Twins Fans Frustrated After Minnesota Releases Matt Bowman Amid Ongoing Bullpen Disaster
The Minnesota Twins continue facing growing criticism over their bullpen management after granting releases to veteran right-handed relievers Matt Bowman and John Brebbia earlier this week.
According to Dan Hayes of The Athletic, both relievers exercised opt-out clauses in their contracts, forcing the Twins to make a decision regarding their futures within the organization. Minnesota ultimately chose not to promote either pitcher to the major league roster, a move that immediately frustrated many fans already fed up with the team’s disastrous bullpen performance throughout the 2026 MLB season.
For many observers, Bowman’s release especially made little sense.
The 34-year-old right-hander had quietly become one of the most effective relievers at Triple-A St. Paul this year, posting dominant numbers that appeared worthy of another MLB opportunity. In 21.1 innings, Bowman recorded a sparkling 1.69 ERA while generating a 28.1% strikeout rate and limiting walks to just 6.7%.
Even more impressive was his ability to consistently induce weak contact and ground balls — a valuable skill for any bullpen struggling to survive late innings.
Yet despite those numbers, Minnesota declined to clear a spot on its 40-man roster.
Fans reacted immediately on social media, questioning how a bullpen performing this poorly could afford to let productive arms walk away.
“You have to wonder why Bowman was let go,” one Twins fan wrote online. “It’s not like there wasn’t a spot for him in the bullpen according to his Triple-A performance.”
That frustration is understandable when examining just how bad Minnesota’s bullpen has been statistically.
Entering the latest stretch of games, the Twins rank near the bottom of Major League Baseball in nearly every major relief category. Minnesota relievers currently sit 28th in bullpen ERA at 5.08, 29th in strikeout rate at 17.8%, and dead last in opponent batting average, allowing hitters to bat .263 against them.
Simply put, almost nothing has worked consistently for the Twins bullpen this season.
That reality makes the organization’s decision to move on from Bowman even more puzzling.
To be fair, there are legitimate reasons why Minnesota may have hesitated to commit a 40-man roster spot to Bowman or Brebbia. Both pitchers are veteran journeymen now in their 30s, and both struggled significantly during recent major league appearances.
Bowman posted a 6.20 ERA across 24.2 innings with the Baltimore Orioles last season, while Brebbia recorded an ugly 7.71 ERA over 23.1 innings split between the Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Braves.
Neither pitcher represented a guaranteed solution.
However, the Twins are no longer in a position where they can ignore productive arms entirely because of age or imperfect MLB résumés. Their bullpen situation has deteriorated to the point where simply finding competent innings has become increasingly difficult.
Brebbia’s Triple-A performance admittedly remained inconsistent. The veteran right-hander struggled to a 6.20 ERA with St. Paul, although he still managed to generate an impressive 28.3% strikeout rate. Given those mixed results, Minnesota’s reluctance to use a valuable roster spot on him makes more sense.
Bowman, on the other hand, is a different story.
His production at Triple-A strongly suggested he deserved at least a short opportunity to prove himself at the major league level. At minimum, many fans believe Bowman had earned a chance to compete against struggling MLB relievers already occupying bullpen spots.
That conversation becomes even louder when examining the continued presence of Luis GarcĂa on the roster.
Since joining Minnesota, GarcĂa has posted a disastrous 10.38 ERA across just 8.2 innings. Several Twins fans openly questioned why the organization continued giving innings to GarcĂa while allowing Bowman to leave entirely.
From an outside perspective, Bowman represented a classic low-risk bullpen gamble.
Veteran relievers frequently rediscover effectiveness after mechanical adjustments or role changes, especially when they demonstrate strong command and swing-and-miss ability at Triple-A. Bowman’s strikeout numbers, walk rate, and ground-ball profile suggested he could have at least stabilized the lower half of Minnesota’s bullpen.
Instead, another organization will likely benefit.
Around baseball, experienced bullpen depth remains one of the most sought-after commodities during the long MLB season. Injuries, workload management, and constant pitching turnover force contenders to continuously search for reliable relief options. Given Bowman’s recent performance, many insiders expect another MLB team to sign him quickly and potentially place him directly onto a major league roster.
Meanwhile, the Twins continue scrambling for answers.
Minnesota did make one notable bullpen change recently by designating right-hander Justin Topa for assignment. Topa struggled badly this season, posting an 8.05 ERA over 19 innings after arriving in Minnesota as part of the 2024 trade involving Jorge Polanco and the Seattle Mariners.
Moving on from Topa represented an acknowledgment that changes were necessary.
Still, many within the fanbase believe the organization has not gone far enough.
The bullpen remains one of the weakest units in baseball statistically, and Minnesota’s refusal to take even a temporary chance on Bowman feels increasingly difficult to justify given the team’s current struggles. While nobody realistically expected Bowman to singlehandedly “fix” the bullpen, he may have offered a better option than several relievers currently receiving opportunities.
More importantly, he represented upside at virtually no cost.
The Twins are now left hoping internal improvements eventually stabilize the relief corps before the season slips further away. But in a year where bullpen collapses have repeatedly cost Minnesota winnable games, letting one of Triple-A’s hottest relievers walk out the door without even a brief MLB opportunity could become a decision the organization regrets.
At the very least, the move has intensified growing concerns surrounding the Twins’ roster management philosophy and their ability to evaluate bullpen talent effectively.
And until Minnesota’s relief unit begins producing results consistently, fans are unlikely to stop asking the same question:
Why didn’t Matt Bowman get a chance?
