Minnesota Twins should keep Josh Winder in rotation

In theory, the Minnesota Twins rotation will be filling back up soon. Sonny Gray is getting closer to a return. Bailey Ober is likely to return soon as well as he was reportedly feeling better after a groin injury. Dylan Bundy is on the COVID-19 IL, but those stints are not always lengthy.

Those returns leave the Twins in an interesting spot. Josh Winder has stepped into the rotation in Gray’s absence and has been a revelation in his first two major league starts as he has shown that he deserves more of a look in that role.

Minnesota Twins have to keep riding Josh Winder

While Winder had been solid in a bulk reliever role, he has taken his game to another level since being inserted into the rotation. He has allowed just one unearned run on five hits and a walk over his 12 innings, striking out 15 batters. While one may look askance at his gem against the A’s on Friday due to the level of competition, he did shut down the Rays in his first major league start.

This performance puts the Twins in an interesting spot. Neither Bundy nor Chris Archer have pitched particularly well this year. Archer may have a 3.26 ERA, but he is averaging fewer than four innings per outing and his 5.79 FIP screams of regression. He may be better served as a long man/bulk reliever until he can prove that he can pitch deeper in games.

That would leave an opening for Winder. He has stepped up as a strong piece in the rotation when the Twins have needed, helping them to jump out to the lead in the AL Central. Until that changes, he deserves to be a part of their starting corps.

Josh Winder has been a surprise for the Minnesota Twins thus far. He deserves to keep his place in the rotation when the other starters return.