Call to the pen
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Minnesota Twins Top 5 Offseason Priorities

By Benjamin Chase

Aug 25, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Minnesota Twins hat and glove lays on the field during the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 25, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Minnesota Twins hat and glove lays on the field during the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /

Bullpen

The Twins pitching staff did not put up great numbers all around for sure, but if there was a spot to find injury issues that could be reason to expect a better performance in 2017 than what we saw in 2016, it’d be the starting rotation. The bullpen, outside of Glen Perkins, really didn’t have such an excuse for their pitiful performance.

Let’s first look at the numbers. In the American League, the Twins had the worst bullpen ERA at 4.63. Interestingly, the 12th, 13th, and 14th place teams were all in contention until the last weekend of the season (Toronto, Detroit, and Texas, respectively). The Twins had the third-worst bullpen home run rate in the AL, behind only Tampa and Toronto. The Twins had the worst left-on-base percentage of any bullpen in the American League. The bullpen had the worst batting average against in all of baseball at .271. Last, but not least, the bullpen posted the worst WHIP in the American League at 1.43.

So what can be done to fix the unit? The main pieces of the 2016 bullpen, guys like Brandon Kintzler, Trevor May, Ryan Pressly, Michael Tonkin, Taylor Rogers, Buddy Boshers, Ryan O’Rourke, J.T. Chargois, and Alex Wimmers are predominantly under 30 (Kintzler is 31, but all others are under 30), and they are all under team control going forward, with only Kintzler even eligible for arbitration currently.

The Twins have some high-end arms coming in their farm system that are close and profile well in the bullpen as hard-throwing options toward the back of the bullpen. Nick Burdi missed most of the 2016 season with a bone bruise near his elbow, but when healthy, he is a guy that profiles at the back end of a bullpen. Jake Reed got to AAA this season, and he has a very high end profile as well. Trevor Hildenberger is a side-arming righty that has had a lot of success at AA so far, and he could certainly factor into the bullpen mix as well and push out one of the returnees. Mason Melotakis is probably the best current relief lefty, though there are a number of left-handed starters that could move to relief and would be back-end guys if they moved to relief. Of course, there are many more, but that’s just an example of the depth of guys that are available within the system.

However, a new GM and front office may want to reboot with some solid relief options. While this year’s free agent market is very weak in nearly all markets, including closers, there are a number of solid middle relievers that could be found and produce in the way that Fernando Abad did for the Twins in 2016 as one of the few bright spots in the bullpen for not much money.

Next: Defense

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