The Minnesota Twins brought in shortstop Carlos Correa and pitchers Sonny Gray and Dylan Bundy, not to mention catcher Gary Sanchez and third baseman Gio Urshela.
In other words, they made an effort to put together a competitive team that could help fans leave behind their forgettable 2021 campaign.
They could be, however, somewhat short on starting pitching.
They were in the market for a few arms before the season started, most notably Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas, but the Oakland Athletics’ asking price was likely too high.
We don’t know which way negotiations took, but it’s likely that the A’s asked for Jhoan Duran, and the Twins consider him a big part of the future.
A Stellar Reliever In The Early Going, With Unhittable Stuff
They are right, except for one thing: he is part of their present, too.
“Rocco Baldelli, on Jhoan Duran throwing 102.0 mph for the hardest tracked pitch in #MNTwins history: “I’m glad I’m not hitting it, I’ll tell you that. … I know guys throw hard these days, but that’s some next-level stuff,'” MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park tweeted on Tuesday.
Rocco Baldelli, on Jhoan Duran throwing 102.0 mph for the hardest tracked pitch in #MNTwins history:
"I'm glad I'm not hitting it, I'll tell you that. … I know guys throw hard these days, but that's some next-level stuff."
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) April 12, 2022
Duran, a starter by nature, is being used as a reliever by the Twins because Gray, Bundy, Bailey Ober, Chris Archer, Joe Ryan, and Chris Paddack are currently the members of a six-man rotation.
That’s not a problem, though: Duran has pitched three scoreless innings with two hits allowed, one walk, and four strikeouts.
According to FanGraphs, he is averaging 100.9 mph with his heater… averaging!
He also throws a turbo-sinker with too much movement for hitters to handle, and a curveball.
The Twins have him as a starter for the future.
Today?
He is perhaps one of their best relievers.
NEXT: Carlos Correa's Twins Debut Put On Hold