Cole Irvin’s blowup in Boston is a snapshot of Twins’ recent bullpen meltdown

The Minnesota Twins are in desperate need of wins right now, and the bullpen isn’t helping. What was once one of the better bullpens in baseball prior to the all-star break has fallen flat and has been among the worst in baseball since the midsummer classic.

Sunday’s loss to the Red Sox encapsulated this issue, as the Twins turned a 2-0 lead into a 9-2 deficit. Cole Irvin and Cole Sands combined for seven earned runs while recording just three outs between the two of them.

Cole squared reminded Twins fans that the bullpen has been nothing but coal in the stocking of the second half. 

To provide context, the Twins bullpen was eighth in baseball with a 3.51 ERA in the first half with multiple promising arms putting together good seasons. Since the break, Minnesota has the 29th best ERA at 5.11, good for second to last in baseball. 

Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Josh Staumont, Jorge Alcala, and Brock Stewart have all taken steps backward over this stretch. Staumont has since found himself released, Stewart landed himself on the IL for the year with a shoulder strain, and Alcala has been optioned to Triple A.  

Twins not having a reliable lefty reliever is killing their late inning performance

The Twins’ have struggled to find a reliable lefty this season. After four straight solid seasons, Caleb Thielbar has been defeated by Father Time and hit the skids in 2024, currently sitting with a 5.40 ERA. Steven Okert and his 5.09 ERA didn’t help much as he was DFA’d in late August. 

Their newest solution, Cole Irvin, came back to bite them almost immediately against Boston. The Twins picked up Irvin last week, an interesting move to say the least as Irvin has operated as a swingman for the Orioles for a majority of the year, starting 16 of his 25 games in Baltimore and pitching to a near five ERA. He hasn’t been overly productive of late, which explains why the Orioles, another struggling bullpen, would cut ties with him.

Irvin’s 16.88 ERA in his three outings since joining the Twins have ultimately not phelped matters. Having to rely on him has been a microcosm of the Twins pitching problems. The signing of Irvin has been trying to put a bandaid on a bullet hole, and unfortunately, it looks like the Twins are bleeding out. 

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