Blaine Boyer and Brian Duensing had 123 combined appearances for the Twins last year. The Twins released both outright during the offseason. Duensing has yet to sign another deal with anyone, even though he is left-handed. Not even a minor league deal. At 33, his strikeout ratio has dropped dramatically the last three seasons. He averaged over eight per nine innings three seasons ago. 2013 it was 5.5, and last year it was a paltry 4.4. The handwriting was on the wall. His effectiveness was gone. Boyer's was only 4.6. He's younger than Duensing, and managed to land a minor league deal with Milwaukee, but he might have seen his last major league action as well.
The Twins have 9 of their top 11 (at least twenty relief appearances) relievers back this season, though Aaron Thompson only has a minor league deal. ALL had better strikeout ratios. Boyer's and Duensing's total innings will be missed as someone will now have to step up to fill them.
We'll see what spring training brings.
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