The Twins don’t need a lecture on bullpen problems. They need a fix.
And if the postseason taught anything, it’s that the clubs doing damage leaned hard into a very specific weapon: left-handed relievers who could cover more than one inning. Milwaukee had Aaron Ashby doing exactly that, and he was a nightmare in the role.
Over 18 innings, Ashby posted a 0.00 ERA, a 1.38 FIP, and a 33.3% strikeout rate. He appeared in nine games, went past one inning in eight of them, and twice worked three innings in separate NLDS and NLCS outings.
That wasn’t just a postseason wrinkle, either. In the regular season, the 28-year-old also logged multiple innings in 24 of his 75 appearances.
Milwaukee wasn’t alone. San Diego used Adrián Morejón in a similar way, asking him for two innings once against the Chicago Cubs in the NL Wild Card round and again against the Brewers.
The Padres also had Morejón working in multi-inning spots during the regular season alongside Yuki Matsui and Wandy Peralta. The Los Angeles Dodgers followed the same blueprint with Kris Bubic, Jack Dreyer, and Justin Wrobleski.
The Chicago White Sox did it with Hagen Smith and Sean Newcomb.
That pattern keeps showing up for a reason. The best lineups in baseball are loaded with left-handed bats, and the smartest answer has been to stockpile left-handed pitchers who can give you more than three outs. In other words, fight platoon fire with platoon fire.
For Minnesota, that points straight at an offseason need. The Twins’ bullpen was a bottom-10 unit in the sport by FanGraphs WAR, and right now the roster has one left-handed reliever built to work multiple innings: Kody Funderburk. He’s useful, and he can cover length, but he doesn’t look like the kind of headlining southpaw a postseason team wants leaning on in October.
There is a possible internal answer in Connor Prielipp, but club decision-makers are heavily motivated to keep stretching him out as a starter.
So the cleaner path is free agency, before the lockout begins on December 2. The most obvious name is A.J.
Minter, who fit well after Minnesota acquired him from the New York Mets on July 31. In 22 2/3 innings, the 33-year-old posted a 2.78 ERA, 4.91 FIP, and a 22.3% strikeout rate.
He could probably be brought back on a one-year deal for around $8 million. Even so, Minter would likely stay in a one-inning lane.
Helpful? Absolutely.
A true Ashby-style answer? Not really.
There are other lefties on the market who fit the mold better. Morejón, Bubic, and Newcomb are all free agents, though Morejón was offered San Diego’s $23.2 million qualifying offer and could accept it. Beyond them, JoJo Romero, Brent Suter, and to a lesser extent Dietrich Enns also have the kind of versatility that can matter in this role.
If Minnesota wants to make a real upgrade, it needs to aim higher than just adding another arm. Bubic, Newcomb, or Romero would give the Twins a more meaningful shot at solving a roster inefficiency that keeps showing up in October.
The offseason will be compressed, the choices will come fast, and the front office will have to pick its target quickly. But the assignment is clear: find a multi-inning lefty and make the bullpen better.
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