Acquired from Seattle in the Jorge Polanco trade last January, Topa was projected to be a setup man in the Twins bullpen but suffered a knee injury last March and faced setbacks throughout the 2024 season.
He didn’t return until late September and only made a handful of appearances for the team.
“We’ll see how he is tomorrow,” said Baldelli. “It doesn’t appear to be anything overly serious the way he’s describing it and talking about it, but he did feel something that he didn’t like.”
Jhoan Duran Returns
Speaking of relievers, Twins reliever Jhoan Duran made his first appearance in over a week. According to Duran the reason was more logistical than anything else.
“We played a lot on the road last week,” Duran said after the game. “They wanted me pitching here in live BP and working on my mechanics, getting my pitches where I want it.”
Duran saved 23 games for the Twins last year, posting a 3.64 ERA and a 1.160 WHIP, but that fell short of the lofty expectations his 2022 and 2023 season set; he posted a 2.15 ERA and 1.054 WHIP over those two years.
The decreased effectiveness correlated with a decrease in his velocity between the two seasons. His four-seam fastball velocity dipped to 100.5 mph in 2024, down from 101.8 mph in 2023.
This spring, the velocity is down further.
Hs fastest pitch in yesterday’s 16-pitch outing was 99.7 mph.
Duran says what he said last year, that he isn’t concerned.
“I focus on my mechanics and my pitch’s movement,” he said after Wednesday’s game.
“I don’t need to throw really hard right now.”
Perhaps not. But Duran gave up a walk, two hits, and a run in his inning.
That can happen , but more concerning is that he didn’t get a strikeout or a swing-and-miss in the inning.
Brock Stewart Also Returns
In better bullpen news, Twins reliever Brock Stewart, who has looked as effective a high-leverage bullpen arm as anyone when healthy, made his first spring training appearance today.
Like Duran, he also gave up a run, and his fastest pitch was 97.5 mph, but that was his average fastball velocity last year, and he felt and looked like his old (healthy) self.
“I thought Brock was the highlight of the day for me watching the game,” said manager Rocco Baldelli after the game. “The stuff looked like vintage Brock Stewart.”
All of this news is against the background that the Twins bullpen is pretty crowded. Last year’s core relievers – Griffin Jax, Jhoan Duran, Coles Sands, and Jorge Alcala – are set to return.
Michael Tonkin also signed a $1M guaranteed contract to return to the team.
Left-hander Danny Coulombe was signed to provide left-handed support. Stewart appears to be healthy and throwing hard again, Louis Varland is poised to be converted to relief, and Rule 5 pick Eiberson Castellano is opening eyes at camp.
Add in Topa, and those are ten names competing for eight spots in the bullpen.
Austin Martin Shows Off His Glove
Manager Rocco Baldelli has been saying he wants to see how good an outfield defender Austin Martin could be.
Wednesday, Martin made a pair of great defensive plays in left field that demonstrate why his manager has such faith in him.
“That’s the other highlight of the day, right there,” said Baldelli. “We were talking about him pretty much the entire game.”
For that matter, so does the pitcher whose ERA was the recipient of those plays, Pablo Lopez. “I mean, he’s a gamer,” said Lopez after the game.
“He can do that at any position. He goes out there and he’s so athletic that he just makes those plays. I do appreciate that as a pitcher.”
How well that skill set fits onto the 26-man roster has yet to be determined.
Depending on how the infield situation shakes out, Martin could be the 13th position player or start the season in St. Paul.
But if he does make the team, it was notable that Harrison Bader, who has a Gold Glove, started in right field while Martin played left field.
In Target Field, left field is the tougher area to cover, but Bader also has a stronger arm, which might mean he’s a better fit in right field if both Bader and Martin cover the corner outfield spots.
Baldelli didn’t commit to that alignment for the regular season but noted that Martin has more experience in left field while Bader has more experience in right field, so that alignment made sense to him.
