Puckett34

Sending 24-year-old prospect Sawyer Gipson-Long to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Michael Fulmer, Minnesota picked up its first rental. A former first-round pick for the Tigers, Fulmer stepped away from working as a starter following a disastrous 2020 season. Since moving to the bullpen he’s been a great weapon and adds to the depth created with the acquisition of Pablo Lopez earlier today.
Last season Fulmer posted a 2.97 ERA and 3.46 FIP across 69 2/3 innings. Utilized solely as a reliever this season, Fulmer has tallied a 3.20 ERA alongside a 3.22 FIP. Fulmer’s 28% hard-hit rate this season is a career-low and in 107 batted ball events he has allowed just a single barrel.
 
While some pitchers see a spike in velocity when moving to the bullpen, that hasn’t been the case for Fulmer. He has remained consistent as a mid-90’s thrower. Much more fastball dominant as a starter, Fulmer has turned to a slider over 60% of the time this season and it’s among the best pitches in baseball. Despite throwing it that often, opponents are hitting just .140/.250/.151 against it.
Like the previously-acquired Jorge Lopez, Fulmer has also recorded saves and pitched in late-game situations. Detroit employs All-Star Gregory Soto as their closer, but Fulmer has worked as a setup man and gives Rocco Baldelli another arm to work alongside Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax.
Drafted in the 6th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft, Sawyer Gipson-Long came from Mercer University. He started this season back at High-A Cedar Rapids and was dominant with a 1.99 ERA. That came on the heels of a strong showing across six starts to end the 2021 season with the Kernels. 
Having made eight appearances (7 starts) for Double-A Wichita, Gipson-Long owns a 7.17 ERA. The command and strikeout stuff have still been good, but he’s been hit around, allowing an 11.0 H/9. Certainly a prospect with some promise still, there’s plenty of risk here to not count on him for the future.
Going into the deadline Minnesota wanted to avoid rentals, but this is one that makes sense. Fulmer is making just $4.95 million this season, and while there is some upside, Gipson-Long isn’t a substantial price to pay. Whatever value the Twins get from a bolstered relief unit this season is likely to outweigh contributions from Gipson-Long years from now.
 

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Joe Ryan, 4.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K (70 pitches, 42 strikes, 64%)
Home Runs: Gio Urshela (1)
Bottom 3 WPA: Byron Buxton (-.214), Carlos Correa (-.173), Gary Sanchez (.152),
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Ryan gives up an early home run, departs after four innings
Joe Ryan was named the Opening Day starter for the Twins, becoming the first rookie starting pitcher to do so in precisely 53 years: on 4/8/1969, rookie Tom Hall took the mound, and he pitched into the sixth against the Royals in Kansas City to open the season. With only 26 2/3 big league innings in his career, Ryan became the Opening Day starter with the fewest such innings in franchise history and the first in the majors since David Nied in 1993.
The first two times through the Seattle order were anything but smooth for Ryan. Having given up only five total walks in his five 2021 starts, he gave up three in the first three innings while also hitting a batter. He hung a fastball against Mitch Haniger in the first, which was crushed for a two-out, two-run home run.
Seattle couldn't build momentum and add on despite posing a constant threat during the first three innings. Ryan closed out each of those innings with a strikeout, two against Eugenio Suárez. He also got some big help from a great defensive play by Carlos Correa in the third, which almost started a double play.
Speaking of the new guy, he was responsible for Minnesota’s only hit early, as reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray – and his famous pants – cruised through the Twins lineup. In his first at-bat with Minnesota, C4 smacked a fastball down the middle for a single.
Minnesota gets on the board, Duran impresses in majors debut
Minnesota managed to get on the board in the fourth, with another new guy making a good first impression. Gio Urshela, once known for his efficiency against off-speed pitches, took Ray deep for the Twins’ first home run of the season.
The fourth inning was also the final one for Ryan in the ballgame, as he once again failed to prevent baserunners from reaching. Rocco Baldelli brought in flame-throwing prospect Jhoan Duran for his Major League debut for the next two innings, and the Dominican didn’t disappoint.
Duran didn’t get off to a good start, giving up back-to-back singles to open the inning. However, with his pitches reaching 100.7 MPH on the radar gun and showing off some nasty movement, he managed to blow past the heart of the Mariner lineup, striking out the next four batters. His velocity wasn’t the same during his second inning out there, but he still managed to hold off Seattle.
The bats can’t provide the rally against Ray, Seattle’s bullpen
Ray continued to dominate the Twins' offense and did so economically, as his pitch count didn’t hit 90 until the seventh inning. With one of baseball’s best bullpens last season, Mariner relievers managed to keep the Twins offense out of the game in the final two innings.
After a 1-2-3 inning from reliever Paul Sewald in the eighth, Minnesota had one inning to try and spark a rally, and they almost did. Luis Arráez replaced Urshela in the ninth, and he put together a superb nine-pitch that ended in a leadoff single. It all came down to Gary Sánchez with two outs and a man on, and he put on a good fight but eventually flew out, merely inches away from a walk-off homer.
A positive takeaway from this game for the Twins was the excellent pitching performance, especially from the bullpen. After Duran pitched two scoreless frames, Jorge Alcalá and Danny Coulombe kept Seattle scoreless for the rest of the game. Minnesota’s relievers combined for five scoreless innings, with three hits, three walks, and seven strikeouts.
What’s Next?
On  Saturday, the series continues when Sonny Gray will make his Twins debut against Logan Gilbert. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:10 pm.
Postgame Interview
 
Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet
(pitch counts were not available for Tuesday's spring training game) 
  MON TUE WED THU FRI TOT Ober 56 0 0 0 0 56 Duran 0 0 0 0 31 31 Coulombe 0 0 0 0 27 27 Alcalá 10 0 0 0 13 23 Cotton 22 0 0 0 0 22 Thielbar 0 0 0 0 0 0 Duffey 0 0 0 0 0 0 Pagán 0 0 0 0 0 0 Romero 0 0 0 0 0 0 Smith 0 0 0 0 0 0 Winder 0 0 0 0 0 0