The Future of the Minnesota Twins Bullpen
The Twins bullpen is going to look different from the one that’s been one of the best in baseball the last couple seasons. After losing May, Wisler, Romo, Clippard, and Zack Littell, the team is going back to the drawing board, hoping to continue striking gold.
In addition to adding Robles on a cheap one year deal worth $2 million and claiming Gibaut and Waddell, the team also added arms like Glen Sparkman and Luke Farrell to minor league deals. Of the group, I’m sure that at least one will turn out, with Sparkman, Farrell, and Derek Law all having good sliders and spin rates to maximize.
The Twins decided they didn’t want to spend a large chunk of their salary on the bullpen continuing with history. While it may be hard to stomach when quality pitchers like Wisler and May walk out the door with no offer, it’s all part of their plan. They see the bullpen as an area that they can patch together through their development of young players and no-name signings. It’s worked so far.
Until that changes, don’t expect anything different. Depending on who you ask, the Twins are either a savvy team that’s finding diamonds in the rough or typical Twins bargain hunting. I’ll bet the latter until the success runs out.