Seth Stohs

It appears that the polarizing Twins topic of the first ten days of spring training is the Twins bullpen. There are many who believe that the Twins messed up by not adding more veteran relief pitchers to major league contracts during the offseason. I’m firmly on the opposite side of that argument. I believe that the Twins took a good, calculated risk that Joel Zumaya could actually stay healthy in 2012. If that happened, they could have a difference-maker in the bullpen. As it turned out, his spring training was short and thanks to a torn UCL, his season is already over. As soon as Zumaya was hurt, many fans wanted the Twins to respond instantly by acquiring a proven, veteran bullpen arm. The one difference-making bullpen option that may be available would be Rangers’ righty Koji Uehara, but he will make $4+ million in 2012 and has a no trade clause that he has already used. The Twins have 32 pitchers in big league camp. Taking out the starting pitchers and the four relievers who are all but guaranteed a big league spot (Capps, Perkins, Swarzak, Duensing), and up to 21 players are vying for the remaining four spots. 11 of those are non-roster free agents. My opinion is that the organization has about a month to see if they can fill the three remaining bullpen positions from that group of 21. Here is a quick look at that list: On 40 Man Roster: Alex Burnett (24), Terry Doyle (26 - Rule 5 Pick), Jeff Gray (30), Deolis Guerra (21), Carlos Gutierrez (25), Matt Maloney (28), Jeff Manship (27), Lester Oliveros (23), Tyler Robertson (24), Kyle Waldrop (26). Non-Roster Invites: Jason Bulger (33), Jared Burton (30), Samuel Deduno (28), Phil Dumatrait (30), Casey Fien (28), Luis Perdomo (26), Aaron Thompson (25), Daryl Thompson (26), Esmerling Vasquez (27), PJ Walters (26), Brendan Wise (26). Some fans will choose to say that these guys either are not good enough, not ready, or that they were available to the Twins as minor league free agents because no one else wanted them. Some might say that some are too old to succeed at this point. Some will say that Pitcher X can’t succeed because we have seen too much of them. Others will say that Pitcher Y can’t pitch, in part, because we haven’t seen them and we know nothing about them other than they became available because another team let them go. Let me take you back through a little bit of Twins history. Specifically, let’s take a look at some of the Twins bullpen arms from the last decade, but also looking back a little further. Matt Guerrier came to the Twins after the Pirates placed him on waivers in November of 2003. He was coming off of a 2003 season in AAA Nashville in which he went 4-6 with a 4.53 ERA and just 78 strikeouts in 105.1 innings. The Twins were able to send him to Rochester in 2004, but out of options, he had to make the Twins roster in 2005, and he did. He made the team as the last bullpen arm, and gradually gaining the confidence of the coaching staff to use him in key, late inning situations. He was overused in 2008 and posted a 5.19 ERA. Many fans wanted him let go, but they brought him back and he had two more terrific seasons in the back of the Twins bullpen. [ATTACH=CONFIG]225[/ATTACH] Dennys Reyes came to the Twins before the 2006 season. In 2005, he posted a 5.15 ERA in San Diego. In 2004, he posted a 4-8 record with a 4.75 ERA in Kansas City. In 2003, he spent time with Pittsburgh and Arizona and posted an ERA over 10 with both teams. In 2002, he posted a 6.38 ERA in Texas. So, who would have expected him to, at age 29, go 5-0 with a 0.89 ERA in 66 games with the Twins. He spent two more seasons in the Twins and went a combined 10-1 with a 2.14 ERA in 126.1 innings. “Everyday” Eddie Guardado is one of the best left-handed relievers in Twins history. He was a failed starter. In 1993 and 1994, he combined to go 18-34 with a 5.22 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Once moved to the bullpen, he proved himself and eventually moved into the closer’s role. LaTroy Hawkins is another failed starter. Even after moving to the bullpen, it took him a couple of years to grasp the concept. From 1995 through 2001, he went 29-54 with a 5.78 ERA. Then in his final two seasons with the Twins (2002-2003), he was one of the best set up men in baseball. He combined to go 15-3 with a 2.00 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in 157.2 innings. JC Romero went 3-11 with ERAs of 7.02 and 6.23 in 2000 and 2001, respectively. In 2002, he posted a 1.89 ERA in 81 games out of the Twins bullpen. Not all relievers come into the big leagues and dominate right away like Jesse Crain, Juan Rincon and Pat Neshek did. Of course, each of those three has also lived the up and down nature of being a relief pitcher in the big leagues. And sometimes, all you need is a guy to come in and have one good year. Check out these examples: Tony Fiore came to the Twins in May of 2001 after being released by the Devil Rays days earlier. In fact, the Twins had signed him almost exactly two years earlier and sent him to AAA. The Twins released him after the 1999 season. In 18 big league games in 2000 and 2001 with the Devil Rays and Twins, he posted a 7.30 ERA in 24.2 innings. He allowed 30 hits, walked 12 and struck out 16. Then somehow, he went 10-3 with a 3.16 ERA with the Twins in 2002. The Twins claimed lefty Craig Breslow off of waivers from Cleveland midseason in 2008. He had previously been released by Milwaukee, San Diego and Boston. The then-27 year old posted 1.63 ERA in 42 games with the Twins the remainder of that season. Let’s go all the way back to the 1991 Twins World Series championship team. He had previously posted an 8.25 ERA with the White Sox in 1988. He was let go by the White Sox, Angels and Indians before signing with the Twins. The 30 year old (in 1991) went 8-3 with a 2.63 ERA for the Twins in 89 innings. In 1992, he posted a 2.72 ERA in 79.1 innings for the Twins. In 1993, he posted a 3.10 ERA in 58 innings for the Twins. Last offseason, the Twins needed some pitchers to step up for the Twins in their bullpen. One pitcher did that. Glen Perkins posted 2.48 ERA in 61.2 innings out of the Twins bullpen. He was easily the Twins top pitcher despite the fact that most fans wanted him to be released after a couple of disastrous seasons. Most of these guys’ success occurred after players had turned 27 or 28 years old. When I see guys who have had big league success like Jared Burton and Jason Bulger brought in on minor league deals, I think it is exciting. Hard-throwers like Vasquez, Perdomo and Deduno are certainly at least intriguing. Youngsters like Alex Burnett and Lester Oliveros warrant some patience. A guy like Kyle Waldrop has put in his time in the minors and earned an opportunity in the big leagues. His ground ball rates are incredible. Brendan Wise is an Australian who hasn’t played in the big leagues but who profiles a lot like Waldrop. Carlos Gutierrez needs to stay healthy, but the hard thrower in another ground ball machine. Deolis Guerra is still the youngest player on the Twins 40 man roster and has a tremendous changeup and his numbers after moving to the bullpen last year were great. Jeff Manship profiles very much like Matt Guerrier. They throw with the same velocity, same control, same changeup and curveballs that are often described as the best in the organization. Unfortunately Manship was hurt last year, but he comes into spring training healthy and should perform. Two guys that seemingly have been forgotten but are not gone from the Twins could also factor into the Twins bullpen later in the season. Anthony Slama and David Bromberg were both removed from the 40 man roster and outrighted to Rochester. Neither was even invited to big league camp, but Slama has put up some of the best minor league bullpen numbers that we’ve seen in recent years. Bromberg will likely start the season as a starter, but cold be a bullpen arm to consider later in the season. Listen, I’ll be the first person to tell you that the Twins bullpen was a mess in 2011. I will also say that of the Twins biggest question marks coming into the 2012 season, the bullpen is atop that list. But based on an organizational history of giving guys opportunities to move up and contribute, I’m at the very least intrigued by some interesting roster and non-roster bullpen possibilities. I’m willing to get to the end of March before considering looking for a trade.

I was wondering. I noticed I hadn't seen him around Target Field. I did see him at Twins Fest with the helmet.

It's interesting that so many have opinions on some of these Twins minor league free agents. Even though Fien got a little time with the Tigers a couple years ago, I fully admit that I don't know much about him. It's possible he could be a legit bullpen candidate. We primarily talk about Jared Burton and Jason Bulger, but some of these other guys who don't know could break out.

If Gutierrez can throw a few more strikes, he's got a good chance to be a solid big league reliever, I think. If he is able to perfect and control that cutter he's allegedly been working on, he could be really good! He's very talented! Missed over a month with arm injuries though last year. Hopefully he'll stay healthy this year too.

They'll work more on the bullpen mounds. They'll get their work in. It's really about getting out on the mound against other hitters, airing it out a little bit. Someone like Baker may only throw FB. It's highly unlikely that there will be any 3-8 pitch innings. Next time out, starters will go two innings, and maybe even jump up to 40 pitches.

I have to assume that BCTF's comment was doused heavily in some sarcasm... The purpose of b-games is just this. Lots of players and lots of pitchers need to get work.

There is no media, although some of the Twins and Red Sox media will certainly be in attendance and tweeting. It's technically just a scrimmage. I posted the lineups in the Game Threads to be fun!

I just think "Once a Century" should be reserved for guys like Albert Pujols or Greg Maddux.... And even there I named two guys in a century (unless you say Maddux was the one for the 1900s, although maybe Babe Ruth might get that one too, and Pujols for the century of the 2000s). And, the Twins won 79 games in 2007, the last year with Santana and Hunter. They then won 88 games the following year, then 87, then 94. (granted, before the 79 win 2007 season, the team had gone over .500 six straight years, and won 90+ four out of five years).

A wonderful start!!

What I think would be best for the Wolves organization would be to try to just miss the playoffs, get back into the lottery and get that #1 overall pick! I think that would be good!

Thanks to mlb.com's Rhett Bollinger, we have the starting lineup (not the batting order) for the Twins scrimmage on Thursday against the Red Sox. Pitchers will include Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Liam Hendriks, Jeff Manship, Jason Bulger, Carlos Gutierrez, Tyler Robertson, Brendan Wise and Deolis Guerra. In the field, the starters will be, "catcher J.R. Towles, first baseman Aaron Bates, second baseman Pedro Florimon, third baseman Ray Chang, shortstop Brian Dozier, left fielder Ben Revere, center fielder Joe Benson, right fielder Rene Tosoni and designated hitter Brian Dinkelman." We're getting close!

For Baseball, it may be good to keep a team or two in playoff contention and they'll get one more game to get revenues from. But I don't like it. I'm all about the 162 game schedule, and I don't think Best of 5 or Best of 7 series mean a lot, so I'm definitely not a fan of one-and-done. I do like that winnning the division does give some advantage.

Jack - The 'realties' are things from the past. There are no 'realities' about the future, only opinions which can be optimistic, pessamistic or somewhere in between. (I did enjoy the TWO players that come along ONCE in a century comment though!) I'm fine with people's rights to "call out the front office for not spending like other clubs" but a $100 million payroll is not low. It's middle of the pack and maybe slightly on the higher than average side (I'm not looking it up, but I recall hearing that). I actually agree with your first paragraph. Those are realities. Bue there are no "realities" or "certainties" about the 2012 season and there won't be until it gets rolling for awhile. At this point, they're all predictions or projections based on opinion. You choose to go with the negative opinion all the time. I'm going to choose to give some leeway and benefit of the doubt and let guys get some time and opportunity before going to the negative side.

That is one of the cooler things I've read. Very nice!

Good blog, Nick! I'm with you 100% Payroll isn't a direct link to win, as you mentioned, we need look no further than 2011 Twins. Take Mauer and Morneau's contracts at a combined $37 million, and Ryan has $63 million to put together the other 22-23 players on the roster. I'll take my chances, for sure.

Well stated, Mr. Crikket!!

That was a fun show! It was interesting hearing Bates talk about getting his big league promotion with the Red Sox, and how much he has enjoyed being in the Twins organization and his willingness to move around the diamond to get another opportunity in the big leagues. Tony Davis talked about the injury that cost him half of his 2011 season and how the rehab went. He talked about his pitches and his goals for 2012. Minnesota native, former Gopher, and 2011 Twins draft pick AJ Pettersen talked about Twins Fest, working out in Minnesota winters, and what he's looking forward to with spring training starting a week from today. All three of those guys understand the importance of fans and are great with such interaction. You'll also want to listen to the complete discussion with Troy Larson and check out his Twins blog. Any feedback is welcomed! Again, you can listen to the show by clicking here.

Starting at 9:00 Central time tonight, listen live to this week's Twins podcast. The guests on tonight include Twins minor leaguers Aaron Bates, Tony Davis, and AJ Pettersen. We'll then talk Twins topics with Twins blogger Troy Larson from Troy's Twins Dugout (http://troystwinsdugout.wordpress.com/). The Chat Room is open so be sure to get your questions in, and the show will start soon. Listen Live (or download later) here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jack-steal/2012/02/29/sethspeaksnet-weekly-minnesota-twins-podcast. Feedback and Questions welcome!

And, Tony is ready to be on tonight's SethSpeaks.net Weekly Twins Podcast (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jack-steal/2012/02/29/sethspeaksnet-weekly-minnesota-twins-podcast)... Listen Live at 9 CST!!!

Um... I'm pretty sure that after spending time the last two years in New Britain, Tony isn't planning any Beloit trips this season!

I've got to be honest. Maybe I'm wrong. But I would like to see what Kyle Waldrop can do, given an opportunity. I'd like to see what Doyle can do. Just because Anthony Swarzak hasn't pitched much in 7th or 8th innings doesn't mean he can't and certainly doesn't mean he shouldn't be given an opportunity. Bulger's three years before the injury were as good as any of the guys that keep being brought up that the Twins should have signed.

My predictions aren't necessarily what I would do, but what I would guess/predict will happen. JeffK- my only disagreement with you is that none of the three have any upside, including Towles.

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