Griffin Jax Made Ultimate Decision on Role w/Twins; Louie Varland Making the Move Too?

Minnesota Twins, Griffin Jax
Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Although the Minnesota Twins have yet to make any major league additions, Rocco Baldelli’s roster is starting to take shape. The manager is going to have plenty of the same faces he oversaw a season ago. If Minnesota is going to make noise in the division, and return to the postseason, their bullpen needs to be better and healthy.

Right now the group is projected to be among the best in baseball. That was thought to be the case last season, but things went belly up during Spring Training. There was talk of shuffling roles this offseason, but it looks like the group will remain status as is.

Money wasn’t worth a change for Minnesota Twins Griffin Jax

Ultimately it’s a fact that starting pitchers make more money that relievers. Griffin Jax entered the big leagues as a starter and he’s inching closer to free agency while earning arbitration salary bumps. A financial boost wasn’t worth threatening his performance though.

“When I tried to take it in that perspective and remove money as much as possible, I just found myself always gravitating back toward the bullpen. I’m sure part of it is because I failed as a starter at the big-league level, and found some pretty good success in the bullpen. But at the same time, I just feel like my personality just thrives in that back-end, late-inning role now. I almost just look at it as, ‘If it’s not broken, why bother trying to fix it?’”

Griffin Jax on staying in the bullpen (The Athletic)

It’s certainly a boost to the bullpen that Jax will be staying put. He took over the top relief arm last season from Jhoan Duran, and he was among the best pitchers in baseball.

His 2.03 ERA was the lowest mark of his career and the 1.94 FIP was even better. Jax posted 95 strikeouts in 71 innings which was good for a 12.0 K/9. He walked only 15 batters and allowed just four home runs.

Related: Twins Sign Hard-Throwing Pitcher Who Blew Them Away at Recent Tread Pro Day

Jax owns one of the best pitches in baseball. His sweeper is a ridiculous weapon, and the fact that he has a starter’s arsenal in relief is beneficial. If Minnesota is going to own baseball’s best bullpen, then Jax will play an integral part.

Finally a set role for Louie Varland

The past handful of years the Minnesota Twins have utilized Louie Varland in both starting and relief roles. It’s hard to ignore just how hard he throws at max effort though. The Athletic’s Dan Hayes is reporting that Varland is likely to work out of the bullpen.

“Though it won’t be announced until some point in spring camp, there’s a growing sense Louie Varland will pitch in relief this season. The Twins need to first make sure the rest of their starters are healthy, and Varland could even be built up for several innings early in camp. But if all goes to plan, Varland looks like a fit in the bullpen.”

Dan Hayes on Louie Varland (The Athletic)

After Varland started all five of his appearances three seasons ago as a rookie, he has started just 17 games out of 33 appearances the past two years. He posted an ugly 7.61 ERA last season, and his bugaboo has been the longball. Across 143 2/3 major league innings Varland has allowed 32 dingers.

It’s possible that Varland could work in a long-relief role. The Twins shouldn’t just rely on him as a mop-up man though. He could also transition into a leverage arm, and that would be similar to the trajectory we saw from Cole Sands.

Related: When We Could See Top Minnesota Twins Prospects Debut in 2025

An ability to add another bullpen arm with triple-digit stuff is an exciting proposition. The Twins starting depth might be questionable, but they do have plenty of prospects ready to contribute when called upon.

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