Twins GM says Griffin Jax will remain in the bullpen in 2025

There had been some buzz about the possibility of Jax starting games again.

Jun 10, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins pitcher Griffin Jax (22) delivers a pitch against the Colorado Rockies in the eighth inning at Target Field. / Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

There had been some buzz around the idea of standout reliever Griffin Jax moving back into a starting role next season, but new Twins GM Jeremy Zoll squashed that on Wednesday, saying Jax will remain in the bullpen in 2025.

"It's something we've been working through heavily throughout the offseason with Griffin, his agent, his family, all those things," Zoll said on the team's Inside Twins show. "As we've worked through all that, our plan is to keep Griff in the bullpen for 2025."

Jax, 30, was legitimately one of the best relievers in all of baseball last season. He had a 2.03 ERA, a 0.87 WHIP, and 95 strikeouts in 71 innings pitched in 2024. Jax finished with ten saves and allowed just four home runs all year. He was worth 2.8 WAR, which was tied for seventh-most among all MLB relief pitchers.

"Obviously, he was tremendously valuable in 2024," Zoll said. "We feel like he's one of the best relievers in the game and feel really good about that role and plan for the upcoming year, and know Griff's excited about that as well."

Jax, who was a third-round pick out of the Air Force Academy in 2016, came up through the minor leagues as a starting pitcher and began his MLB career as one in 2021. He appeared in 18 games as a rookie, starting 14 of them, and had a rough 6.37 ERA. Jax was moved to the bullpen in 2022 and instantly became an above-average reliever, eventually breaking out as an elite late-inning option last season.

Now entering his fifth MLB season, Jax is a much different pitcher than he was four years ago. He said in the fall that he was intrigued by the possibility of getting another crack at starting games, and Twins bench coach Jayce Tingler said in November that Jax could "potentially be a frontline guy" in their rotation. But if that does happen, it sounds like it won't be until 2026 at the earliest.

"At the end of the day, through the different conversations in the offseason with Derek (Falvey) and Rocco (Baldelli) and Griff and the whole group, we feel like there's a lot of alignment for the upcoming year," Zoll said. "Everyone's in a really good spot with the decision. It's definitely something Griff has thought about and processed. At this point, he feels good about that decision and we're all on the same page for the upcoming year. Not ever ruling anything out for the future, but ultimately think this puts everyone in the best spot for success in 2025."

The decision makes sense when you look at the Twins' roster. Starting pitchers are extremely valuable, but they already have a very strong on-paper rotation with Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, and Bailey Ober leading the way, as well as Chris Paddack (though he's a trade candidate), David Festa, Simeon Woods Richardson, and Zebby Matthews.

Their bullpen also projects as a strength, but Jax is a big reason for that. If he were to move to the rotation, it would put a lot more pressure on Jhoan Duran at the back end and guys like Cole Sands, Brock Stewart, Justin Topa, and Jorge Alcala. Keeping Jax in the bullpen gives the Twins a chance to have an excellent group of high-leverage options in 2025.