FORT MYERS, FLA. – The free-agent acquisition of righthander Ervin Santana left one spot open in the Twins starting rotation. But the surplus of candidates for the No. 5 starter spot has helped create March Madness in the bullpen competition.
The Twins-Gophers exhibition game Wednesday kicked off the battle among relievers and more should appear Thursday in the Grapefruit League opener against Boston at Hammond Stadium.
The competition most likely won't be decided until the final week of spring training, when the final spot in the rotation is settled and the losers in that battle are sized up for possible relief roles.
"Here we go," Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said. "Show us what you can do."
Righthander Jared Burton (who made 68 appearances last season) and righthander Anthony Swarzak (50) were not brought back. The group of candidates bring a variety of skill sets to the race to build a bridge to closer Glen Perkins.
"You want to look for guys that get your attention, that you can build confidence in and get you outs late in ballgames to protect leads," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "Other than that, you obviously need a little bit more filler guys and people to absorb some innings when the starters go short. I will say that I like the fact that we have some people that are going to give us a little bit of an option as far as different looks from what we've had."
Molitor said he would rely on pitchers with experience, such as righthander Casey Fien and lefthander Brian Duensing, if he needed to protect a lead now. But he's keeping an open mind as to how the bullpen will ultimately be assembled.
Seeking heat
The most valuable quality the Twins staff has been missing is velocity. They ranked last in baseball last season in the number of pitches thrown at or above 97 miles per hour.