FORT MYERS, FLA. – The Twins have added five relief pitchers and one starter from outside the organization to the 40-player roster this winter. The starter is Anthony DeSclafani, 33, coming off two years of injury.
The major loss in free agency was Sonny Gray, a starter who pitched 184 innings with a 2.79 ERA last season.
A logical look at the situation would demand that Louie Varland, 26, a righthander with a big fastball and a promising mix of pitches, spend his time in the upcoming exhibitions working toward being a starter when the season opens — either with the Twins or the St. Paul Saints.
Yes, we were all impressed (particularly manager Rocco Baldelli) when Varland came back to the 2023 Twins as a reliever in September and was blowing away hitters for a seven-game stretch.
What must be remembered is that the No. 1 reason the Twins dominated the American League Central was effective starting pitchers providing a large number of innings.
You go back to the glory days in 2022 with Chris Archer and 3⅓ innings, and you’re going to fight to finish .500, which wouldn’t even win the 2024 Central.
Varland right now stands as the best option when the projected rotation behind Pablo López — namely Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, two-time Tommy John surgery patient Chris Paddack and DeSclafani — needs help, which figures to be around March 20.