When the Twins kicked off spring training, they expected the bullpen to be a major strength of their team. By the time they left Florida, however, their bullpen ranks had been decimated by injury.
Caleb Thielbar had suffered a hamstring strain that kept him off the mound all spring. Justin Topa was dealing with a knee issue that had plagued him for the past couple of years. And perhaps most seriously, closer Jhoan Duran suffered an oblique strain while throwing warm-up pitches in Fort Myers, Fla.
But even without these relievers, all of whom the Twins were relying upon to be late-inning contributors, the bullpen has been an early-season strength. The group, which added three more scoreless innings on Saturday, boasted an MLB-best 0.98 earned-run average across 27 2/3 innings as of Saturday afternoon.
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“Our bullpen has done a really nice job. I have to be very pleased with that,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “And it’s really everyone. A bunch of the guys have had two-inning appearances. The late-inning guys have done their jobs well. We’ll take it. I’ve been very pleased with that group, and we’re going to keep challenging them.”
That group could be getting reinforcements soon. Thielbar, who is eligible to come off the injured list next week, threw about 20 pitches in live batting practice to Austin Martin and Manuel Margotat Target Field before Saturday’s game.
His velocity was maybe a slight tick down — it was 10 a.m., he pointed out — but the movement was there, and his hamstring issue is no longer a concern.
“I’ve been good for a while now. Just need to get some work in, because I missed the whole spring,” Thielbar said. “I probably could have pitched on Opening Day. I wouldn’t have done that without throwing in a game at all. It’s just a matter of getting some work in.”
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The likely next step for him is a trip to St. Paul, where he is expected to rehab next week as he gets ready to return.
Duran and Topa are further behind, though both have started playing catch and have been feeling good. The former said he has been playing catch from 105 feet, and the pain in his oblique that he felt has been gone for “a lot of days.” The latter said he began playing catch on Friday and his knee has responded well as he has been increasing his workload.
Topa said he first started battling knee pain a couple years ago, and while he said it was around much of last season, it was manageable and he never had to shut things down. While his knee felt good coming into camp, the patellar tendinitis started flaring up more and eventually, after plating his knee in a game, it “definitely got more cranky.”
“This is a little more than what I’m used to,” he said. “I took the initiative to get it looked at and … kind of get it out of the way now, and hopefully it doesn’t cause an issue down the stretch.”
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Topa said he’d been throwing with flyballs to keep his arm moving and he hoped to sit down in the next couple of days to get some more clarity on what his timeline might look like.
And while they’re all eager to return, the trio has seen their bullpen mates step up.
“It’s awesome. We’ve got a great group of guys,” Thielbar said. “(I’m) looking forward to getting back and helping out.”
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