Souhan: Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax to lead talented Twins bullpen

Fort Myers, Fla. – As is usually the case with Twins closer Jhoan Duran, things were moving fast. He held a pristine baseball in his right hand, and held the attention of his teammates as he stretched his right index finger along a seam and unleashed a rapid … sentence in Spanish.

Duran was talking pitching with some of his fellow Latin American pitchers, shifting his fingertips to different pressure points on the baseball. Then he revealed that he had a secret.

“Right now I’m playing with the baseball a little bit because I’m trying out a new pitch,” he said. “Can’t tell you what it is.”

Duran has thrown one of the fastest pitches ever recorded — 104.8 mph in 2023. He’s thrown nine pitches that have hit 104 mph, all in 2023. He was the first pitcher ever to throw an off-speed pitch 100 mph when he did so with his splitter in 2022.

Duran averaged 100.5 mph with his fastball last year, a year after averaging 101.8, the dip generally attributed to a right oblique strain that caused him to miss the first month of the season.

He said this week that he’s healthy, and that he wants to expand on his pitch mix that includes his fast fastball, fast splitter and roundabout curve.

If he masters a straight changeup, MLB may need to outlaw him.

“Right now, if I were a manager or general manager, I don’t know how I’d figure out who to put in the bullpen,” Duran said. “Everybody looks so good.”

Compliments are cheap in spring training, but this one hints at reality. At 27, Duran should be hitting his prime, and may be poised to lead a remarkable group of arms.

Duran’s baseball-card stats were slightly disappointing last year. As a rookie, his ERA was 1.86. In 2023, it was 2.45. Last year, it was 3.64. Twins officials say the injury and some bad pitcher’s luck contributed to the increase.

So it was setup man Griffin Jax who became the Twins’ dominant reliever — and pitcher — in 2024, producing a 2.03 ERA with 95 strikeouts in 71 innings. He has closer stuff but not a closer’s role … yet.

“Yeah, I think any reliever would be lying if they said they didn’t want to be closing,” Jax said. “But I’m just gonna do the job they ask me to do.”

One possible season-opening bullpen could look like this: Duran as closer, Jax as the primary setup man and Danny Coulombe as the primary lefty.

Then things get interesting. Louis Varland, dominant as a reliever in 2022 and mediocre as a starter last year, will be in the bullpen. Tuesday, he pitched a scoreless inning, repaired to the clubhouse and traded a personalized eight-step handshake with Cole Sands.

Varland and Brock Stewart give the Twins two more late-inning options with closer stuff. Sands, one of the Twins’ most improved players in 2024, gives them a versatile option, and Jorge Alcala, whose savvy is trying to catch up to his ability, continues to have a high ceiling.

Justin Topa, a quality sinkerball pitcher who missed last season with a variety of injuries, managed just two late-season outings last year. Tuesday, he pitched a scoreless inning in relief.

All these dynamic arms give the Twins an embarrassment of pitching riches for a team that also features a promising rotation.

If Duran regains his old velocity and adds a new pitch, he’ll likely make his first All-Star Game.

Tuesday, Duran eased into spring training by throwing his fastball just under 100 during a perfect inning against the Yankees, in a 5-4 game at Hammond Stadium. Duran, Topa and Varland combined to throw three shutout innings, allowing one baserunner and striking out three.

“I hate to use the word dominance, but these guys have shown enough the past couple of years that they’re one of the top bullpens in the league,” Topa said. “If all the pieces are healthy, this is going to be a really fun year.”

Duran used his usual array of pitches, so his secret remains safe. Opposing hitters may not be.