FORT MYERS, Fla. — While Joe Ryan’s participation in the World Baseball Classic is still undetermined, another Minnesota Twins pitcher opted out of playing in next month’s tournament.
Citing personal reasons and a commitment to his team, pitcher Taj Bradley informed Team Mexico he won’t pitch for them when the 20-team tournament begins on March 6. Following the season-ending elbow injury to pitcher Pablo López last week, Bradley is slotted as either the No. 2 or No. 3 starter in the Twins starting rotation this season.
After making the decision, Bradley, who was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays last July for reliever Griffin Jax, told manager Derek Shelton that the upcoming season is too important.
“He approached me and said that he would like to stay in camp and be with the club,” Shelton said. “I just listened to him — because we committed to him playing and he committed to playing — and let him express himself. The biggest thing was he felt his priority should be in this camp.”
With Bradley declining, Ryan is the only Twins starting pitcher scheduled to play in the WBC. But Ryan’s status is up in the air as he recovers from missing Saturday’s start with lower back tightness, an absence that resulted in an MRI that showed the pitcher is dealing with inflammation.
On Wednesday, Ryan played catch at 120 feet and ran, a day after Shelton described his recovery as “encouraging.” Whether Ryan will be ready to pitch when the WBC begins is to be determined. There’s also a possibility Ryan could skip the first round and remain in Team USA’s pitcher pool, which would make him eligible for later action if the club advances in the tournament.
Shelton initially said he was surprised when Bradley approached him Sunday about skipping the tournament. Rather than make an immediate decision, Shelton suggested Bradley take a day to weigh his decision. The two met on Monday, and Bradley hadn’t changed his mind.
“It’s hard not to say, ‘OK,’” Shelton said. “I asked him to think about it. I said I want you to make sure this is the right decision for you. And he stated that he had, and it was. So we supported his decision.”
Kody Funderburk was the Twins’ most consistent reliever after the trade deadline last season. (Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)
Funderburk tries to minimize
With three left-handed relievers acquired since Jan. 23, Kody Funderburk thinks it’s best not to focus on the big picture. One of four lefties vying for a spot in the Twins’ bullpen, this road isn’t new to Funderburk, who believes overthinking the situation won’t lead to success.
Funderburk, 29, was the Twins’ most consistent reliever after the trade deadline last season, posting a 0.75 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 24 innings. The best stretch of his career seemed to give Funderburk a leg up in a bullpen being rebuilt after five pitchers were traded last July.
Now, it’s hard to decipher how Funderburk fits in a bullpen that has added veterans Taylor Rogers, Andrew Chafin and Anthony Banda in the past five weeks.
“I ended up having one of the worst years I’ve had as a pitcher (in 2024) because I stressed about things that are out of my control,” Funderburk said. “This year I’m really trying to focus on what I was doing in the second half. I know if I can do that and execute at that level, things will always work themselves out. I stressed myself out in ’24 when we did the same thing and it affected my play. I said I’m not making that mistake again and whatever happens happens. I know I can pitch at this level and I’ll just worry about doing what I need to do to execute.”
Funderburk started off a bullpen day for the Twins by allowing two hits in a scoreless inning on Wednesday, his second scoreless appearance of the spring.
“You’re always trying to win a job,” Funderburk said. “Nothing’s guaranteed. I just try to really repeat on what I was doing in the second half of last season, which I worked on the offseason, and then really just trusting in my abilities that I can pitch at this level.”
Chafin posts zero in debut
The veteran reliever made his Twins debut Wednesday and posted a scoreless inning despite issuing two walks and working with decreased velocity. Noting earlier in camp he routinely pitches himself into shape every year, Chafin’s fastball velocity was down enough for MLB’s Gameday to originally identify all of his pitches as changeups, only to later reclassify them as four-seamers and sinkers.
Chafin’s fastball averaged 84.2 mph and his two-seamer averaged 83.6 mph, well down from last year’s averages. Chafin isn’t surprised in the least. He’s pitching to make the Opening Day roster and not worried about being in tip-top shape for the start of the exhibition season.
“I put up a zero,” Chafin said. “It was a great day. If I cared about velo, I wouldn’t have a job anymore. … It’s just a matter of tricking the body into doing what I want it to do when I want it to do it, and it doesn’t really have a choice, so it’s like a mind over matter dance.”
Culpepper impresses
Prospect Kaelen Culpepper singled, doubled and played his best all-around game of the spring in a 5-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Not only did the infielder make a nice diving stop at shortstop, he also demonstrated good decision-making on the bases, Shelton said.
“He did three things really well,” Shelton said. “We’re down 5-2 in the eighth and there is a line drive hit backside, and he freezes and goes back. … His awareness there, I felt, was really good. There were some things that stood out on all three sides of the ball.”