The Twins are clearly dreaming on the 4.08 FIP and avoidance of homers as a reason to believe they can turn him around.

The back end of Minnesota’s bullpen is largely set. Jhoan Duran isn’t going anywhere as their closer, and Griffin Jax pairs with Brock Stewart and Caleb Thielbar as high-leverage arms. But there is plenty of uncertainty at the bottom end of the group, and Minnesota needs to replace the production that departed in the form of Emilio Pagan going to Cincinnati.

It remains to be seen if Louie Varland will transition back to the starting rotation, but Staumont could represent a final arm to round out the group, allowing someone like Cole Sands a bit more time at Triple-A. Betting on a pitcher to come back smoothly from thoracic outlet surgery isn’t a great proposition, but Minnesota was able to reclaim Stewart’s stuff after he had dealt with arm issues for the entirety of his career.

Upside is what the Twins are banking on in signing Staumont, and with a depressed payroll, finding players that can outperform their deals is important. This is the type of deal Minnesota has typically done at the back end of their offseason to round out the shopping list, but it’s a good starting point to head into 2024. Relief help wasn’t necessarily at the top of the list, but you can never have enough arms to reach the finish line.

Last season the Twins only acquired Dylan Floro at the trade deadline, and Jorge Lopez wound up being a train wreck. Planning some early depth in relief is a much better option. Expect for there to be some minor league deals with invites to spring training completed as well, and the hope would be that the next Stewart can be unearthed. They already reunited with A.J. Alexy on that front. If the Twins get it right, they’ll hang onto whoever the 2024 versions of Danny Coulombe and Jeff Hoffman are as well.

Maybe this first move will be the one that springs Minnesota into a flurry of moves to start the new year.