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With Blaine Boyer and Mike Pelfrey both being slotted for roles as middle relievers, only one spot in the bullpen remains. Both J.R. Graham and Caleb Thielbar are in contention for that job, but with Graham enjoying a much more successful spring -- not to mention his status as a Rule 5 acquisition -- things appear to be leaning in the righty’s favor.
That puts Paul Molitor in an interesting position as he enters his first season as a manager. Ron Gardenhire almost always had multiple lefties in his bullpens, providing him with added flexibility to play match-ups in the late innings, but Molitor may not have that luxury in his first go. Maybe that's not all that surprising; his reliever usage this spring has suggested that he’s more interested in having his pitchers record multiple outs -- even over multiple innings -- as opposed to utilizing specific arms to face one or two hitters.
Still, there will be instances late in a close game where a threatening left-handed hitter like Michael Brantley or Eric Hosmer steps into the box and Molitor’s top weapon, Brian Duensing, is unavailable.
If Thielbar’s not around, who’s the go-to guy in such a situation? Is there one? Let’s take a look at the options Molitor will have on hand outside of Glen Perkins, who is obviously not a match-up play.
Blaine Boyer: The veteran really isn’t a strong option to match up against left-handed hitters, and in fact should probably be limited almost entirely to righties. As Parker noted Tuesday, Boyer has struggled against batters from the opposite side, though the addition of a changeup to his repertoire could help matters.
Mike Pelfrey: Over the course of his career, Pelfrey has been just about equally effective against hitters from either side -- which is to say, not terribly effective (.753 OPS vs. RHB, .784 OPS vs. LHB). As a starter, he didn't really have the secondary stuff to keep lefties in line, but we’ll see how things change with the role switch.
Casey Fien: He will probably be tabbed for a pretty strict eighth-inning role, at least initially, though at least he can probably handle hitters from both sides in that duty? Last year, he held lefties to a .255/.294/.400 line, though in his first season with the Twins portsiders slugged .472 with six homers against him.
Tim Stauffer: In his career, Stauffer has actually been more effective against lefty batters, holding them to a .712 OPS as opposed to .737 for righties. Last year in San Diego, Stauffer held LHB to a .282/.333/.347 line with zero homers in 135 plate appearances. Interesting.
From a strictly statistical standpoint, Stauffer actually appears to be the best match-up choice for left-handed hitters among righties in the bullpen. That may be a key point in his favor, in light of his immense struggles on the hill this spring.
Would you be comfortable sending any of the above names (or the completely untested J.R. Graham) against a lefty power threat in a tie game? Or do you think the Twins would be wise to have a second lefty behind Duensing? Sound off in the comments.
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