Tom Froemming

Image courtesy of © Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images The philosophy behind starting pitching usage has dramatically changed over the past few decades, but relief roles are more or less the same. There are starters you hope can at least give you five innings, relievers who go one inning (maybe two once in a blue moon) and basically nothing in between. The 2026 Twins should explore that area in between. A Near Change of Course Once upon a time, it appeared the Twins were going to start to break free from the restraints of the modern pitching staff. Back in November of 2021, former Twins GM Thad Levine said this: “I think with the challenge comes opportunity. We’re going to be as creative as we can be in terms of not being necessarily hemmed into the notion of it has to look exactly the way it has always looked. We may end up looking at this from the lens of how many multi-inning guys can we add to a staff and how far does that take us?” Nick Nelson reacted to that news here at Twins Daily at the time, and some goofball named Tom’s his thoughts in the comments: “Some team is going to do it eventually. Once one finds a way to get it right, I think it won't be long before this is just normal … There's been a lot of exploration in the big leagues the past decade but it's still pretty paint-by-numbers when it comes to bullpen/reliever usage.” So What Happened? The situation changed from winter, when Levine made those comments, to spring. The Twins bullpen stunk in 2021 and they were coming off an 89-loss season. It was easy for the Twins front office to see a tough road ahead. Then Jhoan Duran returned from missing most of the 2021 season, converted into a bullpen role during spring and completely dominated (salute to the 2022 Sire of Fort Myers). Griffin Jax, who was mostly an afterthought after failing as a starter, also blossomed in a relief role. Those two breakouts and an unexpected 30-21 record through May caused the course to change and the Twins to stick with a conventional approach to the pitching staff. The rotation influenced that decision, as well, with the addition of Sonny Gray and emergence of Joe Ryan. At the time, it was the right call … But What About Now? Thad Levine is long gone but the org should revisit this idea. A glass half-full view of the 2026 Twins is that they’re only two games out of a playoff spot and shouldn’t jeopardize any chance they have by experimenting. A glass half-empty view is that the Twins still have four teams between them and a Wild Card spot, and this pitching staff is currently a hot mess express. To their credit, the Twins have already started tinkering with the recipe they opened the season with. Matt Wallner and Royce Lewis were demoted. Brooks Lee has moved off shortstop. Kody Clemens is … playing some center field!?!?!? Things have also changed on the pitching side, but that’s due to need more than anything. This bullpen was always going to be an adventure, but the rotation being decimated by injury has really fudged the overall pitching formula. Navigating this current pitching staff through games may be the most challenging task any manager across baseball faces. Derek Shelton needs an Option C beyond just starting pitchers and primarily single-inning relievers. Enter the Swarzak I’d like to introduce a new stat I’m naming after former Twins great Anthony Swarzak. The elements of a Swarzak: 1) A relief appearance. 2) Of more than two innings (seven or more outs). 3) On fewer than four-days rest. I took to Baseball-Reference’s Stathead search to get some info on how often these outings occur. Through May of this year, there were 127 Swarzaks across the majors, six for the Twins. Meanwhile, Nationals reliever Brad Lord has seven Swarzaks alone. Over the past five seasons, the Twins have totaled 39 Swarzaks. The Giants had 32 of them just in the 2022 season, which is the single season high in that sample. That Giants team had only two pitchers make 20+ starts. It’s easy to envision that also being the case for this 2026 Twins team. Let’s Take a Moment to Remember Some Guys In the Target Field era (since 2010), Anthony Swarzak leads not only all Twins in this metric dedicated to him, but all of baseball. Swarzak had 39 Swarzaks and the second-place Swarzaker had 30 (T.J. McFarland ). Swarzak’s single-season high was 12, which he accomplished twice and is one off from the single-season record from this period. The Minnesota Twins all-time (since 1961) leader in Swarzaks is Bill Campbell with 62 and nobody else even has 50. The other guys with 40+ are Senor Smoke Juan Berenguer with 48, Tom Burgmeier with 46 and Mike Trombley with 45. Campbell also holds the single-season Twins record with 29 Swarzaks in 1976. I was shocked it wasn’t Mike Marshall, who had “only” 16 Swarzaks for the 1979 Twins. So, there’s a good case this stat should be called a Cambell instead, but that doesn’t have the same ring to it. Challenges of Building a Bullpen with Multiple Swarzaks 1. Leverage. If you use one of your arms in a Swarzak, he’s not going to be available for a few games. Having a paint-by-numbers bullpen makes things incredibly simple for a manager. Trying to play jazz with it is sketchy and creates opportunities for second-guessing. For me, this concern blows up any notion of completely eliminating roles or general usage expectations. I think a bullpen still needs at least four arms reserved for higher-leverage work and almost exclusively throw single innings. That way, you have those guys ready to deploy when you need them the most. 2. Adoption and implementation. This one is a distant second, but everybody would need to be on board. The front office, manager/coaching staff and players would need to be on the same page about this approach. For some guys, disrupting the rhythm and predictability of their current role is not going to go over well, at least at first. 3. Deviation is dangerous. If this strategy is implemented and fails, everyone is eventually getting fired. There’s a reason why nobody has really given this strategy a try, and I don’t think it’s because teams have universally determined it’s not going to work. So Where Does That Leave Us? I still feel strongly that a team is eventually going to build a staff with a bunch of Swarzaks and become trendsetters. It just might not work out the first time it’s attempted. Don’t expect this revolution to come from a contending or high-payroll team. This is going to come from a forward-thinking team with a zig when everyone else is zagging mentality. It’s easy to think of the Tampa Bay Rays in that regard, and they have produced a number of Swarzak-type guys. But why not us? Jeremy Zoll isn’t even supposed to be at this stage of his career. As a guy not even in his 40s yet, he figures to have a long career in baseball ahead of him even if things eventually turn sour here. Derek Shelton might be on his last legs as a manager, and he’s painted into a corner with this current pitching staff. Why not experiment? What’s there to lose right now? Joe Ryan, Taj Bradley and Zebby Matthews figure to be good sources of innings, but we’re already seeing Connor Prielipp struggle to hold up to the demands of pitching on a Major League starter’s schedule. Mick Abel is working his way back, but they’ll want to handle him carefully. The same can be said about Bailey Ober, Kendry Rojas and David Festa whenever they return from the IL. The Twins Are Already Experimenting John Klein and Mike Paredes are among the faces of a new strategy the Twins have been tinkering with down on the farm. A few pitchers are regularly throwing four innings (or at least that’s the intention) every four days. These are still primarily starting pitchers, allowing for them to work on a schedule as if they were in a traditional rotation rather than an unstructured mop-up type role. This approach has well-positioned those arms to become Swarzaks. It’s starting to appear that Marco Raya, C.J. Culpepper and Alejandro Hidalgo may start ramping up in similar roles with the Saints, as well. But What Would This New Pitching Staff Look Like? If we map things out as the active roster is currently constructed, it’s not going to look all that appealing, to be honest There’s just no way of getting around the reality of the situation. This pitching staff is in trouble, and there is no magic wand. Let’s do it anyway. Here’s how things would look with the current active roster. Traditional starters throwing every fifth game: Joe Ryan, Taj Bradley, Zebby Matthews Starting every sixth game to lighten his load: Connor Prielipp Swarzaks: Andrew Morris, Travis Adams, Mike Paredes, Cody Laweryson Traditional single-inning high-leverage relievers: Yoendrys Gómez, Anthony Banda, Taylor Rogers, Eric Orze, Justin Lawrence, If this strategy were to be implemented, it would probably be wise to drop Justin Lawrence and replace him with another Swarzak-type guy like John Klein, Marco Raya or even the recently acquired Austin Voth. Again, it’s not the prettiest picture, but it’s a way to navigate through a chunk of your schedule when you only have 3 3/4 starting pitchers. Even when some of these guys on the IL return from injury, it’s not as if they’ll be able to provide much length for a while. A fully staffed version of this plan may have Kendry Rojas and David Festa as Swarzaks. Maybe even Bailey Ober would be in that role. Cole Sands would join the high-leverage group and Mick Abel could be on a similar schedule as Prielipp, at least when he first gets back. Conclusion I’m sure most everyone is going to hate this idea, and I get it. It’s fun watching aces pitch deep into games on a regular basis. Those guys are increasingly difficult to find. Rob Manfred would also hate this idea. Aces are marketable. He’s floated out the possibility of implementing rules that would incentivize teams to leave their starters in longer. In the past, MLB had the Atlantic League test out teams losing their DH if their starter didn’t go at least five innings. The Player’s Association would probably hate this idea, too. A lot of the earnings structure for pitchers revolves around starting or throwing innings. This might suppress pitcher salaries to some degree. Heck, I’m sure several of the players and coaches would hate this. Regardless, in the context of the 2026 Minnesota Twins, I think it’s a worthwhile experiment. Long live Anthony Swarzak. View full article

Twins System Recap: The early part of this week was highlighted by some impressive displays of power from Royce Lewis and Matt Wallner on the Saints. Fort Myers continued to get excellent work from their arms out of the 2025 draft class, including Merit Jones, Jason Reitz, Matthew Dalquist, and Justin Mitrovich. Also, Eduardo Tait put me in my place with his big game on Thursday. Info on those performances and more in tonight's recap. View full video

Twins System Recap: A couple of Saints starting pitchers had impressive performances this week. Mike Paredes kept it rolling with five quality innings on the back of his dominant sweeper. Ryan Gallagher topped out at 97 mph while firing five shutout innings. On the hitting side, the big stars were Hendry Mendez, Yasser Mercedes, and 19-year-old Merphy Hernandez. View full video

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Hendry Mendez) TRANSACTIONS IF Harry Genth was assigned to Cedar Rapids from Wichita. OF Kala’i Rosario was activated off Wichita’s injured list. OF Graham Brown was signed as a free agent and joined Fort Myers. He had been playing for the Washington Wild Things of the independent Frontier League. C Ian Daugherty was placed on the developmental list. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Louisville 4 Box Score SP: John Klein (3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K) HR: Kaelen Culpepper (11) Multi-hit games: Hendry Mendez (4-for-4, BB, 2 2B), Matt Wallner (2-for-5, 2 2B) The Saints lineup steadily piled up runs, tacking on a pair in the first, third and sixth innings. Hendry Mendez was a menace. He went 4-for-4 with a walk and a pair of doubles. All four of his batted balls were hard hit, registering exit velos of 104.2 mph, 103.7 mph, 100.6 mph and 95.7 mph. In 17 games with St. Paul, Mendez is hitting .400/.513/.600 (1.113 OPS). He also has more walks (18.8 BB%) than strikeouts (12.5 K%) so far is his first taste of Triple A. The Saints lineup combined to record 11 batted balls hit in excess of 100 mph. Matt Wallner led the way with both of his doubles clocked at 109.1 mph. Wallner and catcher Richardo Olivar had two RBIs each. Kaelen Culpepper led off the game by hitting a low 82 mph curveball out for his 11th home run of the season. He’s hitting .266/.392/.557 (.949 OPS) so far in May. John Klein had a rocky first inning that featured two hits, two walks, a stolen base and a run-scoring wild pitch. After surrendering two runs in that first frame, Klein retired six of the next seven batters he faced. He topped out at 95.8 mph and got 10 swinging strikes on his 60 total pitches. The only two runs the bullpen surrendered were unearned. Grant Hartwig and Cody Laweryson provided an inning each before both Marco Raya and Raul Brito went two frames. Royce Lewis was 0-for-4, was hit by a pitch and drove in a run. WIND SURGE WISDOM Springfield 8, Wichita 5 Box Score SP: Eli Jones (2 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Kyle DeBarge (2-for-5, 2 2B), Jaime Ferrer (2-for-4, 3B, BB) Since this game was delayed and the first pitch wasn’t thrown until after 8 p.m. CT, you just knew the final innings were destined to drag on. Seven of the game’s 13 runs were scored in the final inning and a half. The final out was recorded at 11 p.m. Wichita starter Eli Jones gave up a lot of traffic and surrendered a pair of runs before exiting with an injury in the bottom of the third inning. The Wind Surge could never climb out of that hole. Not only did Kyle DeBarge and Jaime Ferrer carry the offense, but the rest of the lineup struggled to just make contact, going 2-for-21 with 13 strikeouts. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, Quand Cities 8 Box Score SP: Michael Ross (3 1/3 IP, 12 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) HR: Yasser Mercedes (2) Multi-hit games: Yasser Mercedes (2-for-4, HR, BB), Eduardo Tait (2-for-4, 2B, BB), Khadim Diaw (2-for-4, 2B, BB) What a comeback! The Kernels entered the bottom of the ninth inning trailing 8-5. Brandon Winokur provided the spark, leading things off with a walk and then stealing second base. Eduardo Tait capped an eight-pitch at bat by hitting a double into the gap to plate Winokur. Back-to-back singles followed from Khadim Diaw and Yasser Mercedes that brought Tait around to score, putting Cedar Rapids within a run of tying the game. Mercedes stole second to put two runners in scoring position, but Quinn McDaniel went down swinging for the first out of the inning. Next, Jacob McCombs was intentionally walked to load the bases. Rayne Doncon managed to foul off two two-strike pitches in an eight-pitch battle that resulted in him drawing a bases-loaded walk to score the game-tying run. Jay Thomason came up with the opportunity to play the hero, and he was perfect for the role. Thomason chased a pitch away that was nearly in the opposite batter’s box but was able to get a bat on it. He swatted the pitch the other way, sending a soft liner through the drawn in infield to deliver a walk-off win. MUSSEL MATTERS Jupiter 9, Fort Myers 7 Box Score SP: Ramiro Villanueva (3 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 3 K) HR: Luis Fragoza (2) Multi-hit games: Dameury Pena (2-for-5) The Mussels led 7-3 heading into the seventh inning, but the Hammerheads, well, kept hammering ... ahead. Things really unraveled in the top of the ninth for Fort Myers, as some poor defense contributed to what ended up being a three-run inning. Starter Ramiro Villanueva tallied another solid start. Over 3 2/3 innings, the 20-year-old surrendered one run on two hits. He did walk three batters, though. Villanueva struck out three batters, got eight swinging strikes and topped out at 96 mph. He has a 2.66 ERA through 20 1/3 innings but his 16 walks are cause for some concern. Matthew Dalquist had been among the many pitching bright spots for Fort Myers, but he was rocked for five runs (four earned) while only recording four outs. Luis Fragoza, a 19-year-old playing in his fifth game with the Mussels, hit a two-run homer. He was in center field tonight and has played all three outfield positions in addition to first base in his handful of games with Fort Myers. Enrique Jimenez had a pesky day at the plate. He went 1-for-1 with a two-run double and three walks. One of his free passes was thanks to a successful check swing challenge, which is something that’s being tested in some of the lower levels. Unfortunately, Jimenez also exited this game early. In that messy ninth inning, there was a play at the plate that put Jimenez in a tough position to both catch the throw and apply the tag at the same time. Though he couldn’t corral the throw, he managed to get through that unscathed. He actually appeared to suffer the injury retrieving the ball. He took an awkward step and came up limping. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 1, FCL Orioles 0 (8 innings) Box Score SP: Cristian Hernandez (5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K) HR: None Multi-hit games: Miguel Caraballo (2-for-2, BB) The Baby Twins finally broke through in the top of the eighth (which is an extra inning in the FCL) when Yovanny Duran drove in Jose Barrios on a single. That’s right, Duran driving in Barrios. It’s like we’re in the year 2057 in an OOTP simulation or something. Pitching was the standout in this one, with Cristian Hernandez delivering five shutout frames of two-hit ball. Geremy Villoria, who was acquired alongside Hendry Mendez in the Harrison Bader trade, followed with a perfect inning. Villoria, 17, has now logged 5 2/3 scoreless innings to start his season. Carter Holjes held off the O’s in both the seventh and eighth innings TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day: Cristian Hernandez, FCL Twins (5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K) Hitter of the Day: Hendry Mendez, St. Paul (4-for-4, BB, 2 2B) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 2. Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) 1-for-4, HR, BB, 2 R, RBI, K 5. Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) 2-for-4, 2B, BB, 2 R, RBI, K and threw out one of three attempted base stealers 7. Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) 0-for-4, BB 10. Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) 1-for-4, 2B, R 12. Andrew Morris (Twins) 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K 13. Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) 4-for-4, 2B, BB, 2 R, CS 14. Quentin Young (Fort Myers) 0-for-2, 2 BB, 2 K 15. Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) 1-for-3, 2B, BB, HBP, SB, 3 R 19. Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) 2-for-4, 2B, BB, R, RBI 20. Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) 2-for-5, 2 2B, R, RBI TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul: Mike Paredes Wichita: Off Cedar Rapids: Jason Doktorczyk Fort Myers: Merit Jones CURRENT W-L RECORDS Minnesota Twins: 27-28 St. Paul Saints: 26-25 Wichita Wind Surge: 21-25 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 24-22 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 24-22 FCL Twins: 10-8 DSL Twins: (season begins Monday, June 1) View full article

And part of the point I'm making is he needs to let that timing stuff go. Lots of guys play unfamiliar positions in season. He needs to be open minded, not rigid about when a change can/should happen.

He literally said he was terrified playing second base. How is that creating a false context?

Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-Imagn Images Royce Lewis needs to accept that he’s owed nothing. The Twins have no reason to keep his path back to third base open. Lewis needs to be open-minded about playing other positions. In fact, he should probably pursue that, eagerly. Back in September 2024, Lewis was asked to play second base on occasion. He played there a couple of times. It didn’t go over well. At the time, Lewis questioned why he was playing second base and admitted he was “terrified’ out there. To refresh your memory, here’s a link to Gregg Masterson’s article that provided an overview of why the Twins tried Lewis at the keystone. To be fair to Lewis, it’s unusual to have a player suddenly mix in at another position late in the season. That’s especially true on a team that’s in a playoff race. But what about now? Another thing Lewis said back in 2024 about playing second base was “it's not Spring Training—or Triple A, for that matter.” Well, that’s no longer a sticking point. Now, that's exactly what "it" is. To be clear, there’s no indication that the Twins have approached Lewis about playing other positions yet. He’s played third base in all four of his games back with the Saints. However, both the team and the player should embrace the idea of expanding his positional flexibility. This demotion alone should be a wake-up call for Lewis, but that the Twins have also shifted Brooks Lee into his old position should be extra sobering. Nor is that a temporary thing. Derek Shelton said Lee is playing third base going forward, only making occasional cameos at shortstop. It’s not as if Lee is going to completely block Lewis, as he’s struggled himself, but why not open up other potential paths for Lewis? That’s right, paths, plural. I wouldn’t stop at just second base. Get him in at first base. Heck, put him back in the outfield. Sure, his ACL might explode again at any moment out there, but what’s left to protect? Back in 2024, Lewis was viewed as a potential franchise cornerstone, so it made sense to try to keep him comfortable and attempt to shield him from injury. He doesn’t get that benefit anymore. There are a lot of moving parts in the Twins' infield at the moment, and nobody is a lock. Even Luke Keaschall has struggled to the point where he may eventually join Lewis and Matt Wallner for a St. Paul refresh of his own. The veteran trio of Tristan Gray, Ryan Kreidler and Orlando Arcia have all played well to varying degrees, but they’re all better suited to be reserves than starters. Kaelen Culpepper is going to be the Twins' starting shortstop, sooner rather than later. That’s the only thing I feel confident enough to say about the infield right now. In addition to Lee already having been pushed off of shortstop, Culpepper’s arrival will move any of the Gray/Kreidler/Arcia class who are still around to play more second and third base. That’s a crowded infield picture, even before factoring in Lewis. The Twins need to keep their options open. Royce Lewis needs to keep an open mind. Otherwise, the end of this decade-old relationship between player and team might come pretty suddenly. View full article

Kaelen Culpepper exited Friday’s Saints game in the bottom of the first inning. While stealing second base, his helmet came off, bounced back, and hit him in the face. Culpepper’s lip was busted open, and the Saints' training staff couldn’t get the bleeding to stop. View full rumor

Twins prospect Gabriel Gonzalez has been called up and is making his Major League debut on Friday. Though he was off to a slow start in Triple-A, this opportunity presented itself with Tristan Gray being away from the team for a few days on paternity leave. Can Gonzalez take advantage? Here's a discussion on his game, how long he might be with the big club, and a couple of player comps. View full video

Twins System Recap: Quentin Young hit the ball harder than just about anybody in baseball early this week. Another guy blasting his way through is Billy Amick, who now has a system-leading 11 home runs. Also this week, Eli Jones impressed in his Double-A debut. Today's video features info on those players plus all the other top performers from Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday's games. View full video

Today's video is a roundup of all this weekend's action across the system. Among the top performers were Zebby Matthews, Brandon Winokur, Dasan Hill, Matthew Dalquist, and Jaime Ferrer. View full video

Walker JenkinsKaelen CulpepperEmmanuel RodriguezEduardo TaitConnor PrielippDasan HillMarek HoustonRiley QuickKendry RojasCharlee SotoAndrew MorrisGabriel GonzalezBrandon WinokurHendry MendezRyan GallagherQuentin YoungJames EllwangerKyle DeBargeCJ CulpepperAdrian Bohorquez

Walker JenkinsKaelen CulpepperEmmanuel RodriguezEduardo TaitConnor PrielippDasan HillMarek HoustonRiley QuickKendry RojasCharlee SotoAndrew MorrisGabriel GonzalezBrandon WinokurHendry MendezRyan GallagherQuentin YoungJames EllwangerKyle DeBargeCJ CulpepperAdrian Bohorquez

Twins System Recap: It was a Wichita Homer Surge ... 10 home runs!?!?!?!? How is that even possible!? Garrett Spain hit three homers by himself, Billy Amick also had a mulit-homer game and you know Ricardo Olivar got one in. Olivar is now the system leader with 10 homers on the season, and is among the Double-A leaders, as well. View full video