MINNEAPOLIS -- Welcome to the paradox that is the Minnesota Twins’ bullpen in June.
Even as the back end has more or less stabilized, with Yoendrys Gómez, Andrew Morris and Anthony Banda proving an effective group to close out wins, the overall relief numbers have actually gotten worse. The dichotomy was on display Saturday evening as rookie Mike Paredes gave a gutty, career-long start, but the Rockies piled on against Kody Funderburk and Marco Raya in an 8-5 Minnesota loss at Target Field.
Magnifying the issue is that the Twins' offense has been one of baseball’s best, meaning that if they could keep more games close, they’d probably have more comeback wins. Saturday was certainly an example of that -- if they’d been able to keep the Rockies within striking distance, the game might’ve ended with a very different feeling.
The Twins have enough pitchers going well to finish off wins. They don’t currently have enough choices to stay close in games where they’re trailing.
“We have to find consistency in games we’re down 3-1, 4-1 and keeping that close,” said manager Derek Shelton, “because our offense will continue to do things. … We have to keep games closer.”
Saturday was Raya’s Major League debut, and to his credit, he settled in after beginning his career by allowing a walk and a homer. He even struck out the white-hot Hunter Goodman, accomplishing a feat that has mostly eluded Twins pitchers over the past two nights.
But the performance overall was indicative of an ongoing issue, one that is not at all about Raya or Funderburk specifically -- the Twins have been searching all year for the combination of quality and depth in their relief corps that will allow them to take full advantage of a potent offense and largely effective rotation.
“It’s challenging,” Shelton said. "It’s a thing we’ve talked about, and it seems like we talked about it a lot. At some point, we’re going to have to have one guy, two guys, three guys step up and pitch well consecutively. Right now, we’re just not there. We’re going to continue to find it. We have guys with good stuff and good arms.”
Raya and Funderburk are recent adds, both called up from Triple-A St. Paul this week because of a need for fresh arms to cover innings. Both have options, so they could yet find themselves riding the shuttle back to St. Paul again soon. Funderburk began the year as one of Shelton’s most trusted relievers, but has not found the consistent form that made him one of the Twins’ best options down the stretch last year.
“Just kind of keep showing up every day, fighting, working on stuff, just continue to try to be in zone the best I can be,” Funderburk said.
But the question is, if not one of the current options, who? Aside from Gómez, Morris, and Banda, every current member of the Twins’ bullpen has an ERA of 4.87 or higher. Kendry Rojas was recently optioned because of an immediate need for innings, and Cole Sands is likely getting closer to a return from an elbow issue.
Those two could definitely bolster the unit, but until they’re back, Shelton will continue to search for the right combination. Rojas, who was sent out when Raya and Funderburk were recalled on June 24, has to stay down until June 9 unless he replaces an injured player. Sands has not yet begun to face hitters, and will certainly require at least a couple of Minor League rehab appearances before he’s activated -- it’s not a matter of a few days for him.
They’ve cycled through a lot of pitchers looking for the right combination. Justin Topa, Luis García and Justin Lawrence all got shots, and all are no longer with the organization. Cody Laweryson, who has pitched effectively at times, is also at Triple-A and can’t be recalled without an injury for another 11 days. It’s a recurring question to which Minnesota has yet to find an answer.