In the past week or so, word has come out from a couple of other Minnesota teams that they were either bringing out old friends, or interested in doing so. The Wild today said that they were bringing back former center Matt Cullen who had gone on to Pittsburgh to win the Cup a couple of times. Additionally, there have been rumors that the Timberwolves would like to bring back Shabazz Muhammad, despite releasing him earlier in the offseason, as they find themselves without enough wing players. It made me wonder if there were any previously unnwanted former Twins that the Twins might be interested in now, if they also came back at a bargain basement price?
There are two players that immediately come to mind, and a couple that really emerged after they left, but likely wouldn’t be as impactful on the current roster. Aaron Hicks is breaking out this season. Even if you didn’t want him back (he’s an injury threat, for one thing) you would want to take trade back that sent him to New York for John Ryan Murphy. His track record of success isn’t very long, and there is a great future housed in every position in the outfield. Carlos Gomez seems more apt as a player that has played for the Twins and has had sustained success, but at the same time, he would still be that hired gun that the Twins don’t see to need, either on defense or offense. Not that Gomez wouldn’t be a good player for a lot of teams.
The two players that DO come to mind, though are a couple pitchers that are doing very well this year, and like Cullen and Muhammad, they left Minnesota seemingly as superfluous or unwanted. I’m talking about Brian Duensing and Anthony Swarzak. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a couple of reliable arms back in the bullpen?
Used more responsibly in Chicago, Duensing is having his best season of his career, with a 2.42 ERA that features more strikeouts and fewer walks than at any other point in his career. And for the last three years in a Twins uniform, when he wasn’t asked to start, he was a solid pitcher, and at his best against lefties, so if he could take the lessons learned in Chicago, and combine that with his durability, that would be a value ad in Minnesota.
Swarzak has bounced around since leaving Minnesota, and save for one rocky stop in New York with the Yankees, he has been pretty good. This year, like with Duensing, has been his best season. Like Duensing, His ERA on the season is 2.14, which is pretty darn good.this stems from a more effective usage, notably, usage as a reliever exclusively, as well as more strikeouts and fewer walks.
It may be that the Twins have a similar player with Tyler Duffey occupying the role of starter turned reliever on the roster, improving with lighter usage and leveraged for higher impact situations. Still, I think most fans would agree that it would be nice to have a couple more quality arms in the bullpen.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
