Twins President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey on Monday talked longer than he usually lets his pitchers pitch.
Here's what struck me about his season-ending news conference at Target Field:
- Bullpen bounceback: The Twins have spent four years under Falvey and manager Rocco Baldelli scrambling to piece together a bullpen.
Even when they won 101 games in 2019, they blew up their frighteningly bad bullpen at the end of July.
When they had Taylor Rogers, they never fully committed to him as a closer, then they traded him.
Having traded for Jorge Lopez and developed Jhoan Duran, they will enter 2023 confident they won't have to spend assets or angst on their bullpen. Lopez, Duran, Griffin Jax and Caleb Thielbar give them the base for their best bullpen in a long time. Lopez, despite periodic struggles in 2022, was an all-star. Duran could become one of the best relievers in the game.
- An ace?: I suggested recently that the Twins should spend big to sign one. Falvey seemed to shoot down that possibility, noting that the Twins, given reasonable health, should have lots of quality starting pitchers.
The more Falvey talked about his depth, the more I began to think that a trade for another front-line starting pitcher is a possibility.
- Hooks: Asked if he would welcome a starting pitcher who could regularly pitch into the seventh and eighth innings, Falvey said, "We're all in on that.''
- Watkins: After announcing that head athletic trainer Michael Salazar will not return, he said the coaching staff will be brought back. Asked specifically about third base coach Tommy Watkins, Falvey noted that even if some of Watkins' decisions on sending runners could be questioned, his value to the organization can't.
This is correct. Watkins is respected and beloved at all levels of the Twins' organization.
- Showing up: Falvey spoke with writers in an informal setting for more than an hour, then went to the dugout to do broadcast interviews.
Nobody does this anymore. Most modern sports organizations do all they can to protect their key figures from lengthy or pointed questioning, especially in front of large groups. Between Falvey's availability and Baldelli's lengthy interviews before and after every game, no local team provides more access to their leadership figures.
