The Twins may be watching October from home, but that doesn’t mean the organization can’t mine the postseason for help.
Two pitchers have already made strong cases for offseason attention: Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen and Braves right-hander Tyler Mahle. One is still alive in the playoffs, the other has already been knocked out, but both have put themselves in position to draw interest.
Rasmussen looks like the cleaner fit on paper. The 30-year-old righty carries a $20 million club option for next year, and while Tampa Bay will probably pick it up, the Rays could also try to move him for young talent unless they think they can lock him up for an affordable extension. If that door opens, Minnesota should be in the mix.
He put together a big regular season, logging a 2.67 ERA with 174 strikeouts over 172 innings in 30 starts. Then he turned around and carved up the Yankees in his lone playoff start, giving up just one hit and two walks while fanning 10 across eight innings.
Mahle is the more familiar name for Twins fans. Derek Falvey brought him in from the Reds at the 2022 trade deadline, but injuries limited him to just nine starts over two seasons in Minnesota.
This season took him on a different route. He signed a one-year deal with the Giants in the offseason, struggled to a 5.13 ERA over 94 2/3 innings, then got dealt to Atlanta at the deadline and found his form. With the Braves, he posted a 1.99 ERA in 54 1/3 innings across nine starts to close the regular season.
That run carried into October. Mahle made one start in the Wild Card Series against the Phillies and another in the NLDS against the Dodgers, and over 13 1/3 innings he allowed two runs while striking out 10. The Twins could look at bringing him back, though the injury history hanging over his career may give them pause.
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