Minnesota Twins: Alex Colome is finishing the season strong

The Minnesota Twins‘ bullpen has been a lot better of late, and right in the middle of that resurgence is closer Alex Colome. Though he hasn’t pitched in either of the last two games against the Cleveland Indians, it still has been nice to see him coming through late in the year after what was a rough start.

The Twins signed Colome, 32, to a one-year contract worth $5 million back in February after he had a tremendous pandemic-shortened season with the Chicago White Sox in which he allowed just two earned runs in 22.1 innings, collecting 13 saves. He had a great track record, which included an All-Star selection with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2016.

Colome was supposed to anchor the back of the back of the bullpen to start the year, but he struggled out of the gate. After a few rough outings in April, including one on April 27, his ERA was at 8.31. He was moved into middle relief, pitching primarily in the seventh and eighth innings, and has been a lot better, eventually getting ninth inning chances again.

Minnesota Twins: Alex Colome has turned things around.

Since the beginning of May, Colome has pitched to a 3.13 ERA. That includes a current stretch in which he has only allowed runs in two of his last 18 outings. He’s even shown durability, pitching four days in a row from September 4-7, posting a zero each time while notching the save in each of the last three outings.

One big question facing the Twins this offseason is whether Colome will be back. His one-year contract includes a mutual option for 2022 valued at $5.5 million (there is a $1.25 milion buyout). The way he was pitching at the beginning of the year, it seemed like a no-brainer for the Twins to decline the option, but now it looks like it could potentially be a good deal — assuming, of course, that Colome picks up his side as well.

There isn’t much that has gone right for the Twins this year, but it sure is nice to see Alex Colome pitching well to close out the campaign. Hopefully he can continue it for the rest of the year, and then we’ll see what happens this offseason.