Twins Add Veteran to Crowded Bullpen Competition

Pitchers and catchers reported to Fort Myers for the start of Spring Training this week. The Minnesota Twins recently added lefty Danny Coulombe back into that group. At the same time they made the signing of first baseman Ty France official, the Twins also announced a surprise pitching addition.

Erasmo Ramirez joins Minnesota Twins bullpen competition

Erasmo Ramirez is a 34-year-old right-hander who will turn 35 during the 2025 regular season, and he will get his shot to make that happen down in Fort Myers with the Twins. This is Ramirez’ 14th year of big league baseball. He spent the 2024 season pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Twins signed righty reliever Erasmo Ramírez to a non-roster deal with an invite to big league camp. He had a 4.35 ERA in 20 2/3 innings for the Rays last year.

— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) February 15, 2025

The MN Twins appear as though they will have one of baseball’s best bullpens. They also have a significant amount of candidates on the bubble to fill out the final spots. Erasmo Ramirez’ 4.35 ERA came across 20 2/3 innings for Tampa last season. He has never been a big strikeout guy, and the 6.8 career K/9 is reflective of that. Last season he had just a 15/10 K/BB in the work he did get in.

In 2023 Ramirez threw 60 1/3 innings split between the Washington Nationals and Rays. Both places produced ugly results with an ERA north of 6.00. In 2022 with Washington however, he owned a 2.92 ERA in 86 1/3 innings. He didn’t punch tickets in bunches, but walked just 14 batters that season.

As you may expect with the low strikeout rate, he averages just over 90 mph (90.6 in 2024) on his fastball. He relies heavily on a cutter and sinker to get opposing batters out.

Twins bullpen looking good

Securing a bullpen spot for Ramirez appears as though it will be a tall task. Multiple bullpen spots are locked in for key contributors like Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Brock Stewart. The deal is of the minor league variety and he will work alongside other non-roster arms such as Ryan Jensen and Scott Blewett.

Ramirez likely has an opt out date in which he could seek another opportunity should the writing be on the wall with the Twins. He may also have interest in sticking around at Triple-A St. Paul to earn an opportunity. Minnesota used 32 different pitchers last year, of which 22 were relievers.

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Outside of potential injuries to take place down in Florida, the bottom of the Twins bullpen group includes names such as Michael Tonkin and Jorge Alcala. The former was designated for assignment once by Minnesota last season. The latter was sent back to St. Paul on multiple occasions.