The Minnesota Twins are accelerating the Louie Varland bullpen experiment as the right-hander has been recalled from Triple-A St. Paul ahead of Monday’s series opener with the Cleveland Guardians.
Varland went 3-3 with a 5.30 ERA in 10 starts with the Twins earlier this season but has gone 5-1 with a 3.92 ERA since being demoted to the Saints on June 23.
Varland has been especially effective in his last 11 outings, posting a 2.83 ERA and limiting opposing hitters to a .256/.310/.399 batter’s line since July 3 and his recent stretch convinced the Twins to try using him out of the bullpen.
Varland made his lone relief appearance of the season during Thursday’s outing with the Saints and allowed one run over four innings but his most encouraging development was the increase in velocity on his fastball. After averaging 94.9 mph as a starter, Varland’s four-seamer averaged 97.2 mph and even hit 100 mph in his relief appearance.
Louie Varland
100.2 mph fastball
Painted cutter
Wipeout changeup pic.twitter.com/Ah8KyAoIE2— Tom Froemming (@TFTwins) September 1, 2023
With Varland in the fold, the Twins are hoping he can give them a reliable reliever along with Griffin Jax and Emilio Pagán to bridge the gap to closer Jhoan Duran.
To make room on the roster, the Twins optioned Cole Sands to St. Paul. Sands owns a 3.74 ERA in 15 games this season but allowed a pair of runs in the Twins’ loss to the Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon.
The Twins currently hold a five-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians for first place in the American League Central.
