Former Twins in the World Series

The World Series has finally arrived. With baseball’s grandest stage in full swing, which former Minnesota Twins find themselves competing for the Commissioner’s Trophy?

Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays feature three former Twins, all relief pitchers.

1. Nick Anderson- Nick Anderson was a former Twins prospect who never got his chance with the big-league squad. He was traded away for next to nothing, and has since become one of baseball’s best relievers. He had a 0.55 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 16.1 innings pitched this year.
2. John Curtiss- Curtiss, who had only been given short cups of coffee with the Twins and Angels, received his first extended shot this year and made the most of it. In 25.0 innings, the 6’5” right-hander had an excellent 1.80 ERA and 25 strikeouts.
3. Aaron Slegers- The 6’10” Slegers also had his first extended shot at the majors this year, after two short stints with the Twins and another cup of coffee with the Rays last year. He was featured in a “long man” (heh, fitting) role in the Rays ‘pen and sported a 3.46 ERA and 19 strikeouts.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers only feature one former Twin, another reliever.

1. Brusdar Graterol- On the opposite end of the spectrum of the three Rays relievers, the Dodgers have a former Twins top prospect throwing out of their bullpen. While the Rays group all had their struggles on their path to relevance, Graterol was gifted with the right arm of a god and star expectations all along the way. He was traded to the Dodgers for the official 2020 TTTTMVP (Twinkie Town Twins Team Most Valuable Player), and his best days are likely ahead of him. However, he had an excellent rookie season, with a 3.09 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 23.1 innings.

The moral of the story is this: there is no straight path to major league relevance, just as there’s no guaranteed path to the World Series. This is especially true of relief pitchers, as we’ve also seen guys like Caleb Thielbar and Matt Wisler break out after joining the Twins.

In any case, we will see a former Twin hoisting the trophy for a second straight year, following in the footsteps of Brian Dozier and Kurt Suzuki.