Who should the Twins move to the bullpen?
The Twins tore down their bullpen at the hinges just over a month ago, trading Jhoan Durán, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart, and Danny Coulombe. All of the relievers traded were under team control through at least 2027 besides Coulombe, and the team was left with a lot of uncertainty in the bullpen. Justin Topa, Cole Sands, Kody Funderburk, and Michael Tonkin have served as the high-leverage options since, and the four of them have actually done a pretty nice job of filling in, all things considered. Still, it doesn't feel like an overly reliable group heading into 2026 if the Twins have aspirations of competing. Thankfully, the Twins have proven to be an organization that has a knack for developing relievers, whether that be out of a reclamation project type of free agent signing like Stewart, or starters-turned-relievers such as Durán, Jax, and Varland.
Part of what should give the Twins the confidence to convert one or more of their starter to relievers is the depth of starting pitching that they now possess. It's anyone's guess as to how the players stack up in the eyes of the team's decision-makers, but barring a trade, Pablo López and Joe Ryan are certainties to fill the first two 2026 rotation spots. Behind them, some combination of Zebby Matthews, Bailey Ober, Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, Simeon Woods Richardson, and David Festa would fill the final three spots. That's already eight big league starters, and that's without mentioning Connor Prielipp, Kendry Rojas, or Andrew Morris, all of whom are highly regarded prospects for the Twins, and all of whom are in Triple-A as of now. It can certainly be argued that quality is more important than quantity when it comes to starting pitching, but this is a very talented group, one that should have the Twins confident that they'll be in a good position if they do decide to convert some of their organizational starters to relievers. Who might be some of the best candidates for this? I've broken it down into different groups. With this, I'm assuming that Pablo López, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Zebby Matthews, Taj Bradley, and Mick Abel are still starting pitchers, and they will not be included or discussed.
It's worth quickly noting a couple of things about starter-to-reliever transitions, too. The most common reason that starting pitchers convert to relievers is that they just haven't succeeded at the major league level as a starter, and so the hope is that they will find success as a reliever. There are a couple of major reasons that this is often successful. The first one is that pitching in shorter stints allows pitchers to refine their pitch arsenals to their two or three best pitches. Starting pitchers almost always need to have at least three pitches that are strong and they are comfortable with throwing, with most starters having four or five or even more. Relievers, on the other hand, typically have just two or three pitches that account for the majority or all of their pitches thrown. The other big reason for the frequent success is that shortening the length of a pitcher's outings from 80-100 pitches to 15-30 pitches allows them to "let it fly," or in other words, often leads to an increase in velocity and effectiveness of their pitches. Griffin Jax is a great example of this. When Jax was called up by the Twins in 2021 as a starter, his fastball averaged just 92.6 MPH. In 2022, he transitioned to a reliever and saw his average fastball velocity jump to 95.4 MPH, and now, it averages close to 97. Not only is a 3 MPH jump in fastball velocity going to make a pitcher's fastball much, much better, but it also increases the effectiveness of the rest of their pitches, too. Not everybody will see such drastic results, but the process is one that is used throughout all of baseball and is how many of the game's great relievers have come to be.
The pair of guinea pigs
RHPs Pierson Ohl and Travis Adams
I use the term "guinea pig" only for fun here, but these two are an interesting pair, as the Twins have been open about utilizing them in a sort of experiment in which they have the pitchers throw roughly 60 pitches every fourth day. Both Ohl and Adams, each 25 years old, reached the big leagues this year, and have shown promising flashes in the midst of largely struggling in their rookie seasons. It's unknown whether this philosophy is one that the Twins will look to implement more widely at the big league level, as well as whether the team will keep these two in this type of role. However, if they were to transition them to shorter relief outings, each of them certainly would be intriguing.
Ohl's two best pitches by Stuff+ at the big league level have been his changeup at, which he throws 35% of the time, and his sinker, which he throws just 3% of the time. Both have graded out as roughly average pitches, while the rest of his arsenal has been significantly below average. His sinker has averaged just 91.6 MPH. However, if he was throwing 30 or less pitches per outing, perhaps he could get the fastball velocity closer to the mid-90s, which would make his changeup more effective, too.
Adams' best pitch is his slider, which has a Stuff+ grade of 114 on the season, while his fastball grades out at 101 on the scale, averaging 94.4 MPH at the big league level and topping out at 96.8. If Adams were in a shorter relief role, his slider could become even better and perhaps his fastball average could bump up towards the 95-97 range. His fastball and slider are his two most frequently thrown pitches already, so it would probably be a smooth transition as far as that goes.
Likely still part of the team's starting pitching plans
RHPs Simeon Woods Richardson and David Festa
Woods Richardson and Festa are in similar boats in that both have been up and down a bit over the past two seasons, although the former has spent much more time in the big leagues than the latter, and also has better results to show for it. Both of these guys feel like the type of guys who will remain starters and be competing for rotation spots in the spring next year, but if I were to pin one as the more likely guy to move to the pen, it would be Festa.
Woods Richardson, 24, does have more of a starting pitcher's repertoire. He throws five pitches, and the two that grade out highest on the Stuff+ scale, his changeup and his splitter, are his two least frequently thrown, which likely indicates a lack of confidence or feel in the two. Still, his fastball averages 93.3 MPH and he's dialed it up to 97 at times, which means he'd seemingly have plenty of velo for the bullpen. It would just be a matter of seeing one of his breaking pitches improve and/or getting a better feel for one of the two offspeed pitches.
Festa, 25, has added a sinker to what was previously a three-pitch mix featuring a four-seam fastball, a slider, and a changeup. He's been less effective this year than last, but has dealt with a shoulder injury that has now ended his season prematurely, so it's possible that part of his struggles this season can be chalked up to the injury. Last year, he averaged 94.7 MPH on his fastball, touching 97 at times. It's reasonable to believe that we could see him get into the upper 90s in a short relief role, with the slider and changeup playing better as well.
LHPs Connor Prielipp and Kendry Rojas
Prielipp, 24, has some of the best stuff in the entire organization. He has a fastball that sits around 95-96 and has reached 99, as well as a slider and changeup that are both considered to be better weapons than his fastball. It's an arsenal that would set him up to be a really good late-inning reliever, and with his history of arm issues, that may be the most likely endgame for Prielipp anyway. However, it seems more likely that the Twins will continue to look at Prielipp as a starter, especially considering that he has started for the entirety of this season in the minors.
Rojas, just 22, was acquired in the trade that sent Louis Varland and Ty France to the Blue Jays. He's gone from Single-A all the way to Triple-A this season, with impressive numbers at each stop. At just 22 years old and being so new to the organization, it seems unlikely that the Twins would give up on Rojas as a starter so quickly. However, he does have the stuff to make that move, should the Twins get to a point of considering it, as he throws a mid-90s fastball and pairs it with a slider and a changeup.
The most likely to be transitioned
RHP Andrew Morris
The 24-year-old Morris was outstanding in the minors in 2023 and 2024, and likely would've seen major league opportunities this season if it weren't for the injury he suffered early this season. The Twins may still hope to see Morris starting in the big leagues, but he's likely towards the end of the line, especially after the team acquired Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, and Kendry Rojas at the trade deadline. Morris has a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and has at times gotten up to 98-99, which is especially promising considering the potential velo increase if he were to be moved to the bullpen. Beyond the fastball, his best secondary pitch is his slider, and he also has a curveball, a cutter, and a changeup.
RHP Marco Raya
Raya, 23, was once considered one of the Twins' top pitching prospects. While that is no longer the case, he's still very intriguing, especially as a reliever. Raya has struggled with his control over the past two seasons, so perhaps moving him into a short relief role would help to eradicate some of those issues. The stuff is certainly there, as he has a mid to upper-90s fastball, as well as a cutter, curveball, slider, changeup, with the slider being the best of the bunch. It's also worth noting that Raya's last three appearances at Triple-A have come out of the bullpen, with each appearance lasting less than three innings, so maybe this transition is already in progress.
RHP John Klein
Klein, 23, was signed by the Twins as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He's broken out in the minors this year, totaling 94.1 innings to this point with a 3.43 ERA and 114 strikeouts to 30 walks. He features a mid-90s fastball that gets up to 97-98, as well as a sinker, cutter, changeup, and curveball. It would make a lot of sense to see a guy like Klein moved to the 'pen, as he is likely behind a lot of pitchers in regard to getting an opportunity as a starter in the big leagues.
RHP C.J. Culpepper
Culpepper, another 23-year-old, has had his fair share of injury issues throughout his four years in the Twins' system. This year, he has a 1.78 ERA through 15 minor league starts with 48 strikeouts and 24 walks in 50.2 innings. Like many others on this list, Culpepper features a mid-90s fastball, and beyond that, he throws a cutter, slider, curveball, and changeup. He feels like another pitcher that could help the Twins' bullpen sooner rather than later.
LHP Christian MacLeod
The final one I've got is Christian MacLeod. Twenty-five years old, MacLeod has struggled with walks this year, walking 42 in 74 minor league innings. Still, his ERA sits at 3.89, and he does have 83 strikeouts. His stuff is nothing exceptional, with a fastball that sits in the low 90s, but he very likely doesn't have a future with the team as a starter, so it would be worth trying the reliever transition and seeing if it unlocks something that wasn't previously there.