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Shaun Anderson
Anderson was acquired by the Twins for LaMonte Wade Jr. this winter because of their excess of fringe outfield types. He has some control and command issues with over 4 BB/9 in his short MLB career but the stuff is there. He posted a 10.5 K/9 in 2020 for San Francisco along with a 3.52 ERA in 15 innings. It seems the Twins are already at the point of giving Anderson some run considering he pitched two innings on Wednesday in Chicago and they have yet to option him again. He gave up four hits and four runs (one earned) but struck out three and only walked one which was encouraging.
Anderson obviously already has a 40 man spot and while he has options left, it’s easy to argue that his mid 90s fastball and biting slider are deserving of an extended look with how the rest of the bullpen has performed. He may be sent down in a pinch if the Twins need a fresh arm, but if the Twins let him settle in and find some consistency he could easily pitch himself in some important innings.
Yennier Cano
Fellow TwinsDaily contributor Steve says all you need to know right here. Cano was signed as an international free agent out of Cuba a few years back and is already 27 years old. He has very limited minor league experience, only throwing 20 2/3 innings so far but he’s been nothing short of dominant out of the bullpen at the AA level. On Wednesday night he even threw an immaculate inning and has allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings on the season with 11 Ks and no walks so far.
At 27 years old, Cano is already approaching the prime of his baseball career. He brings a mid 90s fastball with a nasty slider and a splitter to go along with it. As far back as 2019 shortly after he signed there was a question as to whether Cano would shoot up to the MLB squad that very season because of his advanced skills. He quite simply doesn’t have a ton of time to slow cook in the minor leagues and his raw stuff alone may be deserving of a look at this point.
Dakota Chalmers
Chalmers was acquired from Oakland in the Fernando Rodney trade. The Twins have tried to develop Chalmers as a starter so far despite injury troubles and some control issues (never posted a BB rate below 12.4%). For many pitchers, such a history points to them not being long for the rotation, and plenty of these arms wind up having effective careers in the bullpen. His nasty stuff doesn’t hurt his chances either, as Chalmers has posted a 33%+ K rate in every season since 2017.
Chalmers already has a 40 man spot which is important given the turnover the Twins have already had. It may be a longshot for the Twins to fast track a starting pitching prospect to the majors from AA, especially as a reliever. That being said, Chalmers already being on the 40 man makes the move pretty convenient and such a gamble could pay off big for this struggling group.
Something clearly has to change with the bullpen and I think these three names offer a good variety of risk/reward for the Twins to gamble on. Are there any names you’d want to see brought up? Will any of these names be enough to fix what’s been an unmitigated disaster? Let us know below.
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