The Minnesota Twins were a team on edge at this time last year. They were on the verge of falling out of contention, fearing the worst ahead of the trade deadline at the end of the month. Those concerns became valid when Minnesota traded 10 players off the 40-man roster.
Those deals have had varying degrees of success. However, the most successful was the trade that sent Griffin Jax to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Taj Bradley.
With Jax making a long-rumored transition to the starting rotation and Bradley looking like a top-of-the-rotation starter, it’s easy for both teams to claim victory. But the Twins have found another way to gain the edge by using Andrew Morris in the bullpen.
The Twins originally called Morris up last April. A fourth-round pick out of the 2022 draft, Morris was an average pitcher during his final season at Texas Tech, posting an 8-2 record and a 4.58 ERA in 16 appearances (15 starts). But like most pitchers the Twins target, he had underlying metrics that created a quick path through the organization.
In five minor league seasons, Morris went 22-13 with a 2.98 ERA in 68 appearances (62 starts). In 320.1 innings, he also showed an ability to rack up strikeouts (307) while also limiting walks.
All of this was a promising sign that Morris could one day become a major league pitcher. But Minnesota’s demolition of their bullpen last summer created the opportunity.
Twins fans are still lamenting the trade of a pair of future All-Stars, Jhoan Duran and Louis Varland. But Jax was just as big of a departure. In five seasons with the Twins, Jax posted a 23-29 record with a 4.06 ERA. However, he posted a 3.34 ERA over four seasons as a reliever, from 2022 to 2025.
Jax has since moved into Tampa’s starting rotation, and it feels like a hack that’s working. In 61.0 innings (14 starts) as a starter, he’s posted a 2.80 ERA compared to an 8.00 ERA in nine innings (11 games) as a reliever. With another year of team control in his contract, Jax has a chance to impact the AL-leading Rays’ pennant race and be a key component in 2027.
It feels like a fumble that the Twins had a starter sitting in their rotation for years without making the transition, but that Bradley’s emergence eases the pain. Entering the All-Star break, Bradley has posted a 9-3 record and a 3.59 ERA in 102.2 innings (18 starts). He’s also six years younger than Jax, although he’ll hit free agency after the 2028 season.
Extending Bradley will be a priority and could happen as early as next offseason. But even if Bradley stays in a Twins uniform for the foreseeable future, Morris could be an added byproduct of the trade.
Ultimately, this gets back to the wide-open bullpen Jax left behind. Morris stepped into the role and struggled initially, posting a 5.28 ERA, 31 strikeouts, and 11 walks in his first 20 appearances. But he’s settled in since, putting together a 17-inning scoreless streak heading into the All-Star break.
Morris’s stuff has also played up in the pen, reaching triple digits during Sunday’s outing against the Los Angeles Angels, according to Baseball Savant. While his chase (27.5%) and whiff (23.3%) rates seem unspectacular, they’re also trending upwards, with Morris forcing six swings and misses to earn saves.
The Twins may still see Morris as a starter long term, and that could be a boost for a rotation that has serious questions about Joe Ryan’s future beginning next winter. If Morris continues to pitch well out of the bullpen, the Twins could also change those plans, given the organization’s limited success developing relievers since Jax’s departure.
For now, Morris’s emergence in the bullpen is much needed, and Bradley is thriving in his new environment. As the Twins look to make a push toward a playoff spot, both pitchers will be called upon to carry Minnesota to the finish line and give their team another reason to claim victory for a trade that helped both teams.
