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Derek Falvey and Thad Levine added Emilio Pagan as somewhat of a throw-in alongside Chris Paddack right before Opening Day. Of course, that move also sent Taylor Rogers to San Diego. Aside from the deal with the Padres, Minnesota’s only move of note in relief was to sign 38-year-old veteran Joe Smith. He was ultimately designated for assignment after struggling into the summer.
Minnesota found themselves using a whopping 38 pitchers, of which position players Nick Gordon and Jermaine Palacios were both included. It was a franchise record, and that level of usage is not ideal when multiple starters have the ability to only give five innings on a far too consistent basis.
There’s plenty of money for the front office to allocate this offseason, but how much of it goes towards the bullpen, and should a significant chunk go to one player?
Last offseason the largest deal given to a reliever was from the Los Angeles Angels in their pact with Raisel Iglesias. He secured $58 million on a four-year deal, checking in with a $14 million average annual value. Multiple relievers got two-year deals worth more than $15 million per year, but only Kenley Jansen’s deal commanded $16 million for a single season. The only other pitcher to reach double digits on a yearly basis was Corey Knebel, who got $10 million from the Philadelphia Phillies.
Iglesias worked as the Angels closer but was far from lights out with a 4.04 ERA. His 3.17 FIP suggested the lack of production wasn’t entirely his fault, and eventually, he was dealt to Atlanta prior to the deadline. Jansen led the league in games finished and saves for the Braves, but he was still nowhere near the arm that went to All-Star games from 2016-18. Coming off an injury that allowed him to pitch just 25 2/3 innings in 2021, Knebel regressed quite a bit for the Phillies. He did work as their closer, and the 3.43 ERA wasn’t awful, but he had a 41/28 K/BB and was constantly flirting with disaster.
This class of relievers will be interesting. There are some big names that don’t match production anymore such as Aroldis Chapman and Craig Kimbrel. There are some former Twins such as Trevor May and Taylor Rogers. There is some youth, but most of the group has hit 30, and really the only mega-deal-worthy arm was Edwin Diaz who signed an extension for $102 million remaining with the Mets for the next five years.
I’m not sure there’s a Liam Hendriks or Iglesias in this group, but there’s certainly value to be had and there are guys that will command a solid sum for more than one season. Paying relievers isn’t something this front office has done, and it’s hard to think they’ll reverse course on that now. One would hope the bullpen is a bigger focus than it has been in years past, but that still comes by way of a focused approach and a lesser dollar amount.
How much of their budget would you prefer the Twins allocate on relief pitching this season? Do they really need a big splash in the bullpen?
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