updates on Jose Miranda’s injury, Alex Kirilloff’s status, and Louie Varland’s situation
Tennessee’s Nashville Louie Varland’s position is still up in the air for the upcoming season as the Minnesota Twins comb the trade market for assistance with their rotation.
Varland, a native of Minnesota and two-time Twins minor-league pitcher of the year, is slated to start as the No. 5 starter behind Pablo López, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, and Chris Paddack. There is a general organizational consensus that Varland, who will turn 26 this season, is ready for the role.
Meanwhile, in the wake of Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda’s free-agent departures, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey has been candid during this week’s Winter Meetings about seeking trades for an experienced starter. Varland would be moved out of the starting lineup for the first game of the season if the Twins execute a major trade to bolster the rotation, as they have done in three of the last four offseasons to add López (2023), Gray (2022), and Maeda (2020).
And in that case, the Twins would have to make a tough decision about Varland’s current and future roles. By using his raw stuff to the fullest in fewer appearances, they could keep him in the majors as a reliever, where he concluded the previous season so brilliantly. Alternatively, they could send him back to the minor leagues to continue stretching out and providing depth as a starter for the Triple-A rotation during the season.
It is comparable to what 27-year-old Ober encountered during the previous offseason, when he was projected to start No. 5 for the Twins for several months before being moved out of the rotation in January to make room for López. After spending the first part of the season in the Triple-A rotation and only making four starts, Ober returned to the Twins in late April following Maeda’s injury.
Although it wasn’t ideal for Ober—who had already shown himself to be a valuable big-league starter the previous two seasons with a 3.81 ERA in 148 1/3 innings—having him as a fallback option during the season was crucial as the Twins’ rotation led them to the American League Central championship.
With five starters, no team can hope to survive a 162-game season. Even in 2023, when they had one of the best rotations in MLB, eight Twins pitchers started at least five games. Because of this, accumulating depth is essential, and starting the season with Varland in the minors could be a smart move to protect against the inevitable injuries that occur during the season.
