It's been a rough first half of the season for the Twins' bullpen, which ranks No. 25 in Win Probability Added, No. 27 in strikeout rate, No. 28 in strikeout-to-walk ratio, and No. 29 in ERA out of 30 teams. But they may have discovered a reliever worth keeping in journeyman right-hander Yoendrys Gómez.
Gómez is only 26 years old, but the Twins are his fifth MLB organization, and his fourth team in the past 15 months. He was designated for assignment by the Rays in early May because he allowed 13 runs in 17 innings to start the season — giving him a 5.11 ERA in 93 career MLB innings — and was out of minor-league options.
Gómez is no stranger to the waiver wire, having previously been placed there by the Yankees and the Dodgers last season, but the Twins sent cash considerations to the Rays to jump the line and acquire him. At the time, it was no different than a dozen other low-cost bullpen fliers the Twins have taken recently.
Six weeks later, Gómez has steadily climbed the Twins' bullpen ladder to emerge as manager Derek Shelton's most-trusted reliever. That's admittedly a pretty low bar, but Gómez leads the bullpen in leverage index while throwing 17 2/3 innings with a 1.53 ERA and a team-high six saves when no one else has more than two.
"Gotta give credit to our baseball ops group for identifying Gómez," Shelton said. "He was a guy we liked in spring training. Pitched great against us, I think, three times with the Rays. And he was a guy we liked at the end of spring training, but they kept him on their (Opening Day) team."