Could long relief be making a comeback?
Baseball’s current starting-pitching landscape is shaped by the “third time through the order penalty,” the idea that hitters gain an edge the more often they see the same pitcher. The effect gets especially sharp when a starter is facing the lineup for a third pass, and that’s a big reason the average start now sits at just a shade over 5.1 innings.
That approach has pushed clubs toward a bullpen built on short bursts and high-intensity work. But the game hasn’t always looked this way.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, relievers were not always one-inning specialists emptying the tank on every appearance. It raises the question of whether baseball could be circling back toward a different kind of bullpen role.
The long-man used to be a real weapon, and some of the best examples lasted for years. Sparky Lyle, from 1974-1978, averaged 111 innings a season with 16 saves, 49 games finished, a 2.49 ERA, a 148 ERA+ and a 1.27 WHIP.
Rollie Fingers, during that same 1974-1978 stretch, logged 124 innings per year with 27 saves, 62 games finished, a 2.73 ERA, a 127 ERA+ and a 1.12 WHIP. Lee Smith’s 1982-1986 run brought 102 innings a season, 29 saves, 54 games finished, a 2.81 ERA, a 138 ERA+ and a 1.21 WHIP.
Dan Quisenberry, from 1982-1986, averaged 123 innings, 35 saves, 65 games finished, a 2.43 ERA, a 169 ERA+ and a 1.10 WHIP.
The common thread is clear: all four averaged more than 100 innings a year, and even when they piled up saves, they finished far more games than they saved.
That kind of role could make sense for the Twins right now. Bailey Ober’s declining velocity, as the source puts it, can’t fool hitters twice, much less three times, but a single trip through the order might still work for the Bearded Nightmare.
Andrew Morris was mostly a starter in the minors before the Twins moved him quickly into short relief with the big club, and he appears to have the stuff to cover two innings, maybe even three. Zebby Matthews has shown flashes of brilliance, while Kendrys Rojas brings an electric left arm. Neither one should be written off as a starter yet, but using those arms for only one inning at a time may not be the best use of their talent.
The Twins recently moved on from pitching coach Pete Maki and assistant pitching coach Luis Ramirez, in part because promising arms haven’t yet made the impact the organization expected. A return to the old long-relief model might offer Minnesota a different way to think about the bullpen.
In Other News...
Twins Ownership Uncertainty Just Got More Frustrating For Minnesota Fans
The chatter around the Twins ownership has only added to an already restless stretch for a fan base that has watched the club navigate payroll cuts, a roster fire sale and a series of organizational changes. The Pohlad family previously explored selling the team, then opted to keep control and bring in minority investors, leaving plenty of uncertainty about where things go next and who, exactly, will be steering the franchise in the years ahead.
Recent reports tied the Twins to a possible sale involving a limited partner in the organization, but the story was quickly met with pushback from multiple sources. The latest denials have made the situation more confusing than clarifying, which is the last thing Minnesota supporters needed after months of frustration over how the club has been run. [Read more 🡒]
Twins May Have Already Found Their 2027 Rotation Cornerstone
Taj Bradley gave the Twins exactly the kind of season teams dream about when they go looking for a long-term arm. After arriving in Minnesota, he settled in as a frontline presence in 2026, handling a heavy workload and giving the club both durability and swing-and-miss stuff while earning Pitcher of the Year recognition. For a rotation that has spent too much time searching for stability, Bradley suddenly looks like the sort of pitcher around whom a plan can be built.
Minnesota has plenty to sort out this winter, from catching help to bullpen depth, but Bradleys emergence changes the conversation at the top of the staff. The Twins are already weighing the idea of locking in more certainty beyond the seasons they control, and the bigger question may be how aggressively they try to turn one breakout into a true rotation anchor while the rest of the pitching infrastructure catches up. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Prospect Eduardo Tait Has One Tool Keeping His Future Alive
Eduardo Taits first full season in the Twins system gave Cedar Rapids plenty to watch, even if the overall line was uneven. The catcher arrived in a 2025 trade and showed why Minnesota targeted him in the first place by driving the ball enough to leave the yard 22 times, a reminder that his bat still carries real impact potential.
The rest of the profile was tougher to sort through, though, with the offense backing up around that power and the defensive questions behind the plate still hanging over his development. For a player whose future value depends on proving he can handle both sides of the catcher position, 2027 now looms as a pivotal year for Tait to show the Twins he is more than just raw pop. [Read more 🡒]