If you took Derek Shelton at his word, you’d think Minnesota Twins rookie Andrew Morris had died during his first major-league save.
“Lack of heartbeat,” Shelton said, explaining why he used Morris as Minnesota’s closer in a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Thursday, “and I mean that in such a beautiful way.”
“It doesn’t feel like the heart’s beating slow,” Morris admitted after recording the save, “but I think those moments are sometimes when I feel calm.”
So, Andrew Morris is not dead. He’ll live to tell the tale of being the ninth Twins pitcher to record a save this year.
That list is admittedly something. Teams without an established closer should mix and match. Still, the best teams tend to have a closer and a setup man.
The Twins are establishing a bullpen hierarchy after trading away Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Louis Varland at the deadline last year. It’s not the only flaw in Minnesota’s post-firesale roster, but it’s occasionally been fatal.
However, the Twins are placing top prospects like Morris (13th according to MLB Pipeline), Kendry Rojas (10th), and John Klein (20th) in the bullpen. In doing so, they’ve boosted the velo of a relief corps that spent the early part of the season driving in the right lane. Morris, Rojas, and Klein don’t throw 104 mph like Duran. Still, they throw harder than Taylor Rogers, Eric Orze, and Justin Topa.
That Morris made his first career save a day after the Twins designated Topa for assignment is emblematic of the shift. Morris is 24 and hits 96 mph on the radar. Topa is 35 and throws 93. Minnesota emphasized veteran experience in the bullpen to start the season. Now, they’re turning things over to hard-throwing young relievers.
“We’re starting to develop a little bit of identity,” manager Derek Shelton said after Thursday’s game. “I think our bullpen has been such a mix and match. But the more we can put the ball over the plate, we have some guys down there now that have some velo and stuff, that’s made it more manageable and functional.”
The Twins are 23-27 and have arguably been unlucky. Their run differential (230 runs scored, 231 allowed) implies a 25-25 record, and their 29th-ranked bullpen is a significant factor in their losing record. Therefore, shoring that up could go a long way in keeping them in the playoff picture.
After Thursday’s game, Minnesota was 5.5 games back of the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central and 1.5 games back of a wild-card spot. Nobody should wholeheartedly celebrate that. The Twins would be in a more secure position if they had continued investing in the team after winning a playoff series for the first time since 2002 in 2023.
But here we are. The Twins could sneak into the playoffs if the starting rotation stays healthy, young players like Austin Martin and Brooks Lee produce at the plate, and they establish a reliable bullpen. That’s a lot of ifs. Still, winning feels more feasible at the end of May than it did after spring training ended in March.
Experts projected Morris to be a mid-rotation starter after the Twins took him in the fourth round of the 2022 draft. However, he’ll make an impact in their bullpen for now, perhaps as their closer.
“The transition to the bullpen, the transition to then a smaller ball, then a transition to leverage,” said Shelton. “He’s handled everything about as well as a young kid could.”
“I was trying to tell myself that’s what I’ve been working towards,” Morris added. “I want to be the guy in those spots. I think I can be really good at it. I appreciate the trust and the experience that I’ve been building.”
It’s a change in mindset for Morris, going from a potential starter to long relief, then potentially a closer. However, his ability to adapt may meaningfully impact the bullpen and Minnesota’s outlook this season.
Making the postseason is only so much of a consolation after they won a playoff series in 2023. Still, it’s more than anyone expected from them at the start of the season. Whether they’re playing October likely will come down to whether they can establish a bullpen identity.
