The Twins made a number of moves ahead of the 2024 season in an attempt to bolster their bullpen. For one reason or another, none of them really worked out.

That’s not to say there weren’t positives out in the bullpen — Griffin Jax, for example, was among the best relievers in the majors and Cole Sands took a big step forward — but the Twins will have some work to do this offseason to shore up their bullpen.

2024 recap

The Twins made minor moves last offseason to bring in veterans Jay Jackson, Steven Okert and Josh Staumont. By the end of the season, all of them were gone, as was trade-deadline acquisition Trevor Richards, an acknowledgement that none of the moves had worked out as hoped.

Caleb Thielbar, who began the year on the injured list with a hamstring strain, was not the dependable lefty the Twins had come to rely upon in recent years, and Jorge Alcala emerged as a late option for parts of the season but was unreliable in the second half.

Jhoan Duran, while still good, lost some velocity — though still threw much harder than most — and was not quite the same super-human closer the Twins had seen in recent years. His numbers in save situatons versus non-save situations were particularly stark.

Sands posted a 3.28 earned-run average across 71 1/3 innings — the most of any reliever, and had a 0.995 WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched). Jax, meanwhile, was the steadiest option out of the bullpen, lowering his ERA to 2.03, upping his strikeouts per nine innings to 12.0 and lowering his walks per nine to 1.9.

Brock Stewart, a relied upon option early, ended up throwing just 15 2/3 innings and having mid-season surgery on his right shoulder.

2025 outlook

The Twins have a good core to build around in the bullpen with Jax, Duran and Sands among those expected back.

It might be finally time to move Louie Varland to the bullpen for good — for the second straight season, he performed well when shifted there — which could give the Twins another hard-throwing, late-inning option.

Stewart’s health is always a big if — and it’s certainly something that’s hard to rely upon — as he’s dealt with injures throughout his career, but when healthy, he’s been among the Twins’ best options for the past couple of years.

Thielbar, 37, is a free agent, and it’s unlikely he’s back next season. It’s possible he could opt to retire.

The Twins could also bring back Alcala and Justin Topa. Topa, another offseason bullpen move last year, was brought in as part of the Jorge Polanco trade but after having a breakout 2023 season — posting a 2.61 ERA in 69 innings pitched with the Seattle Mariners — he was limited by injuries and came back at the end of the season to make three outings. He’s arbitration-eligible and could be another useful arm for the Twins’ bullpen if he can return to 2023 form.

Those arms give the Twins a good core, but there’s always a need for more and more bullpen depth, which should be addressed this offseason.