Matthew Lenz

Image courtesy of © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Yoendrys Gómez was claimed off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays in early May, and since arriving in Minnesota, he has been sensational. Through 16 appearances, he owns a 0.64 ERA (2.25 FIP), and eight holds plus saves while allowing just one earned run in 14 innings. Those numbers would be impressive for anyone, but are even more so given the backstory of Gómez, who is now with his fifth organization in just over a year. Before landing with the Twins, he went from the New York Yankees to the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Chicago White Sox to the Tampa Bay Rays. Three of those teams have excellent reputations for pitching development and acquisitional acuity, but that's not exactly a trajectory that screams “high-leverage reliever". However, that's what he's become since donning the navy and red. His time in Tampa was rough. He posted a 6.23 ERA across 17 1/3 innings, with a 13:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The command seemed to be the culprit; the "stuff" was always there. This is precisely what the Twins saw when nobody else did—or at least, what the Twins have been able to unlock, partially thanks to the others running out of patience with the project. To understand why Gómez has been baffling hitters, you have to start with his sweeper. The pitch sits at 84 miles per hour and has generated an elite 39.3% whiff rate. The shape and spin rates seem to be pretty similar to previous season. Instead of those characteristics transforming, it's been a change in pitch mix that has unlocked Gómez’s next level. It's become his second-most-leaned-on offering and his go-to pitch in two-strike counts. What makes the pitch especially dangerous is how it pairs with his fastball. Gómez’s four-seamer runs at 95 miles per hour, which on its own would be a solid offering. But when you stack it with a sweeper with glove side-run and a sinker with arm-side run, hitters face a serious problem. He’s able to tunnel the three offerings, meaning opposing batters have a hard time identifying each. By the time the break of the sweeper (or sinker) happens, it's too late to adjust. While the sinker hasn't been nearly as effective, opponents have a combined sub-.200 batting average against the other two offerings. He rounds out his arsenal with a cutter at 91 miles per hour (less glove-side action than the sweeper) and keeps hitters guessing by mixing in a changeup 2.4 percent of the time. That is four distinct weapons, which gives Gómez the ability to attack hitters differently at every count and in every situation. The sweeper is the headliner, but the depth of his arsenal is what makes him a legitimate weapon out of the bullpen. The Twins have leaned on Gómez heavily, and he has been one of the more reliable arms in the bullpen. As much as Twins fans can grumble about the player development on the offensive side of the ball, Minnesota identified the stuff and acquired one of their most valuable bullpen pieces for “cash considerations.” His overall 2026 ERA across both teams has dropped from 6.23 with Tampa to 3.73. In Minnesota alone, the numbers look like those of an elite high-leverage reliever. The question worth asking at this point is whether Gómez can sustain the success over a larger sample. There's no doubt he’ll get that opportunity in 2026, but with five additional years of team control, we could be looking at the Twins' next great closer. Have the Twins found a diamond in the rough? Let us know what you think in the comments. View full article

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