It’s a move to balance the bullpen, and it does little or nothing to deepen whatever pressure the team already felt to clear some salary this winter.

Our sweet southpaw baby has returned home! Coulombe originally signed with the Twins as a 30-year-old free agent way back in December of 2019, and despite limited appearances in the majors, kept re-signing with the team annually through 2022.

He was generally effective with the team from 2020 through 2022 but also dealt with injuries, such as a torn labrum in his left hip that limited him to just 10 games in that last season.

He appeared healthy and effective in spring training of 2023 but was crowded out of the bullpen. (“We have to keep a spot open for Emilio Pagan.

This will be the year he turns it around!”) Since he had no options left, the Twins traded him to Baltimore – where he became their best left-handed reliever. (Meanwhile, Jovani Moran appeared in 43 games for the Twins with a 5.31 ERA.)

In his two years with the Orioles, he pitched 81 innings with a 2.56 ERA, though he did miss a good chunk of the latter half of last year with yet more injury issues; this time he had bone chips removed from his elbow. But he returned before the end of the year and made five scoreless appearances—six, if you also count an appearance in the playoffs.

It was somewhat surprising, then, that the Orioles declined a $4-million option they had on Coulombe, which made him a free agent. Or, maybe it wasn’t a surprise, given the contract he received from the Twins is for less.

The fascinating question here will be whether the Twins let Coulombe continue with the same pitch mix that brought him so much success in Baltimore. While with Minnesota, he did what Twins pitchers do, basically, leading with a four-seam fastball rather than his sinker:

When he got to Baltimore, though, the Orioles raised his arm slot, gave him a cutter, committed him to his nascent sweeper at the expense of his tighter slider, scrapped the change, and voila! He got more ground balls, was around the zone more, and generally got better at everything.

Given that he only threw 91 in the first place, it made all kinds of sense to keep hitters on the defensive with two other flavors of fastball—only, the Twins don’t really do that.

They’re very four-seam-focused. Does this reunion with a remade old friend signal an openness to a different way of mixing pitches and attacking hitters? And even if so, can the 35-year-old Coulombe stay healthy pitching this way?

His arm angle was around 50° during his time with the Twins; the O’s cranked it up to an exceptionally overhand 56°.

There are no guarantees here, except the $2.5 million and a roster spot for Coulombe. He does give them upside from the left side, after they traded Morán and let Caleb Thielbar walk as a free agent this winter, but physical and performance question marks loom.

His arrival probably also makes the right-handed portion of the bullpen that much more crowded, as some combination of the following are fighting for the remaining seven spots after Coulombe’s: Griffin Jax, Jhoan Durán, Cole Sands, Brock Stewart, Jorge Alcalá, Justin Topa, Louie Varland, Michael Tonkin, and Rule 5 pick Eiberson Castellano.

I’ll save you some finger-counting: that’s nine names.

This team already had lots of depth. Now, they also have better balance, and the warm, fuzzy feeling of having spent some of the Pohlad family’s money, after all.