Rather than settling into a lineup to start the season, the Minnesota Twins are spending the final few days before Opening Day scrambling to make up for a slew of injuries.
Last week was a terrible one for Minnesota, as the Twins lost Jhoan Duran and Caleb Thielbar from their bullpen, which is ranked near the top of the league. It’s unclear how long those individuals will be gone, but it leaves a hole that the front office attempted to address on Sunday.
Without Duran, the back of the bullpen will see a larger workload from Brock Stewart and Griffin Jax, but the departure of Thielbar creates a need in the early innings. That’s why the Twins signed newly released Chicago White Sox reliever Jesse Chavez to a major league contract.
Twins sign ex-Braves reliever following injuries to Jhoan Duran and Caleb Thielbar.
According to Twins Daily’s John Bonnes, Minnesota has acquired veteran reliever Jesse Chavez to help add depth to the bullpen as Opening Day approaches. The plan is for Chavez to start the season on the 26-man roster, which means that someone we thought could be an injury replacement would have to wait longer.
Following Duran and Thielbar’s injuries, it appeared like Kody Funderburk would make the Opening Day roster, but Chavez is now anticipated to take that slot. It’s a strange decision because Chavez, a 40-year-old reliever, will be joining his 12th team, although he’s been quite consistent in recent seasons.
Chavez has a 2.81 ERA in 138 innings over the previous three years, including a 1.56 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 35 innings for the Braves last season. He projects to be a middle-inning pitcher who can go the distance if the Twins need him to, which may be useful early in the season, especially if this is a short-term connection.
That is up in the air, though, because Chavez was chosen over someone like Funderburk for a reason. If he can offer Minnesota with innings like he did for Atlanta last year, he may be able to stay longer than expected.
Of course, the flip side of that coin is wondering how long the Twins front office will stick around if things go tough. Chavez is definitely an emergency injury option, and if he struggles, how long before the plug is pulled in favor of someone else in the minors?
For the time being, Chavez appears to be a solid, albeit clichéd, Twins addition. It doesn’t really shift the needle, but it doesn’t need to.
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