Minnesota Twins Must Resolve This Bullpen Dilemma for 2027

Minnesota used 15 different pitchers to record a save, a sign of the instability that has marked its bullpen.

Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Jeff Hoffman (24). Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This is not what any Major League organization expects to see, especially in the final week of the season: Jeff Hoffman became the 15th different pitcher to record a save for the Twins this season last Tuesday, the highest number in American League history.

Aaron Gleeman, who has covered the Twins for many years, posted on X that no other team in franchise history had more than nine pitchers record a save. The MLB record for pitchers with a save is 17, by the 2025 Diamondbacks. However, the problem here goes beyond the pitchers used. So I kept investigating and found some interesting things.

To begin with, Yoendrys Gómez, who has recorded 21 of the Twins’ 45 saves this year, did not even start with the team. The Tampa Bay Rays had plans for him in the bullpen, but he could not sustain himself after pitching to a 6.23 ERA, with a negative –0.3 bWAR in nine relief appearances. Gómez was able to get only one save and then went to Minnesota after his final appearance against the Cleveland Guardians on April 29.

So, even the Twins’ saves leader also got one with another team. It’s as if nothing seemed stable in the most changing bullpen in the league. In addition to Gómez, Minnesota had six more pitchers who recorded at least two saves. The team used many of them in emergency roles to try to put out the fire and solve a lead. In other cases, they tried them a little more to determine who fit best.

Yoendrys Gómez, 21 saves, 55 relief appearances

Andrew Morris, 5 saves, 60 relief appearances

Travis Adams, 3 saves, 39 relief appearances

Anthony Banda, 2 saves, 39 relief appearances

Luis García, 2 saves, 9 relief appearances

Taylor Rogers, 2 saves, 63 relief appearances

Justin Topa, 2 saves, 23 relief appearances

Although Gómez has gone through problems this September, pitching to a 9.00 ERA in nine appearances, with 10 strikeouts, seven walks, two saves and two blown saves, he had a stretch of 42 very dominant relief appearances between early May and mid-August.

Minnesota finished 33-9 in the games in which Gómez pitched in relief, with a 2-2 record, 1.88 ERA, six holds and 19 saves, without a blown save opportunity. Then, you know, September came closer, the pressure increased and Gómez was unable to maintain his stability, but we cannot forget that when the team also played under pressure after the All-Star break, he was able to get the job done.

Gómez vs. Hoffman

Minnesota Twins pitcher Yoendrys Gomez (94). Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The question here is whether the Twins trust Gómez enough to give him the ball and have him close games again in 2027, with the opportunity to use Jeff Hoffman, who has looked good since he arrived at the trade deadline. In 20 relief appearances, Hoffman pitched to a 2.50 ERA and 3.77 xFIP, contributing 0.5 fWAR, and has maintained the pace of his high 13.5 K/9 rate, among the best in the league as a reliever. There are also not many options on the list of pitchers who have recorded only one save this year to think about who should replace Gómez with the idea of keeping Hoffman in the eighth inning.

Pitchers with only one save:

Bailey Ober, 1 save, 1 relief appearance

Jack Anderson, 1 save, 4 relief appearances

A.J. Minter, 1 save, 24 relief appearances

Cole Sands, 1 save, 13 relief appearances

Cody Laweryson, 1 save, 15 relief appearances

Eric Orze, 1 save, 36 relief appearances

Kody Funderburk, 1 save, 57 relief appearances

Jeff Hoffman, 1 save, 20 relief appearances

Minnesota Twins catcher Victor Caratini (37) celebrates with relief pitcher Jeff Hoffman (24). Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Ober belongs to the starting rotation, Funderburk usually gets prominent roles in lefty vs. lefty matchups, and Minter should remain around that same work profile in similar situations. Cody Laweryson does not have enough experience and, with what has been seen from Sands, there are not many reasons to keep him in that conversation. Although Orze has 0.5 fWAR, his 5.66 ERA and the drop in his K/BB rate to 3.3 seem unpromising.

So, even if the Twins choose to look outside the organization for someone to close games, an option that seems less reasonable, they will have to decide how they plan the priorities of their bullpen.

Hoffman will enter his age-34 season and has been worth 3.0 bWAR, with an 18-18 record, a 3.37 ERA and a FIP that puts him in a much better range, at 3.31. He remains a consistent strikeout pitcher and has experience pitching and closing games for two different teams over the last three seasons. The Hoffman option is not negligible, but the best version of Gómez could seem more viable based on what he showed, and we cannot forget that Hoffman somehow lost the job with both the Philadelphia Phillies and the Toronto Blue Jays, when his inconsistencies early this season led to him being replaced by Louis Varland.

All right, perhaps that whole situation would have been solved earlier if Minnesota had not traded Jhoan Duran and Louis Varland, or at least had kept one of them. In the end, Duran has solved the problems Hoffman generated in Philadelphia, and Varland the ones he left behind during his final days with the Blue Jays.

Perhaps this could even serve as a boost for Hoffman to take over the closer role again, but that is something the Twins will have to decide during the offseason.