The Minnesota Twins season has been a roller coaster and that is especially true for their bullpen. Coming into a season with a roster worthy of a scene in the 1989 classic Major League, the Twins have scrambled to find solutions for their late-inning woes. But they may have found a solution in closer Yoendrys Gomez.
Gomez has been a solid find after being designated for assignment by the Tampa Bay Rays in May, posting a 1.89 ERA with a 24.1 percent strikeout rate and 12.0 percent walk rate entering Tuesday’s series finale against the Atlanta Braves. He also has become the closer on a Twins team that has looked frantically for relief, collecting 19 saves in his 44 appearances.
For a player who was acquired for almost nothing, Gomez has been a revelation in the Twins pen. And he could be the reason the Twins have found a silver lining in their bullpen overhaul that began at last year’s trade deadline.
The Twins may have aced their returns on relievers at last year’s trade deadline
The Twins would be in much better shape had they held onto Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax and Louis Varland at last year’s trade deadline and they probably would have some separation in a six-team race for the final Wild Card spot in the American League. But while each of these relievers had value, the Twins have found a way to replace them.
Jax was a trusted setup man for the Twins since becoming a full-time reliever during the 2022 season and performed at a level worthy of an All-Star spot with a 2.03 ERA in 72 appearances during the 2024 season. While his numbers tailed off to a 4.50 ERA in 50 games with the Twins during the 2025 season and he’s since been moved to a starting role after being traded to the Tampa Bay Rays, the Twins came out ahead getting a younger arm with more upside in Taj Bradley.
Duran is a little harder to justify. After being the Twins’ closer dating back to 2023, Duran is having a career year with the Philadelphia Phillies, posting a 1.83 ERA and 27 saves in 47 appearances. It’s also not helping that Mick Abel has dealt with elbow issues this season. But after just turning 25, there’s a chance Abel has a lot of tread on the tires and could give the Twins another solution to their starting pitching depth.
Then, there’s Varland. The Twins were over-aggressive by trading Varland, who won’t become a free agent until 2031 and could have been a cheap option to close if they kept him and still traded Duran and Jax. But Kendry Rojas was part of the return, who could play in the starting rotation or in the bullpen if he figures out his control issue (16.9 percent walk rate in 29.2 innings).
In all, the Twins could wind up with three starters in the fire sale if everything goes right and it’s even sweeter as the Twins have found replacements for the relievers they traded away.
Yoendrys Gomez has helped the Twins recover from last season’s bullpen purge
Jax’s role as a setup man was valuable but it has been replaced by rookie Andrew Morris. The 24-year-old has also been solid this season with a 3.34 ERA, 22.7 percent strikeout rate and 8.7 percent walk rate and could continue to be a factor in the pen unless the Twins decide to move him into the rotation as soon as the 2027 season.
Other holes such as Varland’s middle relief role have also been filled thanks to the Twins’ aggressiveness at this year’s deadline. Acquiring Anthony Banda at the beginning of the year helped with the left side until he suffered a season-ending lat injury, but Minnesota was able to add A.J. Minter to replace him and added Jeff Hoffman on the right side to add two veteran relievers to the bullpen.
Then there is what Gomez has done in the closer’s role. Gomez’s metrics suggest that he’s riding a hot streak as he has troubling hard-hit (44.0%), barrel (8.9%) and chase (28.1%) rates according to Baseball Savant. But he also has done his job, successfully closing out the game in all 19 of his opportunities.
It’s unknown if Gomez can keep this going into the future. But age 26, there’s a chance the Twins may have found something. Even if they didn’t Gomez’s arrival and the returns from last year’s trade deadline may show the Twins may have known what they were doing trading their relievers in the middle of last season and could set themselves up to lessen the load on their bullpen in future seasons.
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