Do the Twins Have Another Bullpen Ace Up Their Sleeve?

After the disappointment of a quiet trade deadline faded, the Minnesota Twins' biggest question is what they will do next.

Prices for pitching proved to be too expensive in terms of prospect capital and financial restraints, and that didn’t do the Twins any favors in the American League pennant race. With the deadline passed, Minnesota needs to find a way to boost its pitching staff internally, and the best course of action may be to find another ace up its sleeve in the bullpen.

The pitching staff has been a sore subject since the season began. In the offseason, the Twins refused to pay for a big name like Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale suggested the front office was “hamstrung” at the trade deadline due to budget constraints. That led the Twins to suggest that several players on the roster were just like a trade. While the phrase is as hard to stomach as chugging a gallon of milk, it’s how the Twins addressed their bullpen for the playoff run one year ago.

Minnesota’s relievers struggled during the first three months of the season, but they had some pieces in place. Jhoan Duran was in the middle of an elite run as a closer, and Griffin Jax shook off a tough start to become an effective set-up man. Even Emilio Pagán became a reliable reliever (as long as the bases were empty). Still, they needed more relief depth to make a deep run into the playoffs.

With no arms available on the trade market, the Twins had to dig into their organizational depth to find solutions. The first step was finding some of their effective starters and transitioning them to a relief role to limit their total innings and give them a way to contribute at the major league level.

Louie Varland was Exhibit A for Minnesota after a modest showing as a spot starter. Once the Twins moved him to the bullpen, they noticed Varland’s fastball played up. A successful run with the St. Paul Saints paved the way for him to become a crucial reliever, with a 1.50 ERA and 17 strikeouts over 12 innings last September.

The Twins also had Chris Paddack, who was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. They didn't want to throw him back into action too soon, so they used Paddack out of the bullpen. He allowed three runs over five innings in two regular-season starters before tossing 3.2 scoreless innings with six strikeouts in two postseason appearances.

A return to health also helped the Twins bullpen down the stretch. Brock Stewart only allowed two runs in his first 25.2 innings last year, but Minnesota shut down him in June due to injury. Stewart returned to pitch three scoreless innings at the end of the regular season. He pitched three times in the playoffs with two scoreless innings, including an outing that ruined Yordan Alvarez’s two-run homer in Game 2 of the ALDS.

The Paddack, Varland, and Stewart trio transformed the Twins bullpen. Minnesota's relievers ranked 15th in baseball with a 3.95 ERA during the regular season. Still, during the postseason, they allowed eight earned runs in 23.2 innings – including 6.1 shutout innings in the Wild Card series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Minnesota's 3.04 bullpen ERA during the postseason would have easily cleared the New York Yankees' 3.34 regular season ERA for the best in baseball, and they did it with a bullpen that looked nothing like what they had used for the first five months of the regular season.

Looking at this year’s team, the Twins might have the chance to do it again. Duran overcame a slow start to post a 2.70 ERA in his last 15 appearances (13.1 innings), and Jax was an All-Star candidate while posting a career-low 2.01 ERA as Minnesota’s set-up man.

Like last year, Duran and Jax haven’t been the problem. It’s been getting to them that has kept Rocco Baldelli up at night.

The Twins were hoping Stewart had recovered from his arm issues, which forced him to miss 70 games this season. However, he admitted his injury was “not a good feeling” before returning to the injured list with a shoulder injury last week.

Justin Topa also gained the heralded just like a trade approval from the front office. But his return from a partial tear of his patellar tendon isn’t going to inspire a ton of confidence among fans.

With Paddack also rehabbing from a second stint on the injured list, the Twins may have to change some roles to gain an impact arm in the bullpen. The Twins attempted to do this by recalling Randy Dobnak hours before the trade deadline. However, his Triple-A success hasn’t translated to the majors, where he's allowed five earned runs in 4.2 innings since his call-up.

Varland could also be a candidate after posting a 1.48 ERA in his last six starts (30.1 IP) in St. Paul. Still, they could also need him on the back end of the rotation consisting of Simeon Woods Richardson and David Festa.

However, any of these starters could become a reliever if the Twins see fit. Moving Paddack to that role makes sense after last year’s bullpen success. Still, we don't know whether he would be open to returning to it. Festa could also be a candidate, but the Twins might want to keep him as a starter if the back end of the rotation remains unstable.

Then there’s the deep pull. Zebby Matthews has been Minnesota's most outstanding pitching prospect this season. However, his limited experience beyond Double-A could convince the Twins to pump the brakes before throwing him into the postseason pressure cooker.

Unless Richards finds his early-season form with the Blue Jays, the Twins are like the mechanic working on the car in his garage. It could be a lemon, but it could also work like a finely tuned machine if he can just get the engine to turn over.

It’s not a solution that will last an entire season, but it could get the Twins through the final stretch. It could be the difference between a postseason run or going home early if they can pull one last ace.