The Twins' biggest need this offseason is to rebuild their bullpen. They started their bullpen rebuild by acquiring righty Eric Orze from the Tampa Bay Rays in November, but fans were wondering when they'd add another reliever.
Twins add much-needed bullpen depth by reuniting with former All-Star closer Taylor Rogers
The Twins signed lefty Taylor Rogers to a one-year, $2 million deal, according to The Athletic's Aaron Gleeman and Ken Rosenthal. Rogers joins a bullpen that will most likely include righties Orze, Cole Sands and Justin Topa and lefty Kody Funderburk. That leaves three open bullpen spots. Most of those spots will likely be filled by internal options, such as David Festa, Marco Raya and others. However, the Twins still may acquire one more established reliever, which would be in their best interest if they want to be competitive in 2026.
Rogers, 35, posted a 3.38 ERA with 53 strikeouts and 23 walks across 50 2/3 innings for the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds last season. He began the season with the Reds and was dealt to the Cubs at the trade deadline. He mainly throws a high-70s sweeper and low-90s sinker, and also occasionally mixes in a low-90s four-seamer.
Twins fans happy Minnesota reunited with Rogers, who used to be the team's closer
The Twins selected Rogers in the 11th round of the 2012 MLB Draft from the University of Kentucky. He made his MLB debut in 2016 and stayed with the Twins through the 2021 season. He became Minnesota's closer in 2019 and represented the Twins in the 2021 All-Star Game. In his six seasons with the Twins, he posted a 3.15 ERA with 361 strikeouts, 76 walks and 50 saves across 314 2/3 innings.
The Twins traded Rogers and outfielder Brent Rooker to the San Diego Padres on April 7, 2022, in exchange for righties Chris Paddack, Emilio Pagan and Brayan Medina. After sporting a 4.35 ERA across 41 1/3 innings with San Diego, Rogers was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers on August 1, 2022. In the deal, the Padres sent Rogers, righty Dinelson Lamet, infielder Esteury Ruiz and lefty Robert Gasser in exchange for lefty Josh Hader.
After the 2022 season, Rogers signed a three-year, $33 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. He had a 3.06 ERA in 111 2/3 innings across two seasons with the Giants before being traded to the Reds for righty Braxton Roxby in the 2024-25 offseason.