Twins snagged a bargain when Jepsen rescued bullpen

FORT MYERS, FLA. – Complaining about the Twins' perceived lack of aggressiveness in roster moves has become a blood sport in forums for public commentary and in a variety of local media outlets.

The Twins were 53-48 and holding the second wild card in the American League after games of July 30, 2015. The responses ranged from ho-hum to outrage (mostly feigned) when the team's move on the July 31 trading deadline was to acquire reliever Kevin Jepsen from Tampa Bay for minor league pitchers Chih-Wei Hu and Alexis Tapia.

The nasty clamor was misplaced. Jepsen proved to be precisely what manager Paul Molitor's beleaguered bullpen required — then more than that when closer Glen Perkins started getting hit and had back problems.

"Jep saved us," bullpen coach Eddie Guardado said. "We wouldn't have hung around until the last weekend without him, that's for sure."

Jepsen had spent 13 seasons in the Angels organization. He was traded for the first time on Dec. 16, 2014, to Tampa Bay for outfielder Matt Joyce. The first reaction to the Twins' acquisition of Jepsen should not have been so dismissive, considering the way he had pitched for the Angels in 2014 and for four months with the Rays.

Jepsen pitched in 29 of the 60 games the Twins had remaining after he joined the team in Seattle. He pitched for the first time on Aug. 2, got one out and allowed two earned runs.

"See … as usual, the Twins and their owners took the cheap way out," came the bellow.

As Guardado said, without Jepsen, the Twins' fadeaway would have come much sooner than the final series at Target Field vs. Kansas City.

As for the traditional "cheap" angle, a secondary reason for the Twins' acquisition of Jepsen was that he wasn't a short-term rental. Jepsen had five years, 163 days of big-league service time at the end of the 2015 season, leaving him nine days short of free agency.

The manner in which Jepsen pitched for the Twins earned him a raise of over $2 million — to $5.3 million — after he filed for arbitration.

"Not too many of these guys in the clubhouse are what I would call 'old school,' " Guardado said. "Jepsen is old school. If he doesn't get 'em out, it's not, 'I just didn't have this or that pitch.' With Jep, it's 'I didn't get the job done.' Period."

Guardado looked across the large clubhouse toward Jepsen and said: "He's a bulldog."

Jepsen's place of birth was Anaheim. You see that and figure he grew up going to Angels games.

"We moved to Reno, Nevada, when I was 6," he said. "I didn't have a real connection to the Angels as a kid. My family did, though. My dad, my grandma and my aunt all worked at the stadium, when both the Angels and the Rams were playing there."

Jepsen was the Nevada player of the year in 2002 as a senior at Bishop Manogue High School in Reno. The Angels took him in the second round, with scout Todd Blyleven getting credit for the signing.

He became a reliever in the minors in 2006, was a September recall in 2008, had two good years in the Angels' pen in 2009 and 2010, and then a lost year in 2011. He pitched with a bad knee that required surgery. He's also had labrum surgery in his right shoulder and bone chips removed from his right elbow.

"Dr. [Lewis] Yocum knew me well," Jepsen said. "He was a wonderful surgeon. He fixed everything. I feel great."

"We've been working a little on this," said Guardado, making the split-finger motion. "He seems to like it."

Guardado used that pitch to great effect, after picking it up from his predecessor as an outstanding Twins closer, Rick Aguilera. As it turns out, Aguilera arrived in Twins camp as a special instructor Thursday.

Whatever level of interest Jepsen has in adding the split-fingered change, he couldn't find better counsel on its usage than the combination of Guardado and Aguilera.