A bullpen is often viewed as a sum of its parts, even though that’s not entirely fair. The 2017 Twins bullpen was thoroughly mediocre as a unit, but there were certainly parts of it that rose to the occasion.
Pretty much all of those parts are back in 2018 — with reinforcements.
The impact of those reinforcements has been felt immediately and immensely, and couldn’t have been more obvious than the series opener against the Seattle Mariners. After Kyle Gibson gutted out 4.1 innings of two-run ball (one earned), the revitalized bullpen combined for 4.2 shutout innings with just one hit allowed as the offense battled back from a 2-0 deficit for a 4-2 win.
The final three pitchers to work that day? None other than Zach Duke, Addison Reed and Fernando Rodney — the exact trio brought in to stabilize the unit.
That bunch has been instrumental as the bullpen is off to a terrific start in 2018. The Twins came into Saturday’s action eighth in MLB in bullpen ERA (2.21), with well over a strikeout per inning (9.7 K/9) and a healthy groundball rate (45.7 percent) as a crew. Don’t sleep on the effect of a solid starting staff, either; the bullpen has thrown only 20.1 innings so far, sixth-fewest across the league.
A rested bullpen is a healthy bullpen, and a good one besides.
Reed, Duke and Rodney have thrown more than half (10.1) of the innings from the bullpen so far this year, and have brought stability to the back-end of games while allowing guys like Trevor Hildenberger and Taylor Rogers to take on different roles based on need.
“When I talk about people with screws loose, he’s the leader,”
It hasn’t bothered Hildenberger one bit that he’s not the guy in the eighth inning anymore, in case you were wondering.
“It’s awesome,” Hildenberger said prior to Saturday’s game. “We can mix and match a lot more. I think Rodney is locking down the ninth. He’s got 300-plus career saves. Reed’s got the eighth. The rest of us are going to pitch whenever Mollie calls our name. Duke’s going to help with lefties, obviously, and since he switches arm angles and throws sidearm, I’ve been picking his brain about that. When he wants to do that, when he comes in to guys, stuff like that.”
That’s left the two youngsters to clean up whatever is left, and they’re absolutely fine with that.
“(Rogers and I) are flexible,” Hildenberger added. “We can pitch anywhere between the first inning, ninth inning, 20th inning. We’re just waiting to have our name called, always being ready. It’s fun, we’re just trying to help the team win any way we can.”
That team-first mentality hasn’t been lost on the new guys, as Reed said it’s basically a bunch of screwballs out there, led by the king of those types himself, Eddie Guardado.
“When I talk about people with screws loose, he’s the leader,” Reed said of Guardado. “He likes to have fun and keep it loose. I think we respond well to that. There’s nobody down there that is just 100 percent doesn’t like to have fun, just down there because they have to be.”
Being a little bit off-kilter is part of being a reliever, Reed says, but he relishes his role as a leader of this band of misfits.
“Everybody we have down there is awesome, likes to have fun and stay loose,” Reed said. “Nobody takes it too seriously. Being in a bullpen, I think everybody is a bit different than other people. You’ve got some people missing screws down there. You’ve got some whack jobs down there. It’s a good group to have. Everybody stays loose, but when we get on the mound, we’re out there to take care of business. We’re ready to go, we’re focused.”
The king of the misfits out there among players might be the guy responsible for the ninth inning. Rodney was seen eating snowflakes in a recent appearance in Pittsburgh, and seems to channel his inner Guardado when he’s on the mound. Like his bullpen coach, it’s rarely pretty or easy when Rodney is on the mound, but it’s often effective.
That was a hallmark of Guardado’s time closing for the Twins, which he did while collecting 86 saves between 2002-03 — his primary years as closer on the club.
Fortunately for Guardado, he was already playing for a gray-haired manager in Ron Gardenhire at that point.
Mostly, though, all of the relievers are jealous of Rodney’s changeup. He’s really only a two-pitch guy — fastball and changeup — and he’ll throw the offspeed at any time with a career whiff rate of 19.6 percent on it.
“With Rodney, I talk to him about his changeup,” Hildenberger said of the leadership the 41-year-old provides. “That’s a legendary changeup; he throws it to everybody in any count. I try to do that with mine.
“I think his is a tad bit better,” Hildenberger added with a grin.
As far as Duke is concerned, none of these guys are going to see anything unfamiliar to them.
“I think what you find with Rodney, Reed and myself is that we’re all used to pitching in those situations,” Duke said about the early late-inning exposure. “It’s not new territory for us. It’s what we’re comfortable with. Yeah, it’s a new team, but it’s roles we’ve done and had success with. There’s comfort there.”
Duke also added that he doesn’t really think being a leader means he’s had to change who he is, but to prepare himself every single day in a way that others can see and try out for themselves, as well.
“I don’t think it changes anything, really,” Duke said of his leadership role. “You try stay in your routine and what has worked in the past. You try to share some insights on what you’ve learned from a preparation standpoint on what gets us ready every day. These guys are great. The young guys have a lot of ability and care. They want to be good. The questions that they ask are very rooted in places that are beneficial to making them better. It’s a good environment out there.”
Finally, manager Paul Molitor appreciates what the trio brings to the table leadership-wise.
“You don’t put together the resumes at this level without having not only the stuff but the right makeup,” the manager said. “I’m sure part of it is coming to a new team, and they’re more than willing to do what we ask them to do, but you can also tell that’s how they’ve always been.
“Rodney, Duke and Reed, in particular, have made it clear to me, “Whatever you want, whenever you need me, if I’m available to throw, it doesn’t matter to me.” That’s a good feeling for a manager.”
Listen to Brandon on Midwest Swing & Locked On Twins
