The Twins have some concerns in the starting rotation, but it’s nowhere near as dire as the situation they’ve found themselves in with the bullpen.

Is it time to roll the dice and move their young swingman back into a relief role?

The Twins rightfully gave Louie Varland another chance to start this year, after an uneven season in 2023.

Though he’s struggled mightily at times, Varland has been pitching much better lately, and is currently in St. Paul as their next man up, should another starter struggle or get injured.

Unfortunately, the current rotation issues are hypothetical, whereas the current bullpen concerns are very real.

It may be time for the Twins to sacrifice their rotation depth to keep the bullpen afloat, despite the obvious risks of that approach.

It’s no secret that the Twins bullpen is coming apart at the seams. Just this week, they’ve turned two almost-certain wins into losses. First, Jorge Alcalá entered a 4-0 game against Texas on Sunday in the 7th inning and blew the lead in impressively little time.

Then, Steven Okert entered a 5-3 game Tuesday against San Diego in the 8th inning and allowed four earned runs while recording one out.

These losses–and the specter of more similar ones–give the Twins every reason to throw caution to the wind regarding future rotation depth and give Varland a chance to save the bullpen.

The top issue with the Twins bullpen right now is obvious: They don’t have enough trustworthy options.

The Twins chose to add to the pen only on the fringes this offseason, as they often do. It left them vulnerable to the situation they’ve currently found themselves in.

High-end options with injury risks (like Brock Stewart) have had the worst-case scenario play out. Jhoan Durán has also taken a step back, after being the backbone of the bullpen for the last few seasons.

Justin Topa, acquired for Jorge Polanco, likely will not throw a single pitch for the Twins this year. Caleb Thielbar has finally looked his age for much of the season, while several of the Twins’ offseason acquisitions, such as Okert and Jay Jackson, turned out to do more harm to this roster than good.

Rocco Baldelli manages in a minefield every night when he calls down to the bullpen. Varland would be an immediate facelift for this group.