Kody Funderburk has found his way back into the middle of the Twins’ bullpen picture, and it has everything to do with getting his mechanics back in line.
The left-hander’s season took a rough turn when Minnesota sent him to Triple-A St. Paul for the second time on June 2.
At that point, he was carrying a 5.65 FIP and a -7.3 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a brutal stretch that reflected just how often he was putting hitters on base instead of missing bats. His return to St.
Paul didn’t clean things up right away, either. From June 5 to 21, he logged seven innings with a 5.14 ERA, a 4.10 FIP and a 19.4% strikeout rate.
Funderburk has dealt with control problems before, but this season he also got squared up too often. Once he fell behind, the fastball wasn’t sneaking by hitters, and the damage followed along with the walks.
The Twins needed relief help, though, and Funderburk had a path back. Minnesota’s thin bullpen depth and his spot on the 40-man roster made him an obvious option for a promotion on June 24. When he returned, he was trying to rediscover the version of himself that closed last season so strongly, when he posted a 0.75 ERA, a 2.30 FIP and a 28% strikeout rate over 24 innings after the 2025 trade deadline.
“I know I was flying off a lot of stuff mechanically, causing some misses east-to-west.” Funderburk said, noting that Twins bullpen coach LaTroy Hawkins worked extensively with him upon his latest return. “We kind of just got back to staying closed, keeping my head on the target, and I was able to keep my torso closed just a split second longer, and everything timed up better.”
The fix has shown up in the numbers. Since June 26, Funderburk has thrown 20 2/3 innings with a 2.18 ERA, a 2.36 FIP and a 27.7% strikeout rate.
“So, I think mechanically, like, that was a big adjustment for me and [Hawkins] and I got the work done. And, I mean, our catchers kill it with game-planning, and once I feel like I'm involved and can execute, it’s putting all my trust in them,” he said.
His turnaround has mattered even more with Minnesota losing Anthony Banda to the 60-day IL with a left lat strain on July 11, which ended Banda’s 2026 campaign. The front office then traded for A.J.
Minter on July 31, essentially filling Banda’s role as a late-inning lefty. Even so, Funderburk’s rebound has given the Twins another reliable southpaw option ahead of veteran Taylor Rogers.
“It’s just baseball; there’s ebbs and flows. That’s part of it, too-like, you go through stretches where you’re not quite yourself," he mused. "I think the better players are able to figure out what they’re doing wrong faster, and they nip it in the bud, and they’re able to get back on track.”
Funderburk has always leaned on the same formula: sinker, cutter, pressure on the edges. Those two pitches make up 68% of what he throws, and when his fastball variants weren’t landing in the zone earlier in the season, the walks piled up and the runs followed. Once the mechanics tightened, the results came back with them, and Funderburk turned himself into a high-leverage lefty again.
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