Minnesota Twins add Tyler Clippard to strengthen bridge to Taylor Rogers

The Minnesota Twins finally made an addition to their roster, signing the veteran reliever to help add to their bullpen.

One year ago, the Minnesota Twins’ bullpen seemed to be an afterthought. Not that the Twins didn’t do anything to enhance the group, but all of their options seemed to be a band-aid on a much bigger problem.

Blake Parker was good for the first two months, but he imploded after the calendar turned to June. Adalberto Mejia and Mike Morin were also designated for assignment and even though the Twins tried to address the need by acquiring Sam Dyson and Sergio Romo, the collection of young arms couldn’t put it all together during the Twins’ ALDS sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees.

While the bullpen hasn’t been the top priority this season, the Twins have taken a small step to address it signing veteran reliever Tyler Clippard to a one-year deal that ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports is worth $2.75 million.

Clippard spent the 2019 season with the Cleveland Indians and put up repectable numbers for The Tribe, posting a 2.90 ERA over 62 innings. While his overall numbers look good, Clippard was especially effective in terms of exit velocity, which Baseball Savant pegged his 85 MPH in the 98th percentile of all pitchers last season.

The right-hander also was effective against left-handed batters last season, holding them to a .123/.210/.255 slash line in three home runs in 106 at-bats.

Adding Clippard to the bullpen will give the Twins more experience than last year’s bullpen which was made up of bargain arms. With Taylor Rogers taking full control of the closer role, Clippard joins the recently re-signed Sergio Romo and incumbents Trevor May, Tyler Duffey and Zack Littell.

Although many are still waiting for the Twins to land an impact starter, the addition of Clippard projects to be a positive move that should cut down on the late-inning stress Twins fans experienced throughout the final months of the season.