Tyler Duffey hopes to show he belongs in rotation

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The judges conferred Sunday, but they reached no conclusion. So already Tyler Duffey is faring better in roster roulette than he did a year ago.

For the second spring in a row, Duffey is part of a two- or three-way competition for the final spot in the Twins rotation, and for the second spring in a row, it's come down to the final week of camp. Manager Paul Molitor said he, pitching coach Neil Allen and the team's front office still are debating who gets the job and what happens to the pitchers who don't.

"We're not prepared to announce that," Molitor said after the Twins' 7-2 loss to the Red Sox. "We certainly had a lot of talk about that today, but we're kind of letting it simmer, without the urgency, at least for another day or so before we figure out what those guys are going to do next."

The decision was much easier last spring — to Duffey's detriment. The righthander came to camp in 2016 as the clear favorite to be the fourth starter, though Molitor warned that status was "written in pencil, not ink." Duffey promptly pitched his way out of a big-league job with a terrible camp. In four starts, he gave up 10 runs over 12 ⅓ innings, a 7.30 ERA that finally forced Molitor and then-General Manager Terry Ryan to send him to Class AAA Rochester.

This year, Duffey's status is far different. He reported to Fort Myers as an underdog for a rotation spot, with Trevor May considered the most likely choice for the back end of the rotation, and Jose Berrios earning strong consideration. Duffey was lumped in with longshots such as Nick Tepesch, Adalberto Mejia and Ryan Vogelsong, and he didn't get his first Grapefruit League start until March 10. In the meantime, he suffered through an awful relief outing against the Rays, giving up six runs, including a grand slam to Jake Bauers, while retiring only two hitters.

But that was a month ago, and things have changed. May tore a ligament in his elbow and was lost for the season. Berrios left camp for almost three weeks for the World Baseball Classic, where he pitched only twice, putting his preparations for the season behind schedule; he was sent to Rochester on Saturday. Vogelsong chose to leave and pursue a starting job elsewhere when the Twins asked him to consider a bullpen role.

That leaves Mejia, perhaps Tepesch (who will start Tuesday, but who has given up seven runs in his past two appearances) and Duffey, who has given up only one run in his past 10 innings against major leaguers.

Duffey's failed candidacy of 2016, — when he lost out, just a week before Opening Day, to Tommy Milone and Ricky Nolasco — taught Duffey a lesson, he said: Don't take your roster spot for granted. After a strong rookie season in 2015, with a 3.10 ERA in 10 starts as the Twins pursued a playoff spot, Duffey said he spent weeks of camp trying to incorporate a new pitch, a changeup, into his repertoire, rather than showing that he could get hitters out.

"Now I realize what not to do," Duffey said. "I came to just work on things at spring training, like I'd been used to doing. And I learned very quickly that's not the way to do it, and I ended up in Rochester."

Like last year, the competition might have come down to a head-to-head showdown. Nolasco and Duffey both pitched on the final Monday of camp, and Nolasco looked much sharper; the decision came the next morning. This time, Duffey and Mejia both pitched Saturday in minor league games, and while Duffey was more impressive on the back fields, Mejia has had the overall better camp.

It's possible the loser of the competition could make the team as a reliever, though Molitor sounded less enthusiastic about that notion Sunday.

"You can make points for both sides," he said. "But there's something about having rotation depth, keeping guys in the rotation so that you make sure you have more than one option if you need to dip down there early, which invariably seems to happen."