Twins will move Griffin Jax, Lewis Thorpe to bullpen this season

FORT MYERS, FLA. — The Twins hope they've found the answer to their shortage of reliable bullpen arms. Turns out it was right there all along, in their starting depth.

Griffin Jax, who started 14 games for Minnesota last season, and Lewis Thorpe, who started four more, are being moved to the pen this spring, manager Rocco Baldelli said Tuesday, a transformation both pitchers say they embrace.

"It's a good opportunity and I'm definitely excited for it," said Jax, a starting pitcher since high school a decade ago. "It's definitely going to be different. I'm going to have to learn a new routine, and I'm excited to see how my arm and my body is going to handle it. But change can be good."

Constant change can be bad, though, which is why Thorpe, a 26-year-old lefthander, was enthusiastic about the idea when Baldelli approached him about it on Monday. Over the past three seasons, Thorpe has made 30 starts and 22 relief appearances, whether in the majors or Class AAA, and frankly, the Australian said, "it's not easy."

"It's good that I have some clarity now. The whole starting-then-relieving thing is pretty tough, making so many adjustments," Thorpe said. "I was happy to do it — I just want to be up in the big leagues and throwing that white baseball, helping the team win — but I feel like I can be more effective if I'm focused on one role."

Baldelli agreed, and said both pitchers' workloads will be aimed at getting them ready for one- to three-inning assignments, two or three times a week. "That's the plan, just so they have something to aim for as this camp goes on," the manager said. "These are guys that haven't spent a ton of time in the bullpen, but we want them to lock in on that."

Jax, in fact, had never pitched on consecutive days in his professional career — until his first two days in the major leagues, when he was asked to face the Yankees last June 8-9. He threw 23 pitches the first night and 51 the next, and "the thing I learned the most was that my body was able to handle the stress of going back-to-back days," Jax said. "Mentally, I was like, man, I don't know if I can go 100 percent for 20 pitches and then come back the next day and do it again. But I did it. That gave me confidence that I can do it."

The Twins have had some good experience with these transitions; Glen Perkins gave up starting in 2010 and turned himself into an All-Star reliever. And both pitchers cited current Twins relievers Tyler Duffey and Taylor Rogers as projected starters who found increased effectiveness in smaller doses.

Thorpe believes his pitches will be sharper, and faster, out of the bullpen.

"Velocity is going to be a big factor. I can just come out and use my bullets," he said. "If it's two innings, three innings, that's going to be there, and I don't have to pace myself. I can come out and blow guys away."

Luis Arraez's 49-game career as a left fielder — 11 games longer than Miguel Sano's ill-fated 2016 adventure in right field — might be over, too.

"It's hard to take something completely away from someone mentally. But Luis is not going to prepare to play the outfield," Baldelli said. "I'd like him to focus his attention on playing all around the infield. That's what's going to get him ready, and that's where we're going to play him. Can things always change? Of course. But that's where he's going to play."

Arraez went to the outfield 21 times in 2019 and 28 more last season, mostly as a way to get his bat into the lineup. But the trade of designated hitter Nelson Cruz last July and third baseman Josh Donaldson on Sunday should make it easier to find at-bats for the 24-year-old without forcing him into a position where he has little experience.

Twelve of the Twins' 19 Grapefruit League games will be televised on Bally Sports Network, the team announced Tuesday, and 15 will be available on radio and livestreaming.

Three of the telecasts will feature regular-season announcers Dick Bremer and Justin Morneau, six will be simulcasts with the radio call of Corey Provus and Dan Gladden providing the audio, and three will be the Twins' opponent's telecasts, picked up by BSN. The first telecast is Saturday's game against the Red Sox at Hammond Stadium.

All 19 of the Twins' spring training games will begin at 12:05 p.m. CDT.

Phil Roof, a Twins catcher from 1971-76 and a fixture in their spring camp for three decades, has arrived in Fort Myers and will resume his longstanding role throwing batting practice on Wednesday — at age 81.

"Phil's in better shape than most of our coaching staff. You kind of go wow every time you see Phil," Baldelli admired. "And he's got a handshake from hell."