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After a promising 2015 season, the Minnesota Twins have failed to address their need for bullpen reinforcements this offseason as they continue to have a small-market mentality. Those self-inflicted restrictions have kept them out of even the reasonable end of the free agent market for bullpen arms, and at this point fans are left to buy a leap of faith with a bunch of unproven or uninspiring options to fill out most of the relief corp.
After signing Antonio Bastardo, the New York Mets designated right-handed reliever Carlos Torres for assignment last Friday. Torres is coming off a poor 2015 season on the surface (4.68 ERA over 59 appearances, and he’s 33 years old, but over the last three seasons he has a 3.59 ERA with an 8.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 over 165 appearances that includes 10 starts (nine in 2013).
Mike Puma of the New York Post has reported the Twins might have some interest in Torres.
Sounds like the Twins might have some interest in Carlos Torres.
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) January 25, 2016
The financial tie to Torres is not significant, with he and the Mets avoiding arbitration with a one-year, $1.05 million deal earlier this month. In terms of his performance in 2015, an inflated BABIP (.326) and a ridiculously low strand rate (65.3 percent) drove his ERA up, with a FIP (3.53) and a xFIP (3.73) that support some bad fortune. Otherwise, Torres maintained a nice ground ball rate (48.3 percent) and showed slightly increased fast ball velocity last season.
The Twins should not have to give up much to acquire Torres. The first step is claiming him, which should happen quickly with multiple teams possibly having interest, and a deal with the Mets would have to follow fairly quickly. Torres will not make the Twins’ bullpen a top-notch unit on his own, but if his presence means fewer outings for low-upside arms like J.R. Graham and Casey Fien, bringing him aboard will be a positive move.
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