After 2019 'pen success, Twins hope for encore

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Two Tylers, a Taylor and a Trevor walk into a bullpen …

That’s either the setup to a joke or the setup to what could be one of MLB’s better relief corps in 2020. Quietly, the Minnesota Twins have built an array of relief arms they believe can back up the Bomba Squad and preserve late leads with a wide array of strengths and stuff.

There is less differentiation in the first names of four of the more prominent ‘pen pieces, as veteran Tyler Clippard has joined fellow Tyler Duffey, Trevor May and Taylor Rogers in a unit that could be terrific with a capital “T.”

“When Clip signed, it was like, ‘Yo, we just added another Taylor? Or is it Tyler?’” veteran Sergio Romo joked. “Then I go to Rogers [who has a twin brother Tyler on the Giants] and say, ‘Which one are you? Taylor or Tyler?’”

As long as the opposing batters are the ones who end up confused, that’s all that matters.

The Twins have made that happen by building a bullpen largely from within. A year ago, it was easy to circle Craig Kimbrel as a reasonable, and perhaps even required, free-agent target for the Twins. They were on the cusp of contention, he was lingering in the open market well after Spring Training started, and it sure seemed they needed the help.

They abstained … and ended up with a pretty good ‘pen, anyway.

“Teams take different paths,” general manager Thad Levine said. “One path we determined we were not going to take was multi-year deals for the extremely high-end premium performers. Once we moved past that level, we decided we were going to get as creative as we possibly could with angles, different looks, deception, experience.”

In Rogers, Duffey and May, the Twins had a stash of former starters who responded well to relief work. Minnesota added Sam Dyson and Romo before the Trade Deadline, and, while the former did not work out because of a shoulder issue, the latter paid instant dividends. The result was that, from Aug. 1 through the end of the regular season, the Twins’ bullpen posted a 3.78 ERA (fourth-best in the AL in that span), a 1.24 WHIP (fifth-best in the AL) and a 4.48 strikeout-to-walk ratio (the best in MLB in that span).

“There are different styles,” Romo said, “but it’s all the same approach. Foot on the gas pedal. Attack. We take pride in throwing strikes and attacking.”

• Box score: Twins 5, Rays 3

The 37-year-old Romo, brought back on a one-year deal, has made a pretty nice career for himself with the help of one of the better sliders in baseball. And Clippard, also signed to a one-year deal, has survived all these years in large part because of his deceptive changeup and ability to locate.

But the real upside in this group obviously rests with the less-established arms.

Though he had his share of struggles on the Major League mound in years past, Duffey became a monster in the second half last season, holding opponents to a paltry .157/.223/.245 slash with a 42% strikeout rate.

May, who in addition to his pitching work has a prodigious side career as a video game streamer, was also excellent after the break, with a .159/.220/.354 opponents’ slash and 43 strikeouts against just nine walks in 32 innings.

And after all those offseason weeks and months of Kimbrel commentary, it was Rogers who emerged as the Twins’ closer in 2019, posting a 2.61 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 30 saves. He’s a rare bird as both a lefty closer and a ground-ball guy (50.6 percent last year) who still accrues a hefty punchout total (11.7 K/9 in ‘19). He also wasn’t a traditional, ninth-inning-only closer. Twelve of his saves came over multiple innings.

“I came up as the left-handed guy, left-handed specialist,” he said. “I started realizing I wasn’t going to stick around unless I got righties out better. We worked with [former bullpen coach] Eddie Guardado and some teammates to change the dynamic against right-handed batters and adding the slider really helped with that.”

The Twins believe they have more in the hopper. Their scouts and analysts were in agreement that right-hander Matt Wisler, an offseason waiver claim from Seattle, could be bound for a breakthrough, and he has the inside track on a relief job. Their competitive standing in the AL Central means they’ll be open-minded about graduating starting pitching prospects to the big leagues in relief roles, if need be.

What they won’t do is chase a high-dollar relief arm in free agency. And if 2019 is any indication, they don’t need to do that to build a resplendent relief corps.

But they might want to hold off on adding any other Tylers.