Minneapolis – No part of the Minnesota Twins roster experienced a bigger shake-up than their bullpen. They traded five relievers, and Cole Sands and Justin Topa are the only two players left who had been there all season.
Some familiar faces are back in the majors: Michael Tonkin, Kody Funderburk, and Travis Adams. Still, the Twins brought in veterans like Thomas Hatch, Brooks Kriske, and Erasmo Ramírez, as well as rookie Pierson Ohl.
It’s almost unprecedented for a team to have so much change in their bullpen at any deadline, so Topa and Sands had to quickly adjust while giving everyone a warm welcome.
“Yeah, it’s a little weird, especially walking in after everything,” said Topa. “But no, it’s cool, right? I think it’s an opportunity for everybody to get into specific roles and roles not everybody has been in before.”
The Twins completely upended their bullpen hierarchy after trading Danny Coulombe, Brock Stewart, Louie Varland, Griffin Jax, and Jhoan Durán. There’s no set closer; anyone could be a mop-up man, and the rookies are continuing with their season-long routine of throwing close to 65 pitches every four days.
Minnesota’s relievers kind of enjoy not having a set role for when and where they’ll be used in a game. It comes with the territory.
Still, high leverage opportunities against an opposing team’s No. 2, 3, or 4 hitters, or getting the save opportunity, could fall on anyone. Some players will be debuting as closers or making saves for the first time in a while to see if that’s where they belong in the future.
“That’s the fun part about being in the bullpen,” Ramírez said. “You always have to be ready and knowing that everyone can be in any situation, that’s what keeps everyone on their toes.”
“I know Cole and I have thrown anywhere between the first and the 10th innings in our careers, so I think we’re both accustomed and used to throwing in different situations,” said Topa. “And I think it’s good for both of us from a leverage standpoint to get a little more back in the game type stuff.”
For the young rookies Adams and Ohl, they’re finding themselves in the bullpen on their off-days, picking the brains of the veterans who surround them at Target Field and Triple-A St. Paul. Ramirez and Tonkin had been with them in the minors, and now having their guidance in the majors is a big boost for the challenges ahead.
“We (Ohl and Adams) played on a couple of teams together, and so to be able to do the same stuff we did before, hang out in the bullpen together is super fun,” Adams said. “And some of the guys like Erasmo, I played with him for a little bit this year in Triple-A, and it’s like cool to play with those guys and see how they’re working their way through the organization.”
The advice that Ramírez would give these two youngsters over the last month still holds for them as they begin to carve out their major-league careers.
“Most of the time, I could see Travis or Ohl in person in the bullpen, and we had time to talk,” said Ramírez. “My biggest recommendation for them was ‘Just pitch like, remember one day, you’re going to retire and you’re going to miss baseball. So just pitch like it’s going to be your last time to pitch.”
Since trading off five relievers on August 1, Minnesota’s bullpen has posted a 3.85 ERA and 4.19 FIP in 42 innings across 10 games. It’s not the ideal ERA or FIP for any bullpen, but considering how many new faces and familiar faces have had to step up in that time, it’s a good baseline to start with in the final two months of the season.
While there are many unknowns surrounding Minnesota’s pen beyond 2025, the rest of the season will be every pitcher’s opportunity to define what roles they’re capable of in the future. It’s not always the easiest mindset to find yourself in as a pitcher, so to have an amped up pitcher like Ramírez with a sprinkle of some Zen wisdom will help the Twins pen out for the rest of the year.
“Besides giving myself the positive mind of ‘Oh, bro, you can still do it. You still have the courage, the pitches, the endurance. You can still bring some value to any team,’” said Ramírez. “And, I don’t know, I go in there and watch myself after the game, and I watch my pitches and see, ‘Hey, I still got it. I can still make stuff happen.’
“I just need to keep my positive mind and forget how big the hitters are and do what I did before. And it’s work hard every day, and every day just work on execution.”
“For the young guys coming in – I say young, but Erasmo has been in the League forever – and to have him down there, and Tonk, I think it could just be a good thing for everybody,” said Topa.
