3 free agents Minnesota Twins must target to bolster bullpen
If there are two obvious areas for improvement for the Minnesota Twins this year, it's in the clubhouse and out in the bullpen.
One of those two things is largely out of the Twins control at the moment, as Rocco Baldelli is not going to be replaced until either his contract runs out at the end of this upcoming season or he crashes and burns during the season.
For the record, it's going to take a massive implosion for Minnesota to move off Rocco, and to be fair it's hard to see such a drastic collapse happening. The worst-case scenario is that the Twins drag themselves way through another mediocre season. But a season of a healthy Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa in the same lineup is something that should be hard to screw up too badly.
More immediately the team can bolster the bullpen, something that is also much more controllable.
Outside of the incredible season Jhoan Duran had, the Twins bullpen left a lot to be desired and not much was done to shore it up this offseason. Despite this, FanGraphs listed Minnesota's bullpen as its best positional group heading into the 2023 season, which either says a lot about the upside of that unit or is a massive indictment of the rest of Rocco's roster.
To be fair there's a ton of upside that could see the Twins bullpen turn in a bounce-back season. Griffin Jax showed some flare, Caleb Thielbar and Jovani Moran project to be top arms, and there's hope that Jorge Lopez can turn back into his All-Star self.
Minnesota's starters averaging more than 5.2 innings per game will go a long way in easing some of stress as well, which very well could be the case with guys like Pablo Lopez, Tyler Mahle, Sonny Gray, and Kenta Maeda joining Joe Ryan in carrying most of the game before handing it over to the bullpen.
But when that inevitably happens -- or if the Twins are serious about making a deep run in the postseason -- the bullpen cannot become a liability, which means potentially adding another arm in free agency to bolster the unit.
. Age: 33. Matt Moore. 126. . LHP. 3. player
Perhaps the best option still available for the Twins is veteran lefty Matt Moore. He was once a top prospect in baseball and helped anchor part of an iconic three-headed pitching monster in Tampa Bay alongside prime David Price and James Shields.
He fell on hard times though after departing for San Francisco in 2016 and seemed to bottom out during his stint with the Phillies in 2021. But once Moore dropped out of the rotation and joined the bullpen down in Texas last season he unlocked a level we haven't seen since his days with the Rays.
Moore posted a 1.95 ERA with a 2.98 FIP across 74 innings for the Rangers, and is the sort of lefty that could pair well with guys like Caleb Thielbar and Jovani Moran in the Twins bullpen this season. Assuming he taps back into what he was channeling in Texas, Moore feels like the kind of veteran addition that might not raise a ton of interest in February but could become a deal everyone looks back on in September and October as a key move for a contending team.
Of course, the gamble is that Moore will keep his hot hand. Part of what made his resurgence with the Rangers so phenomenal was the fact that he'd hit the skids so hard in recent years. There's also the contract situation to figure out, as Moore's value on the market is slightly inflated due to some deals that less successful relievers received this winter.
If Minnesota can get Moore on a reasonable deal closer to the $2.5 million he made in Texas last year without dipping too deep into double digits, there's no question the type of upside he'll add to the bullpen.
LHP. Age: 32. Brad Hand. 2. player. . . 6
Brad Hand is a far less sexy option than the other two Minnesota should consider, but he checks a lot of the same boxes. He's a left-handed reliever who brings a lot of the potential veteran upside that Matt Moore does, has been a star who fell from grace but has shown he might have more left in the tank, plus he's a local guy having grown up in the Twin Cities and played his high school ball in Chaska.
Unfortunately, he also brings the type of turbulence the Twins typically encounter when taking a chance on an aging vet when betting on him tapping into some of the magic that once made him great.
That magic was indeed outstanding for Hand when he was at the peak of his powers in San Diego and Cleveland. He went to three All-Star Games during that stretch and was one of the "It Factor" trade chips when the Guardians acquired him in 2018.
But his best years are undoubtedly behind him, and he cratered hard with the Phillies. What may attract the Twins to take a chance on Hand is how much cheaper he might be when compared to the other relievers still on the market. He's not quite a lottery ticket addition, but he's close enough that some fans might grit their teeth if he's brought in to bolster the bullpen. For what it's worth, Hand posted a 2.80 ERA last season which trended him hard in the right direction away from a 3.90 ERA and 4.58 FIP in 2021.
1. player. . Age: 32. Andrew Chafin. 63. . LHP
If Matt Moore can't be had at the right price and Brad Hand is too unstable to be trusted beyond a gamble, Andrew Chafin might be a good middle ground.
He found himself as a reliever during his six seasons with the Diamondbacks and quickly became a fan favorite with the Cubs during his short stint on the North Side of Chicago. One thing that makes him stand out from Moore and Hand is his consistency out of the pen, as he posted a 2.83 ERA and 3.06 FIP while putting up a 10.52 K/9 and only giving up 2.98 BB/9 in 2022.
Beyond last season, Chafin had a combined 1.83 ERA in 2021 between his time with the Cubs and A's, and has logged almost 130 innings of solid relief work. He offers the sort of consistency the Twins bullpen desperately needs, and could be quite the late-inning pairing with Jhoan Duran.
Assuming Jorge Lopez gets back to where he was when he was dealing with the Orioles, and if Emilio Pagan can bounce back from a disaster season, all of a sudden the addition of Chafin gives Rocco Baldelli a ton of options to close out games. But even if they continue to regress, Chafin can help offset part of the burden that would be put on other arms in the bullpen like Moran and Thielbar.