Minnesota Twins Making Surprise Move in Bullpen After Latest Meltdown

It happened again last night. The Minnesota Twins got out to a small 3-0 lead in the 3rd , let the Cleveland Guardians chip away in the middle innings, before handing the ball to relief pitcher, Griffin Jax , who gave up a home run in the 8th that surrendered the lead and a win.

It’s like the worst Mad Lib of all time. Insert a score , inning , opponent , losing relief pitcher , along with the hit that delivered the final blow , and that’s how the Twins ruined their playoffs odds that night. Unfortunately, it’s a Mad Lib that is playing out in real life right now, in Minnesota. Over and over again and over again, for the past month.

At this point, not only is their bullpen unreliable, but most of their pitching staff cannot be trusted. Of course, that’s what happens when ownership prioritizes shrinking player payroll by 15%, over winning. Shocker: collecting wins becomes more difficult.

Minnesota Twins optioning Jorge Alcala, replacing him with LHP Cole Irvin

After the loss, Minnesota dropped to 79-71 , on the season. Then, surprising news broke that they plan to drop relief pitcher Jorge Alcala down to the minor leagues, in order to make room for left-handed pitcher, Cole Irvin, who they just signed earlier in the day, Monday.

This team is gassed and beat up. Their best players are playing well below 100%, and their pitching staff is a shell of what it was last season, at this time. Remember, Sonny Gray walked in the offseason, and the Twins did no replace him. That put more owness on young pitchers, and the bullpen.

Then Joe Ryan got hurt, Louie Varland sucked and Pablo Lopez struggled out of the gate. Jax, who gave up the lead last night, has risen to be one of the best pitchers in the MLB. But Jhoan Duran took a step back, after proving to be one of the most dominant closers in baseball in 2023, and the rest of the bullpen has been a rollercoaster ride.

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Yes, Cole Sands has been really good lately, but he wasn’t even in the big leagues for most of the first half, because he wasn’t good enough. Sure, Jorge Alcala looked like he was getting his MLB on track, through the first 1.5 weeks of August, posting a 1.60 ERA, 2.89 FIP and a 4.93 OPS against in 39.1 IP between March 30 and August 2 .

Why option Alcala for an arm that can’t pitch in the playoffs?

But 29-year-old Dominican right-hander has been atrocious for most of the 2nd half. In 15 appearances (15.1 IP) since August 4 , Alcala has a 8.22 ERA, 8.19 FIP and .995 OPS against. His most recent meltdown came Friday, when he blew a late lead to the Cincinnati Reds that killed all the good vibes surrounding Byron Buxton’s return from IR, that same night.

That’s why Alcala is being optioned to triple-A, today, and why the Twins are turning to a pitcher who isn’t very good, not to mention he is not eligible for the postseason. Rocco must want another lefty arm on staff, for the last couple weeks of the season. Jorge Alcala needs to get his head on straight, before the playoffs, and he has options available. Yes, I said playoffs.

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If the Twins — who currently hold a 1.5 game lead on the Detroit Tigers for the final Wildcard spot in the American League — make the postseason, they are going to need Jorge Alcala to pitch. They simply do not have anyone else. Why don’t they have anyone else? We already went over that. Not just in this article, but many times before.

Yes, the postseason is a big “if”, at this point. But it’s still more likely, than not. According to Fangraphs Tuesday morning, the Twins have a 76.2% chance to make the 2024 MLB playoff bracket.

More must-reads:

• If Mike Trout Can Change Positions, Why Can’t Minnesota Twins Players?
• Postseason Verdict on Minnesota Twins: Pretenders
• Minnesota Twins 1st Round Pick Barely Misses Prospect of the Year Award