Mike Pelfrey Is Locked In For Twins

We are now just five days away from the Minnesota Twins reporting to Fort Myers for Spring Training, and baseball season is really just right around the corner. One man who is ready to put the past few seasons behind him is pitcher Mike Pelfrey. Coming off of more injuries in 2014, the Twins pitcher will look to move forward in 2015.

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The biggest question for Pelfrey in the upcoming season appears to be what exactly the Twins see his role as. While there is going to be an open competition for the final spot in the starting rotation, Pelfrey doesn’t figure to have much of a shot. Along with Tim Stauffer, Pelfrey projects as more of an option in name alone. Tommy Milone, Trevor May, and Alex Meyer all have significantly more reason to be in the rotation, and it remains almost a certainty that one of them will be.

So what then for Mike Pelfrey?

With one year and $5.5 million left on his contract with the Twins, I don’t see any way that Minnesota beings the season without the big hurler on the 25 man roster. Although the addition of Stauffer to the bullpen takes over the Anthony Swarzak long relief role, the Twins will do everything they can to find room for the big man. One scenario continues to ring most likely, the one inning pitcher.

In his career, Mike Pelfrey has pitched nearly exclusively as a starter. After Tommy John surgery, and more ineffectiveness than positivity in his recent career, that is likely going to change. While Pelfrey doesn’t throw incredibly hard as a starter, the Twins will want to see what they can get out of him in short bursts. An owner of a career 5.2 K/9, the Twins will likely ask Pelfrey to give them everything he has for one inning at a time, in hopes that the results are productive.

For Pelfrey, there will definitely be a learning curve to the transition. Having to warm up and get loose on a nightly basis rather than once every five days will prove to be a different regimen. Pelfrey will also need to understand how to come into a game, rather than start it, and work through the troubles he could inherit on base. Looking at the division rival Kansas City Royals and what they did last season with Wade Davis, Minnesota will be hoping for similar results.

At the end of the day, adaptation is sometimes what becomes necessary to stay relevant. Mike Pelfrey is going to be asked to reinvent himself by the Twins. While he should be on the 25 man when the dust settles, his effectiveness will likely be measured in another capacity in 2015.

Next: Projecting The Twins Starting Rotation

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