Louie Varland needed to have a good start on Sunday against the Tigers to release some of the pressure that has been building on him so far this season.
He failed rather spectacularly to do that.
Varland lasted fewer than three innings, allowing four earned runs and another home run in a 6-1 loss. It was his fourth bad outing of the season as he now owns a 9.18 ERA and an 0-4 record, all of which has called into question how much longer he'll be on the MLB roster.
It's a tricky situation for the Twins to be in, as Varland was being counted on to be the fifth starter after Anthony DeSclafani's season-ending injury in Spring Training. He's been a total disaster, despite showing a few flashes of what the team needs out of him, but there's an utter lack of depth behind him that could easily replace him.
Rocco Baldelli didn't commit to Louie Varland remaining on the Twins roster
Something is clearly wrong with Varland, and it's starting to wear Rocco Baldelli tin. After a fourth straight horrible start, the Twins manager didn't mince words while being noncommittal about Varland's future.
Baldelli stopped short of saying a move would be made, but hinted that Varland's next start might come in St. Paul.
"I think we have a whole lot of things we have to talk about.," Baldelli said. "We have to have really almost anything on the table right now to find a way to improve."
Update (Monday, 4/22) — After Varland was sent down to Triple-A, Rocco had more comments about what the future might hold and offered some mild encouragement.
Rocco, on optioning Varland:
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) April 22, 2024
"I don’t think it was a hard decision right now. ... It gives him an opportunity to focus on some things and get better without having to only worry about the results of what he’s doing."
The rock-and-hard place the Twins are in is how to replace Varland if he gets sent down. It's beyond clear that a change needs to be made, but Minnesota is hadcuffed in terms of having easy ways to replace him.
If Varland stays on the MLB roster and moves to the bullpen, there aren't any viable arms to move up into the rotation. He'd likely need to be sent down to make room for another start, but who that ends up being is a mystery.
Simeon Woods Richardson had a fantastic start last weekend against the Tigers, but it's only one start and the sample size suggesting he has what it takes to fill that fifth starter role is small. David Festa could be an option but he still seems like he needs some more development in the minors before being thrown into the fire.
Minnesota could make an external move, but the time for that seems to have already passed. The Twins opting to go cheap and not spend this offseason has come back to bite them in more than one way, and this pickle their in with Varland is perhaps the worst blowback they've had from not making any meaingful moves this winter.
Varland could remain on the roster, but he seems to be out of lives. Another bad start will all but certainly end his time -- for now -- on the 26-man roster, which is something the Twins seem to already be thinking about.