Griffin Jax

After entering with a 3-0 lead, Jax gave up two doubles and two singles before a fantastic catch from Harrison Bader spared him even more damage. It was his second blown save, with the other coming in the ninth after he was picked over Jhoan Duran to close on Apr. 6. Jax is throwing just as hard and missing as many bats as ever, but he’s surrendered a lot of loud contact in the early going. It’s bad news for the Twins, but good news for those who drafted Durán as their top closer. Duran pitched a scoreless ninth in a tie game today.

This could turn into a really frustrating situation for fantasy leaguers. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli definitely showed more confidence in Jax than in Durán at the end of last year, but it was assumed Durán would remain the primary guy to start 2025. However, it’s been really tough to tell with the Twins not having any save chances previously. Jax was reserved for the top of the Astros order today after Durán easily dispatched the eight, nine and one hitters in the eighth. Jax then entered with a two-run lead and gave up a single to Isaac Paredes, a game-tying homer to Yordan Alvarez and a double to Christian Walker, only to strike out the next three batters and preserve the tie. We’d have plenty of faith in Jax as a closer, but we have plenty of faith in Durán, too. There’s little to be gained from mixing and matching a pair of right-handers, so Baldelli really ought to just stick with one for the most part.

The 30-year-old hurler was a dominant force out of the Twins’ bullpen in 2024 — compiling a 2.03 ERA, minuscule 0.87 WHIP and a 95/15 K/BB ratio across 71 innings. The club had toyed with the idea of moving Jax back to the rotation for the 2025 season, which would have made him extremely interesting from a fantasy perspective, but they announced earlier in the week that he would remain in the bullpen. Expect him to work in a setup capacity in front of Jhoan Duran and to be the next man up for the closer’s role if injury strikes.

Twins bench coach Jayce Tingler mentioned earlier this offseason that Jax could potentially make the leap to Minnesota’s starting rotation next season, but that doesn’t appear to be happening. It’ll be Pablo López, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober and Chris Paddack in addition to some combination of Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa, Zebby Matthews and Louie Varland breaking camp in the rotation mix. The 30-year-old righty, who broke in the majors as a starter back in 2021, has excelled in a high-leverage role for the Twins over the past three seasons. He piled up 10 saves last year to accompany a sparkling 2.03 ERA (1.94 FIP), 0.87 WHIP and 95/15 K/BB ratio across 71 innings (72 appearances). He’ll remain among the most impactful non-closers in the fantasy landscape and a legitimate force in saves plus holds formats heading into 2025.