Minnesota Twins: Four Questions to Answer during Spring Training
By Otto Johnson
Who will close for the Minnesota Twins in 2021?
This is a similar question to the last one, but the difference is that the incumbent is still on the roster. Taylor Rogers has been the Twins’ primary closer for the past two years, with Trevor May and Sergio Romo stealing a few opportunities here and there. That could change this year.
Rogers has always been best suited for an eighth inning role, one where he can avoid pitching back-to-backs and get more rest, keeping him effective. That’s not what you want out of your closer. You need someone who can get outs consistently every night.
Enter Hansel Robles and Alex Colomé. While neither one is the right guy to be an unquestioned closer, both pitchers could help out Rogers and make things easier on the Twins’ bullpen. Robles was dominant as a closer in 2019 and Colomé was elite in 2020.
I wouldn’t trust any of these three every single night, but using all three to get outs could wind up being extremely effective for the Twins. All three pitchers have different strengths, and if Robles bounces back, then all three could be effective in different ways.
For the most part Rocco Baldelli and Wes Johnson do an excellent job with their relievers, so a three-headed moster could work for this team and make life easier on Rogers. I think Spring Training allows them to experiment and find out that this is the right move.