The Minnesota Twins are in buyer mode, and if they want to make a move that is both practical and a little bit perfect, Tyler Rogers makes a lot of sense.
Yes, the family angle is impossible to ignore. The Twins already have the name, so why not add an actual Twin to the roster and reunite the Rogers brothers?
That part is fun, sure. But the baseball case is real, too, and it’s the bigger reason this idea has legs.
Tyler Rogers has been a dependable big-league reliever for years. The younger Rogers brother, by 30 seconds, didn’t reach the majors as quickly as Taylor did, but once he got there with the San Francisco Giants in 2019, he settled in as a steady setup man.
Across 470 career appearances, he owns a 2.65 ERA, along with 171 holds and 21 saves. He’s also one of the rare submarine pitchers in the sport, which makes the whole package even more unusual.
This season with the Toronto Blue Jays, Rogers has been even better. He’s carrying a 1.69 ERA and has limited hitters to a .219 average with just seven extra-base hits.
The underlying numbers back it up, too: exit velocity in the 98th percentile and ground ball percentage in the 99th percentile. In plain terms, hitters just aren’t squaring him up.
He gets weak contact and lets the defense do the rest.
That kind of production would fit nicely in a Twins bullpen that has been shaky, even if it has improved. The problem is that Rogers would not come cheap. Toronto gave him a three-year deal worth a guaranteed $37 million last winter, and Minnesota would still be on the hook for roughly $4 million this season, plus $12.3 million in each of the next two years, with a possible $9 million vesting option in 2029.
That is a serious commitment for any pitcher, and it gets even heavier when you’re talking about a late-30s reliever with an unorthodox delivery. The Twins have not really played in that kind of financial territory before. Their biggest bullpen contract to date was Addison Reed’s two-year deal, which came in just under $17 million total.
Still, this is a different moment for the organization. The Twins have spending power, the backing of their owner, and a clear need to strengthen the roster now and in the years ahead.
That doesn’t mean they have to copy every move made by the people who came before Jeremy Zoll. It does mean they should be open to a new approach if the right player is available.
Tyler Rogers would be a bold swing. He would also give Minnesota a proven reliever for a playoff push, and, yes, he would let the Twins lean all the way into the joke their name has been setting up for years.
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Twins Finally Made A Bullpen Move That Changes The Deadline Mood
The Twins finally made a bullpen move ahead of the Aug. 3 deadline, and it came with the kind of practical purpose this front office has been chasing for weeks. Minnesota landed left-handed reliever A.J. Minter from the Mets, giving the late-inning mix a needed arm from the left side while parting with prospects Billy Amick and Bruin Agbayani in a deal that says as much about urgency as it does about depth.
Minter has already made 20 appearances this season and is only recently back after surgery, which gives the Twins a useful reliever with some uncertainty still attached. The return package also reflects where the organization is in the calendar, moving two prospects whose recent playing time has been limited by injury and turning them into a bullpen piece that could matter right away as the deadline pressure keeps building. [Read more 🡒]
Two Former Twins Fan Favorites Are Suddenly Back In Deadline Rumors
With the trade deadline closing in, the Twins have already dipped into the market by adding A.J. Minter, but the bigger ripple for Minnesota fans may be the familiar names popping back up in rumor season. Two former Twins who once fit neatly into the clubs recent roster churn are now on the move radar again, a reminder of how quickly deadline conversations can circle back to players this fan base knows well.
Willi Castros situation is tied to a Rockies team buried in the standings and weighing what its future looks like, while Luis Arraez has kept producing for the Giants and remains one of the more intriguing pieces in play. For Twins followers, it is the kind of deadline subplot that mixes nostalgia with a little curiosity, especially when both players still feel connected to the recent past even as their next stop starts to come into focus. [Read more 🡒]