With plenty of new faces, here's what Minnesota's bullpen could look like

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- And finally we come to the end of Around the Horn 2026, with a unit that actually may still not be finished.

The Twins entered the offseason with an obvious need in their bullpen. And while they added several relievers over the winter and even in the early days of Spring Training, it’s fair to wonder whether they’re done. There’s no obvious candidate to close, and the right side could still use one more experienced arm.

It won’t be shocking if the club makes a move before the end of camp to beef up this unit. But based on what’s on the roster now, here’s a look at how the bullpen shakes out. It’s the last in a series of articles breaking down the 2026 Twins, unit by unit.

On the 40-man roster: Anthony Banda, Kody Funderburk, Eric Orze, Marco Raya, Taylor Rogers, Cole Sands, Justin Topa

Also in Major League camp: Dan Altavilla, Matt Bowman, Raul Brito, Andrew Chafin, Grant Hartwig, Liam Hendriks, Cody Laweryson, Julian Merryweather

New arrivals: Banda, Orze, Rogers, Altavilla, Bowman, Brito, Chafin, Hartwig, Hendriks, Laweryson, Merryweather

Departures: Pierson Ohl (traded to Rockies), Génesis Cabrera (free agent), Anthony Misiewicz (free agent), Michael Tonkin (free agent)

Ranked prospects (ranking is from 2025): Raya (No. 18)

The big question: Who pitches the late innings with a lead?

The Twins have added a big chunk of left-handed depth and experience, such that you could easily argue that four of their seven best relievers are lefties. But that influx has yet to provide a clear answer as to how they will close out wins.

After entering the offseason with only Kody Funderburk -- who pitched very well down the stretch last year -- they signed Taylor Rogers, traded for Anthony Banda and then signed Andrew Chafin to a Minor League deal with an invitation to camp.

That’s four legitimate Major League lefties. But none of those lefties is particularly well-equipped to get right-handers out, which means that none of them is a great choice to close games or even to be the primary eighth-inning man. They’ll need to be deployed tactically, if in fact all of them even make the roster, which is unlikely. Because they’re all more tactical pieces, it will be very difficult to carry more than three of them. Funderburk is the only one of the three with Minor League options remaining, so he’s most likely to be the odd man out.

Meanwhile, the right side currently features Cole Sands, Justin Topa, Eric Orze and then a lot of candidates but no sure things. There’s a group of NRIs that includes pitchers with Major League experience like Dan Altavilla, Matt Bowman and Julian Merryweather. Travis Adams could provide innings, or the Twins could move a starter (perhaps David Festa) to be a long man. Prospects Marco Raya and John Klein are also among the pitchers who could force their way onto the roster.

Then there’s Liam Hendriks, who the club very much hopes will emerge as a closing candidate. But Hendriks has yet to appear in a game; he threw live batting practice on Monday, but with Chafin’s appearance on Wednesday, he’s the last reliever in camp not to get into a game. It’s entirely possible Hendriks could even begin the season in extended spring camp.

All of which brings us back to the original question. Down the stretch last year, following the Twins’ Trade Deadline selloff, Sands and Topa both got closing opportunities. But neither really seized the job, and Minnesota's front office spent much of the winter acknowledging that it was seeking a late-inning righty.

That pitcher still has not materialized, though it’s worth noting that the club has a history of making transactions all the way up to Opening Day. So it’s not as though they couldn’t still make a move. But if Hendriks doesn’t look like he’s going to be ready to start the season, they may be forced into doing so.