The Minnesota Twins are looking to rebuild its bullpen.
However, the lefties in the ‘pen look to be a strength of the pitching staff. It returns the team’s best reliever from a season ago. It also adds a starter from last season that has excelled in the bullpen in the past.
The in-house candidates for the left-handed spots in the bullpen:
Pros: He is a lefty that works in the strike zone. He throws strikes and doesn’t issue very many walks. He can pitch in a starting or relief role.
Cons: He doesn’t throw hard enough to pitch from behind. He gets hit and doesn’t get a high number of strikeouts.
Pros: He has the versatility to start or come out of the ‘pen. He pitches to contact with good command of all his pitches. He doesn’t give in to hitters and finds ways to get outs.
Cons: He doesn’t have overpowering stuff and will go through spells of inaccuracy. He does not dominate left or right-handed hitters.
Pros: He has Major League experience over four seasons. He is crafty pitcher with good command of his pitches. He knows how to get outs when needed.
Cons: He doesn’t have overpowering stuff and may not be able to get outs in chunks. He doesn’t have a very good strikeout-to-walk ratio. He has a history of shoulder injuries (three stints to the 15-day disabled list; two of which eventually became a trip to the 60-day disabled list). He also missed time last season due to a biceps injury that left him day-to-day.
Pros: He is versatile after having filling several roles on the Twins’ pitching staff. He has an overpowering fastball with the ability to pitch to contact. He is tough on left-handed and right-handed hitters. He can pitch around runners in scoring position.
Cons: He can become hittable over time. When things go poorly, they can escalate for him. He needs to prove he was not a one-year wonder.
Pros: He is a big pitcher with good minor league statistics. He bounced back from his worst statistical season with a good one at double-A New Britain last season. He finished last season strong allowing just four earned runs over his final 21.1 innings (over 13 appearances).
Cons: His odd delivery concerns some experts that he may have injury issues in the future. Some reports have his velocity dropping a bit as he climbed the minor league ladder. He may be a candidate for a starting spot in the future. If that is the case, another year as a starter at Rochester would be beneficial. Either way, at least one more year in the minors may be the best thing for his development.
Top Free agents:
Mike Gonzalez. The 33-year-old left-handed pitcher is a former closer. His skills are declining, but he still gets enough outs to serve as a late-inning, short reliever.
Rich Hill. The 31-year-old left-handed pitcher was once a heralded prospect in the Chicago Cubs system, but is now trying to find to find his niche in the big leagues.
Hong-Chih Kuo. The 30-year-old left-handed pitcher is coming off a down year after posting three straight great seasons.
Damaso Marte. The 36-year-old left-handed pitcher just keeps getting hitters out, but hasn’t pitched since the 2010 season.
Trever Miller. The 38-year-old left-handed pitcher has enjoyed an-and-down career; last season was an up.
Horacio Ramirez. The 32-year-old left-handed pitcher was once a rising star as a starter, but has endured injuries and inconsistency forcing him to the bullpen.
My early choice for the left-handed relievers would be:
Perkins and Duensing. They are the two best pitchers. A third candidate could find their way onto the roster (Diamond or Dumatrait) with a strong spring. It depends if manager Ron Gardenhire wants a 12 or 11-man pitching staff and if he wants three, four or five right-handers. I think, right now, that manager Ron Gardenhire will go with five right-handers and two left-handers in a 12-man staff.
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