Minnesota Twins: 2015 Season Preview, Predictions and More

Sep 16, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins relief pitcher

(15) delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Target Field. The Twins won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

The Bullpen

The Twins bullpen was better than their rotation in 2014 but was still below average. Their 3.73 ERA ranked 21st in baseball and their batting average allowed clocked in at 27th out of the 30 MLB clubs. Digging even deeper, the bullpen’s WHIP and strikeout to walk ratio both ranked 21st.

Part of the bullpen’s relative lack of success can be traced back to the failures of the starting rotation. The Twins threw the fourth-most innings of any relief staff in baseball. Simply put, the starters failed to go deep enough into games and the bullpen was overtaxed because of it.

The aforementioned Pelfrey has been demoted to the bullpen, at least for the time being. According to Mike Berardino, if Pelfrey could be traded to another club to start again, he would be up for it. Pelfrey said:

"“Obviously, if some team realizes I’m healthy for the first time in years and this is probably the best I’ve felt and thinks I can help them, let’s do it. I think I showed them that I could start. If it happens, great. Let’s go.”"

It seems unlikely that a trade will materialize right at the end of spring training but maybe he could find himself on the block towards the trade deadline. In any event, the bullpen is where he will reside for now.

Unfortunately, as LaVelle E. Neal of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune noted, the bullpen has been getting lit up so far this spring. Glen Perkins missed a couple of weeks with a tweaked oblique. Hopefully getting last year’s All-Star fully reintegrated into the fold helps stabilize the ship. If not, 2015 could be another bumpy ride.

Next: New Home Whites