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Who's going to trade a good reliever in early May? Nobody. Very unlikely. The front office completely blew the offseason, and it can't fix it right now. I can't claim to have predicted the pen would be THIS bad, but it wasn't hard to predict the pen wasn't going to be good enough.

If we cannot have good relievers to shore up the BP how about a different strategy. Piggly Back starters all the way. Have a second starter ready every game - drop the relievers, call up good arms and see if we cannot fill the game with two pitchers rather than the assembly we have now. Sorry Saints but you would get the BP arms and we will steal your starters.

Sign Greene. Promote Law and Smeltzer. Demote Theilbar and Waddell. IL Colome. Make Robles the closer, Rogers a fireman, Duffy and Alcala 8th inning guys. And pray.... a lot.

I think part of the solution, as @ToddlerHarmon gets at, is letting Maeda and Berrios pitch deeper into games. Happ, Dobnak and Pineda if they are breezing.

The most frustrating thing about Rogers is Rocco's insistence on using him on back to back days. We have 3+ years of data now that says Rogers is a diminished pitcher when pitching on zero days rest. 2018 Without rest--12.2 IP, 10 k/9, 6.4 bb/9, .7 hr/9, 3.55 ERA, 4.05 FIP With rest--55.2 IP, 10 k/9, 1.1 bb/9, .3 hr/9, 2.43 ERA, 1.75 FIP 2019 Without rest--15 IP, 12.6 k/9, 4.2 bb/9, 3 hr/9, 7.20 ERA, 6.03 FIP With rest--54 IP, 11.5 k/9, .7 bb/9, .5 hr/9, 1.33 ERA, 1.49 FIP 2020/2021 Without rest--5.1 IP, 8.4 k/9, 0 bb/9, 3.4 hr/9, 5.07 ERA, 6.10 FIP With Rest--26.1 IP, 10.9 k/9, 1.7 bb/9, .7 hr/9, 3.08 ERA, 2.23 FIP The trends are quite clear--with the exception of the 2020/2021 SSS, Rogers' walk rate explodes on no rest. Even in the 2020/2021 SSS, his HR rate explodes on no rest. This is supposed to be an analytical team that believes in the benefits of rest--it baffles me that Rogers can even be considered an option on no rest.

"B: Trade for a bad team's best reliever" Psst....but WE are the bad team (don't tell anyone...)

I rip this team a lot for not spending....but I'm not sure who they could/should have signed this off season other than one good SP, rather than two cheap ones. But, so far, Happ has been quite good..... They actually spent a lot of money on Colome.... There is not one non-pitcing position where, given this roster and the minors, that you'd bring in a player other than SS, which they did. That leaves the bullpen and SP.....They weren't signing Bauer. Not sure who else you'd sign after signing Happ. As for the bullpen....which expensive RP was a realistic sign? Maybe they are leaving space to sign Buxton and/or Berrios? But, really, there weren't a lot of players that were realistic at all, that they have space for. I guess you could argue C, but I doubt any FO gives up on Garver after last year's short season, not with Jeffers in the minors.

He pitched ball one and ball two to Calhoun to begin the ninth. I was watching a minor league game or something, at that moment, so I don't know whether those two pitches were unlucky. The home run that followed did not beat him, but if you reconstruct the inning it seems very likely that no runs at all would have scored despite a couple of unlucky turns of events, had Rogers managed to retire Calhoun instead of giving up a dinger. Sometimes you make your own luck.

There are about four relievers who are somewhat trustworthy: Duffey (who doesn't look nearly as dominant as last year) Robles Rogers (who got horrifically unlucky last night) Thielbar Then there's the rest. Alcala has promise, but he just gets hammered by lefties, which is why he wasn't usable last night. I'm not sure the solution there, besides hoping for the best, or having him develop a pitch against lefties. Stashak, I don't know. Great strikeout numbers, but if he's not striking someone out, he's getting hit hard. His walks are way up. His BABIP and FIP suggest he's getting unlucky on batted balls, and the Twins are using him that way, but he's not a high leverage option. Colomé, I mean, what else is there to say? You've got to start working him into low leverage situations and hope that he figures something out. But it's untenable to keep him around all season as a nearly useless arm. Eventually they need to decide he's turned it around, or cut bait. So at this point, the Twins have to be kicking the tires on Greene. But they also should be aggressively cycling through their AAA options to see if anyone can stick. Law looked good in the spring, and I'm surprised they haven't tried him yet. Ryan Mason looked good in past minor league seasons, he could quickly emerge as an option. But the Twins need to get aggressive.

Another option, which the late minor league start has complicated: Use one of the starter prospects, probably Duran, as a short reliever for this season. Yes, I know it has risks. But it alleviates the crowding of the 40-man and of the bullpen with unusable arms. And it's better than trading them. Starting pitching depth was supposed to be a thing we have, right? We always intended to need more relievers. Well, it's not convenient, but time to see what Law, Hamilton, Gibaut can do. And another thing: not all analytics-driven strategies work. Pulling your starters when they struggle in the fourth or fifth may need to be re-evaluated. Especially when the quality of pitcher available is so far below the starting corps.

With no one to trust due to failure after failure in high leverage spots, why not bring Alcala in and see how he does? His stuff can result in strikeouts, which would help significantly with the runner-on-second rule. I would rather see what Alcala is made of and lose than see Waddell ever take the mound for the Twins again.

On a brighter note...........we need that don't we after ANOTHER blown game, other than the Saints loss at Omaha our other 3 affiliates all won tonight!! Wichita (AA) beat Springfield (STL) 2-0------scoring 2 runs in 8th. Josh Winder with 4.2 shutout IP with 6K's and only 1 BB allowed. Headed to Springfield tomorrow morning to see the next 2 games for the Wind Surge. Hoping to see Cole Sands and Dakota Chalmers pitch the next 2 nights. Our CR Kernels broke out the bats with some early runs and coasted to a 7-0 win over the Peoria (STL) Chiefs. And finally...... our low A- Fort Myers Mussells came back with a 4-run 9th inning (imagine that...it is allowed to score in the 9th inning!!) to overcome a 3-2 deficit to beat Bradenton 6-3. At this point-------this is where my attention and investment will be.

Berrios pitched the second game of the season, and it was 6 no-hit innings. Donaldson has been worth .5 WAR in 17 games--That's 3 WAR in 102 games, which is worth $30M on the free agent market, and we paid $23M, so seems reasonable. He has an OPS over .800, a wRC+ of 127, and has accounted for 2.8 UZR in his 329 innings with the Twins. He is absolutely not the problem with this team.

Everyone saw this result coming once Rogers blew the save and they showed Waddell leaving the bullpen for the 10th. We can't afford to have two relievers in the doghouse (Colome and Alcala (despite looking better lately)) plus having the AAA project in the pen. And that's with Rogers, Duffey, Thielbar, and Stashak having their own issues. They've got to at least try to fix the pen and not pretend everything is fine. Call up Law and sign Shane Greene, and if they fail, well, I will give them credit for trying.

If the starters keep going 5, 51/3....the team will lose 90 games. Can’t throw Rodgers and duffey every night. There’s just not enough even mediocre pitchers in the pen

If you are going with Brandon Waddell in the 10th inning of a tie game that you really need to win while playing catchup to just .500 baseball, here are some names that would be more interesting and are old enough that you don't have to worry about the "years of control" or "available options". Jovani Moran Tom Hackimer Ryan Mason

In most seasons yes but I think because of the shortened season last year teams are looking for ways to limit innings somewhat to prevent fatigue/injury. If they pitch deeper in games now does that mean missing starts later in the year? Tough call.

In unrelated former prospect news - watched Huascar Ynoa pitch last night for the Braves. Kudos to Seth for touting him several years ago. Threw a great game (and he takes a healthy cut at the plate as well).

I said 2 months ago the bullpen wasn't going to be good enough, and I got quite a bit of pushback. Well? What say youse guys now? As to this game, plenty of blame to go around, as has been all too common, but I'll point a finger at Rocco for sending Rogers out for the 9th. Not only back to back games, but a second inning as well. Stupid, although I admit the alternatives aren't that attractive. I'm afraid it's probably too late. You can't rebuild a bullpen in April/May from outside the organization, and there's no help in St Paul.

I agree. Panic. But what good is panic? I personally plan to take up Tai Chi instead of watching the Twins.

I cannot comment on the BP - that has been covered - but isn't it time to say thanks for the memories and bid Jake Cave adios? Couldn't Larnach, Rooker...do as well or better than cave? And I have seen snippy comments - yes I said snippy - about Astudillo, but look at what he has done this year. He is actually one of our bright spots! Lets hope Arraez is better quickly, that Polanco is moved to Utility, that Cave is sent down, that Kiriloff starts every day - some where.

Please explain Waddell and not Alcala. Or actually, ROGERS and not Alcala

Not much changes from the original plan. Sano plays 1B primarily, Kirilloff plays LF primarily, and Arraez fills in elsewhere around the field. When it’s all said and done, all 3 will look like they played almost every day.

None of the above. I read most of the winter, and frankly over the last 2 years how deep our farm system is. Let’s try them out first before paying a premium for a reliever we’ll probably regret trading for in a year.

You're right, there were no good options. That includes Rogers, who due to pitching on Monday, was also not a good option. So maybe Alcala, or Thielbar, or Colome blows the lead just the same, but at least then Rogers is available tonight. As it is, we have now pitched Duffey and Rogers two days in a row, so our good options tonight are...Robles? This bodes ill for our chances in a close game tonight; those chances would be better if Rogers was available, but instead we used him in a situation in which it was predictable he would not be good. The upshot is that we traded tonight's potentially good Rogers appearance for last nights predictably bad Rogers appearance. Seems less than smart.

I'm not saying it isn't worth it to kick the tires on Greene, but a guy who struck out less than 7 per 9 last year, had an xFIP- of 107 (tied for 120th out of 173 relievers last year, not for nothing, but Sergio Romo in 2020 was at 110, ranking 129th), and a SIERA of 4.51 (tied for 131st; Romo was at 3.82, ranking 79th) isn't going to move the needle on this bullpen. After all, if we were told we could add 2020 Sergio Romo to this pen right now, would any of us be excited about that? Add in that Greene will probably need 2-4 weeks minimum to get ramped up to game shape, and I don't think Greene does anything for you that you can't get from someone in St Paul. What will actually make this bullpen work is to have either a bullpen alpha (to handle every 9th inning), allowing Rogers, Duffey, and Robles to handle the 7th and 8th. Failing that, we need 2-3 guys at the Rogers/Duffey/Robles level, and I'm not sure Greene counts as one of those.

It's not about one arm fixing the bullpen single-handedly. It's about finding someone to fill a leverage role and bump everyone else down, so you're not forced to pick between Brandon Waddell and Jorge Alcala in the 10th last night. Obviously they're going to need a few guys already in the bullpen to turn around their poor play, but I fear that won't even be enough on its own.

Cool! If only this new platform also included a couple of reliable bullpen arms.....

asking JA Happ to go longer wasn't, isn’t, and won't be the answer. The Twins got more than what can reasonably be expected from Happ last night...1 run in 5.1 IP. You might get 6 on a couple good nights, but you'll get less than 5.1 some nights too. Everyone in the dugout, and front office, knew that when Happ was signed. You're PLANNING on 3 to 4 innings from the pen almost every time Happ takes the mound when you ink him to a contract. The failure is with not having a good plan for that, rather than for expecting more from Happ.

I don't know about getting aggressive at 11-17. At some point, Happ will have to pitch against an actual offense, and he's going to get shelled. Maeda smoked and mirrored his way to not even a quality start. We know Berrios will be terrible after the AS break. Shoemaker is toast. And, last but not least, Big Mike isn't going to be a 30 start guy. I won't be surprised if this team gets swept in Chicago next week, then, hopefully, reality will set in. Now it looks like Kirilloff may be headed for the IL. May be time for a blow-up.

Baldelli's insistence on limiting how long the starters pitch contributes to the implosion of the bullpen. It's a team effort -- if the bullpen pieces aren't working, the starters can stay in for another couple of batters if their pitches are still working. Happ would rather go to the playoffs than have his 2.00 ERA protected through September. It's OK to use your eyes and ears to see if a pitcher needs to be pulled instead of a pitch count.

I can just tell from that Jeffers batflip after his HR that he's playing pissed off after being sent down. Good to see some fire.

Well, at least we have the minor league report now that their season has started. Nice diversion from this same play reel.

Agree 100% with all of your comments. After 45+ years of following this team day to day, I'm at the point, I can't/won't invest my time into this group. The "stat" that goes a long way into showing how BAD this team is with their bullpen and offense was mentioned by Bremer after Rogers coughed up the lead in the 9th. The Twins have been outscored 17-1 in the 9th inning this year. Not a misprint. 17-1. Making things even worse-------like we need that-------when you factor in the 6 extra inning losses with the Twins being outscored 11-2 (just in the 10th inning) they've now been outscored in the 9th and 10th inning 28-3. Yes, 28-3. Where is Falvey's accountability in this fiasco? His decision to bring Colome in. His decision to do NOTHING to upgrade bullpen by bringing in a quality LH RP. Please don't tell me Thielbar and Thorpe are the answer. Other than the dumpster dive signing of Robles, who's had his ups and downs, Falvey's offseason work is worthy of a FAILING grade.

Even a casual Twins fan knows that Rodgers has struggled pitching two days in a row even when he was at his best..... but Ruminating Rocco you ask? No...no he does not know that It seems obvious to give Alaca the ball in the 10th (who did not pitch yesterday) instead of Waddell (who did and got shelled). This is not hind sight being 20/20; there were people who time stamped this opinion on the game thread live time. Yes the FO should have done better with the bullpen and the lineup should hit more, but Rocco simply not a good manager. He's just not. A nice man and a smart person I'm sure, but that alone does not make a good manager.

Waddell needs to be gone. He is not a major league pitcher. And Rocco deserves that “ovation” given to him. His managerial decisions have contributed to an 11-17 start to what should’ve been a series we were supposed to compete for a world championship. He needs to right the ship, and now. Not convinced he’s capable of doing it. From the game thread, any sort of relief help is a must. Shane Greene and Oliver Perez might be able to help. Call up Derek Law and NO. MORE. WADDELL.

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Jorge Alcala in his career against lefties; 15.2 k/9 (Amazing!) 6.75 bb/9 (Ugh) 2.34 WHIP (Ugh) 1.178 OPS against (Ugh) 8.14 FIP (Ugh)

It's OK to use your eyes and ears to see if a pitcher needs to be pulled instead of a pitch count.

If the BP sucks....the next step is to go longer with the starters. If that doesn't work.....your team is no good. Re-group over the winter or at the trade deadline to get better. Rocco keeps going by the "numbers" or something. Stop that! But about last night-----The idea that Duffey could not get that one batter out....so Rocco brought in Rogers [for one batter and a 2 run lead in the 8th..stupid]....then let him sit....so he could tighten up enough to suck in the ninth....and give up 2 runs and now we are tied. Who the hell is Waddell?? More musings........... Where is Pressley and May? Prospects are over rated. Winning today at all costs is all that matters [ask the player crashing into a wall]. Why is Escobar and Eddie not still on the team?? Why spend $23 million a year on Josh Donaldson and go cheap and stupid elsewhere??

I just don't get what happened to this bullpen. It was one of baseballs best the past two years. Clean innings were the norm and not the exception until this year. It is like direct Karmic payback for the last two years of success. One guy is not going to fix the mess they have. I can't ever remember total system failure like this year and such consistent failure. The silver lining is maybe the FO looks for more velocity and better K9 guys for the pen instead of castoffs. The pens they have put together have not been good in the playoffs either. Maybe something like this will force them to look at things differently.

I want to know when Acala will get a chance to pitch late in games. Last night would have been perfect spot to throw him in the 9th. Rodgers was pitching in back to back, and not that he did "good" the day prior. Yes, if Donaldson makes his play we win, but Rodgers still failed overall. We need to figure out this pen situation quickly, or start having our starters pitch more than 90 pitches a game and ask them to go into 7th. We keep using too many pen guys each night. I do not understand using Waddell again in the 10th, he did terrible the day prior against the same guys.

I think he was surprised by the move, but he will handle it well. He's smart. The key for him is getting playing time and at bats on a consistent basis. He's going to be terrific, but he just wasn't playing enough or consistently enough with the Twins as they were trying to get Garver going.

The Mariners traded for Colome in May, back in the day. Of course, it appears Colome is a hot potato.

I find this baseball unwatchable. Lucky the Wild is still playing and golf is enjoyable. Does front office think their the smartest guys in the room now? And the Pohlad’s trying to cut corners with a potentially good team. And too much analytics....just play the best players. And I don’t think Rocco thinks like winner.

Yeah, nobody's going to sell a top arm in May. Not even a basement-dweller. By the way, one arm isn't going to change this. Bringing in Green or whoever isn't going to all of a sudden make Rogers, Duffey, or Colome any better. A dominant reliever may help the Twins win - max - a game every 1.5 weeks or so. The Twins need everyone to be above average, and that's not happening. The offense is waking up but it's pretty meaningless if they can't stay consistent. This could very well be a really ugly season that results in a complete tear-down.

You're late to the party Nick. I have been saying this for 2 weeks. Twins have been outscored like 27 - 3 in the ninth and 10th innings. They need to sign Greene and send Waddle, Thielbar, and maybe other pitchers with options to the minors. Call up Law, and make a trade or two or this season will be gone by the end of May. If it is maybe you have to fire the entire management staff to get the message across. Trading will be difficult because a good front office will want top flight prospects for mid level relievers. Make moves now.

Steve: Excellent work with these updates. Living in KC area------headed to Springfield, MO tomorrow morning to see the next 2 games for the Wind Surge. A much needed diversion from this dumpster fire of a season at MLB level. Hoping to see Cole Sands and Dakota Chalmers start these games.

Another bullpen loss. They are horrible. Well I said I wanted Waddle and they gave me Waddle in the 10th but same result as Colome so I don't know what to wish for anymore. Our best bullpen arm blows it in the 9th. I don't think we can survive this season with a bullpen that is this bad. It is a shame. We have a pretty good team but maybe this the wake up call the FO needs. Maybe this will get the FO to look at K9 guys for the pen and stop with this goofy boot strap bullpen building. Maybe a wasted year can get them to move this team toward dominance instead of just enough to get the job done.

Bad loss. Said it in the game thread, probably 3rd worst of the year behind the shoemaker Mariners game and the game in Oakland where we scored 12 runs. The bullpen is so, so bad. It’s equally on the front office and Rocco. The options are poor, and the deployment of some of the arms (Waddell in the 10th) are inexcusable. Lineup was pretty bad tonight as well, but Gibson had his stuff today.