Minnesota Twins Opening Day Prediction: The 2018 Bullpen

Setup Man Addison Reed

After the Twins signed Rodney, everyone thought the Twins were done making bullpen additions. That is probably the theme of the Twins whole offseason, “just when we thought they were done…” And when we thought they were done, the Twins brought in Addison Reed on a two year, $16.75 million steal of a deal.

Reed began 2017 with the New York Mets and ended up becoming their closer before being traded to become a setup man with the Boston Red Sox. Over the whole of 2017, Reed pitched 76.0 innings, held down a 2.84 ERA, a 9.0 K/9, and saved 19 games. What may be the most impressive aspect of Reed as a right-handed setup man, is his durability. Reed has topped 70 innings each of the past two seasons and also did back in 2013 with the Chicago White Sox.

Reed is actually the Twins best pitcher in their bullpen going into 2018. By no means is Reed Andrew Miller, but he has the ability to be used in a similar way to which the Cleveland Indians use Miller. He is the setup man late in games, but more importantly, Reed is the guy the Twins will turn to when the heart of the opposing team’s lineup comes up in a high leverage situation.

While Reed is the best pitcher in the bullpen, he also comes in as a little Rodney insurance. If for whatever reason Rodney hits a skid and doesn’t recover from it. The Twins have Reed who has 125 of his own career saves and is certainly comfortable in the closer role. The best case scenario is for Reed to stay in this role as Rodney slings arrows as the closer.