Minnesota Twins: 5 Free Agent Pitchers to pursue

Bryan Shaw

A possible Falvey-Indians connection is our next relief pitcher on the list. And in all honesty, if the Twins could land both Bryan Shaw and Nicasio as they begin to remake the back end of their bullpen that would be a pretty good duo to build around. To use MLB Trade Rumors projections again, the two relievers should cost about the same as Shaw is also projected at 3 years and $21 million.

Shaw is plenty used to being the workhorse of a bullpen as he has appeared in the most games for a pitcher from 2013-2017. As is likely no surprise in 2014 (80), 2016 (75), and 2017 (79) Shaw led the American League in appearances in each of those seasons. While all those usage numbers can speak to Shaw’s durability, it also may call into question exactly how long can he hold up before major injury strikes. That will definitely be something the Twins or any team will just want to double check on as they evaluate him before signing.

Shaw, while effective, isn’t quite the type of arms we look at and clamor for in today’s age of baseball. He gets the job done with some pretty modest stuff relying mainly on a cutter that has increased in velocity over the past two seasons clocking in at 95 mph. As can be expected, that has resulted in a good ground ball rate of 55.9%. All that has resulted in Shaw never turning in an ERA above 3.52.