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Joe Smith. Plain in name, but not in game. The Minnesota Twins have signed veteran reliever Joe Smith to a contract for 2022. This will mark his 15th season in the big leagues. He debuted with the Mets way back in 2007, and he has pitched in 832 games since then with the Mets, Cleveland, the Angels, Cubs, Blue Jays, Cleveland again, the Astros and most recently, the Mariners.
After pitching in Houston in 2018 and 2019, he opted out of the 2020 COVID-19 season. Through 27 games with the Astros, he struggled to a 7.48 ERA. In late July, he was traded to the Mariners and posted a 3-3 record with a 2.00 ERA in 23 games and 18 innings.
Smith joins a Twins bullpen that has some talent but still some questions marks.
Taylor Rogers is the best late-inning guy. He earned his first All Star appearance last year. However, a late-July finger injury ended his season prematurely. Tyler Duffey and Caleb Thielbar provide some veterans toward the back end of the bullpen. Jorge Alcala really came on strong late in the year and hopes to take a step forward in 2022.
There are other options for the Twins bullpen:
- Jharel Cotton is a veteran that the Twins claimed from the Rangers early in the offseason. He was a solid prospect with the A's, but he struggled in his return from Tommy John surgery. He found some success last year with the Rangers and has a chance to pitch in a middle inning role with the Twins.
- Cody Stashak - He struggled last year and it was clear from watching him that his back was not right. When healthy, Stashak exhibits great control and command and experienced a lot of success his first two seasons.
- Lewis Thorpe - He is officially out of options this year. So, he has to make the Twins roster and cannot be optioned without being put through waivers. The Twins have officially told him that they will be moving him to the bullpen.
- Griffin Jax - He debuted in 2021 and found some struggles, and yet he held his own. He was also told that he will work out of the Twins bullpen from this point forward. He has two option years remaining. He can throw fairly hard out of the bullpen and has a very good slider.
- Ralph Garza, Jr. - The Twins claimed him from the Astros last summer. He pitched pretty well for the Twins late in the season and has two options remaining.
- Jovani Moran - another lefty, Moran has some of the best stuff in the bullpen. A good fastball. A sharp slider, and a changeup that many want to compare to Johan Santana's. He's got three options remaining after getting called up in September last year.
Beyond this group, it's possible to see lefties Devin Smeltzer and Danny Coulombe who have both had good success at times in the big leagues. Juan Minaya really pitched well for the Twins the final two months of the season, and he came back to the Twins on a minor-league deal. Jake Faria has big-league time with some success. Trevor Megill was claimed, then DFAd and brought back on a minor league deal, but he has intriguing stuff. Last year, the Twins claimed Ian Hamilton off of waivers and were able to sneak him through waivers. He is out of options, but he is not on the 40-man roster. In addition, Ryan Mason and Yennier Cano are two arms in St. Paul that should be given an opportunity at some point.
Joe Smith has had a lot of great moments in the game. The side-winding righty fits into the same type of category as the Tyler Clippard and Sergio Romo types signed in recent years. They can still get guys out, and hopefully they can work with the other bullpen arms.
What are your thoughts on the Twins signing their first relief pitcher?
(More to come)
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