Q&A with Twins Reliever Tyler Duffey

As has been (very) well documented, the Twins bullpen has been under constant flux in 2019; players have been Designated For Assignment (Blake Parker and Mike Morin, among others), acquired via trade (Sergio Romo and Sam Dyson) and, as is typical in modern baseball, are constantly being sent back-and-forth between Triple A and the majors (Zack Littell, Lewis Thorpe, Devin Smeltzer, etc., etc.).

All the while, Tyler Duffey has been quietly getting it done. In 47 2/3 innings over 48 games, the righthander has posted a 2.64 ERA, 65 strikeouts against 14 walks with .216 opponent’s batting average. Drafted in the 5th round out of Rice in 2012, Duffey debuted with the Twins as a starter in 2015, going 5-1 with a 3.10 ERA in 10 starts. Unable to build on the early success, the native Texan struggled in 2016, starting 26 games and posting a 6.43 ERA in 133 innings. He was moved to the bullpen in 2017 and spent most of 2018 at Triple A before figuring it out this season.

I caught up with the friendly and candid 28-year-old chatted during the last homestand.

DZ: You’ve been on a pretty good run right now pitching, what’s been working for you?

DUFFEY: Just executing the plan, I think there’s a little streak. I just remember Chicago (on June 30), after that rain delay. I had a tough one, and I felt like I wasn’t getting swing and misses like I was supposed to. I went in to Josh and Colby and Frank in the back and asked them, and said, foul tips and weak contact are still almost swinging misses when you really look at it by the numbers. I think after that conversation, I just kind of put my head down and kept going and fast forward a couple of weeks now we’re here. I feel like I’m in a good spot.

DZ: You’ve got Wes Johnson here this year, what’s been different with having him around?

DUFFEY: At the start of Spring Training, they had a plan laid out for each and every one of us. They showed us things we could exploit that we already had within us. Tried to help us whether it was add some control or add some velocity with some new techniques and the big story was Martin (Perez) coming out this spring. Ticking up his velo (velocity) little bit, making some little adjustments. I think I’ve stuck with things I’ve tried to make and trusted that they’re going to work and I think that’s the toughest part is throughout ups and downs this season, trusting what you’re doing’s going to work.

DZ: What’s it been like with Sergio Romo? Is he been kind of a veteran mentor for you guys?

DUFFEY: He brings a lot of energy. From day one when he got here everybody came in and asked, for a guy whose been around as long as he has he still has as much energy as anyone in here. It’s always positive. It’s always keeping it loose, which I think is big on a team who has aspirations like we do. You can’t get to worried about any one game or any one stretch maybe, just show up and play baseball, have fun playing baseball. We’re playing a kids game, ultimately. If you forget that, it gets really tough. I think we’re, as a whole, obviously adding Romo’s been huge but we got a really good club house. I think that’s part of the reason we’re so good.

DZ: Obviously, it’s kind of stabilized now but a month or so ago, you guys had a lot of turnover in the bullpen, trades, DFA’s…Does that put you on edge at all, does that add to the stress?

DUFFEY: You try not to let it. I wouldn’t say it puts you on edge, it’s more of it kind of, I really don’t want to say, brought the energy down. It’s just kind of; it’s a humbling shock to the system. You’re around these guys every day, you know (Blake) Parker was here all year, Mike (Morin) was here, I was with him at Triple A to start the year and then here with him and obviously Matt Magill. It’s tough to see these guys go, but you have to trust that things are for the right reasons. We’ve made some great additions and all those guys have moved on to get opportunities as well, which that’s all we ask for them. When guys leave like that you just hope that they get an opportunity that they deserve and they’ve all got big league jobs thus far and seem to be throwing well. We know it’s part of the game, but it’s a tough part of the game.

DZ: You keep in touch with them at all?

DUFFEY: Here and there, some guys will text back and forth. We actually saw Blake Parker in some videos last night watching scouting reports and he had pitched against…the White Sox in Philly. It’s neat to pull up and you’re like, oh, there’s Blake Parker, he looks good in a Philly’s uniform. It’s one of those things, we’re going to see him around it’s just where.

DZ: One last thing, it seems like the last few years you’ve kind of taken over this reliever role more and became a starter. Have you kind of accepted that as your role now?

DUFFEY: It’s what I did before I got drafted, I relieved for three years in college, never picked up a ball as a started. I think I had one game where it was like an opening type thing, whereas a mid-week game I threw two or three innings. I love it, I love both. Obviously, throwing well is what I want to do. I’ve thrown pretty well in the bullpen, I have no complaints there.

DZ: As long as you’re in the big leagues, right?

DUFFEY: That’s right, pitching on a winning team, can’t complain.

See more of David Zingler’s 2019 athlete interviews: August 29: Jake Odorizzi August 27: Mitch Garver August 23: Trevor May August 21: Sergio Romo August 17: Sylvia Fowles July 25: Max Kepler July 20: Kyle Gibson July 10: Alaina Coates June 25: Taylor Rogers June 19: Ryan Eades June 16: Jason Castro May 18: Seimone Augustus April 24: Ryne Harper April 21: CJ Cron February 2: Caleb Truax

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