GRIFFIN JAX NEWS

Joe Ryan pitches Twins to 12th straight win, 3-0 over Brewers

Joe Ryan allowed two hits and struck out nine in six innings, and the Minnesota Twins extended their streak of holding opponents scoreless to 24 innings while winning their 12th st...

MAY 17 • Associated Press

The Twins turned their season around. The Orioles are showing few signs of doing that

Minnesota rallied from a three-run deficit in the opener and a two-run deficit in game two

MAY 14 • Associated Press

Twins win 8th straight, beating Giants 7-6 on Keirsey's RBI single in 10th

DaShawn Keirsey Jr. singled home the winning run in the 10th inning as the Minnesota Twins beat the San Francisco Giants 7-6, extending their winning streak to eight games

MAY 11 • Associated Press

Earns ninth hold Jax allowed a run on a home run with a strikeout in an inning in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Red Sox, but earned his ninth hold.

Impact After his early struggles (10 ER in his first eight innings) that saw him demoted to lower-leverage work, Jax had improved before Sunday with five scoreless innings and a 11:0 K:BB. Even with giving up the home run Sunday, it looks like he's back to working in the eighth inning ahead of closer Johan Duran.

MAY 5 • ROTOWIRE

Early season struggles continue Jax (0-2) took the loss in Friday's 6-4 loss to Atlanta. He allowed four runs on two hits and two walks while striking out one over one-third of an inning.

Impact Jax began the eighth inning with a three-run lead but couldn't hit his spots and wasn't helped by a shaky defense. It's his second poor outing in a row that has cost the Twins a lead. He has an ugly 11.25 ERA and 2.13 WHIP. He does have a strong 12:3 K:BB in eight innings with an unsustainable .480 BABIP, so there's plenty of reasons to believe he'll turn his season around. Still, he may see usage in lower-leverage spots the next few games to get him back on track.

APRIL 19 • ROTOWIRE

Twins sink against Braves when Griffin Jax gives up four runs in the eighth inning ATLANTA - It’s been nearly 41 years since Kirby Puckett’s four-hit debut as a big leaguer, and almos...

APRIL 19 • CHARLOTTEOBSERVER.COM

Twins take series from Mets with 4-3 win on Ty France's game-ending single in the 10th inning

Ty France singled in the 10th inning to give the Minnesota Twins a 4-3 victory after the New York Mets rallied with a three-run eighth

APRIL 16 • Associated Press

Julien homers off college teammate Mize, Twins beat Tigers 5-1 to end 3-game slide

Edouard Julien homered off former Auburn teammate Casey Mize, Byron Buxton also went deep and the Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 5-1 to stop a three-game losing streak

APRIL 13 • Associated Press

Cole Ragans strikes out 11 as the Royals beat the sloppy Twins 2-1

Cole Ragans struck out 11 in six crisp innings, and the Kansas City Royals beat the sloppy Minnesota Twins 2-1

APRIL 9 • Associated Press

Collapses in ninth inning Jax pitched one inning, surrendering two runs on three hits while striking out three batters on his way to a blown save in Sunday's 9-7 extra-inning loss to the Astros. He did not...

Impact Jax was tasked with protecting a 7-5 lead in top of the ninth inning, promptly allowing a lead-off single to Isaac Paredes and a subsequent game-tying two-run homer to Yordan Alvarez to open the frame. The right-hander settled in from there, working around a double from Christian Walker, striking out the final three batters of the inning. Jax has now allowed two home runs this season while giving up three runs on six hits and a walk over 2.2 innings in three appearances out of Minnesota's bullpen.

APRIL 7 • ROTOWIRE

Altuve drives in winning run in 10th after Alvarez's homer in 9th ties it as Astros top Twins 9-7

Jose Altuve drove in the go-ahead run with a single in the 10th inning after Yordan Alvarez tied it with a two-run homer in the ninth and the Houston Astros rallied from an early s...

APRIL 6 • Associated Press

Not sharp in regular season debut Jax allowed a run on a home run and a walk while striking out one over two-thirds of an inning Thursday against the Cardinals.

Impact Jax wasn't sharp in his first outing of the season as he was pulled after 21 pitches. Jax will reprise his late inning setup role again this season where he is often used to close games when Johan Duran is unavailable or if the matchup calls for Duran to be used earlier in the game.

MARCH 28 • ROTOWIRE

Twins include Randy Dobnak in long relief role for his 1st opening day roster spot in 4 years

The Minnesota Twins set their opening day roster with right-hander Randy Dobnak in a long relief role, the first time in four years he broke camp with the major league club

MARCH 27 • Associated Press

AL Central Preview: Four solid teams, and then the White Sox

The American League Central was a surprisingly strong division last season, with four teams finishing above

MARCH 17 • Associated Press

Souhan: With Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax battling for the Twins closing role, the rest of the bullpen is shaping up to be among the MLB's best One possible season-opening bullpen could look like this: Duran as closer, Jax as the primary setup man and Danny Coulombe as the primary le...

FEBRUARY 26 • STARTRIBUNE.COM

Griffin Jax embraces the chaos of late-inning relief for the Twins, letting go of his starting goals

The breakthrough season Griffin Jax produced for the Minnesota Twins last year wasn’t enough by itself to convince the right-hander to fully accept his status as a relief pitcher a...

FEBRUARY 12 • Associated Press

Griffin Jax to remain in the bullpen; could Louie Varland be next? Griffin Jax’s first stint as a major-league starter didn’t quite yield the results that he was hoping for. During the end part of a lost 202...

JANUARY 26 • TWINCITIES.COM

Strikes deal for 2025 Jax and the Twins avoided arbitration Thursday by agreeing to a one-year, $2.365 million contract, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Impact Jax was arbitration-eligible for the first time, coming off a 2024 campaign in which he turned in a tidy 2.03 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 95:15 K:BB while collecting five wins, 10 saves and 24 holds in 71 innings out of the bullpen. Though reports earlier in the offseason suggested that Jax could be a candidate to move into the rotation in 2025, general manager Jeremy Zoll confirmed Wednesday that the right-hander will remain a key part of the late-inning ranks during the upcoming season. Jhoan Duran will presumably head into spring training as the Twins' preferred closer, but Jax will likely be first in line for save chances if Duran misses time or is removed from the role for performance-related reasons.

JANUARY 9 • ROTOWIRE

Will remain in bullpen Jax will remain in the Twins' bullpen rather than move into the rotation, general manager Jeremy Zoll confirmed Wednesday, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports...

Impact The Twins' coaching staff indicated earlier in the offseason that a shift to the rotation for Jax was a possibility, but it appears it's no longer being considered. Jax was a starting pitcher in the minors and made 14 starts for the Twins in 2021, but he's since blossomed as a reliever, most recently posting a 2.03 ERA and 95:15 K:BB over 71 innings in 2024. The 30-year-old will enter the upcoming season as Minnesota's top setup man, but he picked up 10 saves last season and, with manager Rocco Baldelli not committed to traditional bullpen roles, Jax should see some save chances in 2025.

JANUARY 8 • ROTOWIRE

Former Twins manager Ron Gardenhire wins team's Herb Carneal Award Twins will have to replace two minor league coordinators, and five players get pre-arbitration bonuses.

DECEMBER 17, 2024 • STARTRIBUNE.COM

Move to rotation not ruled out Twins bench coach Jayce Tingler indicated in a recent interview that the team is open to the possibility of moving Jax into the rotation, Mike Ferrin of MLB Network Radio reports.

Impact Jax came up through the minors as a starting pitcher and made 14 starts for the Twins in 2021, posting a 6.10 ERA. He's since turned into a lockdown reliever, most recently collecting a 2.03 ERA and 95:15 K:BB over 71 innings this season. With a five-pitch mix and past starting experience, Jax would seem more equipped for a shift to the rotation than most relievers. The question, of course, is whether the uptick in stuff since his move to relief would translate back to a starting role.

NOVEMBER 13, 2024 • ROTOWIRE

Willi Castro, Griffin Jax among Twins to be honored at 2024 Diamond Awards Castro was named the Most Valuable Twin while Jax was named the Twins’ Pitcher of the Year.

OCTOBER 19, 2024 • NEWSOBSERVER.COM

Should top Twins reliever Griffin Jax be a starter? Air Force captain Griffin Jax had one of the top seasons in Twins history pitching out of the bullpen.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 • STARTRIBUNE.COM

Notches 10th save Jax yielded an unearned run and struck out one batter in one inning Friday. He earned a save in the extra-innings win over Boston.

Impact Jax allowed the automatic runner to score after a pair of groundouts in the 12th inning but had no trouble finishing off the 4-2 victory. It was his second save over his last three appearances after not converting one since Aug. 5. Jhoan Duran threw a scoreless eighth inning while the game was tied 1-1. Jax has converted 10 of 16 save chances while posting an impressive 91:15 K:BB and 2.10 ERA through 68.2 innings this season.

SEPTEMBER 21, 2024 • ROTOWIRE

Secures ninth save Jax earned the save in Tuesday's 3-1 win at Cleveland, pitching a scoreless two-thirds of an inning with one strikeout while allowing one hit.

Impact r suffering the loss Monday night, Jax relieved Jhoan Duran with runners on first and second with one out in the ninth. Jax had struggled of late, as he entered this contest with a 6.14 ERA across 7.1 innings this month, so this performance was a welcome sight. Although he has been better than Duran -- pitching to a 2.16 ERA across 66.2 innings compared to Duran's 3.99 ERA across 49.2 innings -- Jax collected his first save since Aug. 5. The 29-year-old has been a stalwart in the Minnesota bullpen, pitching to a 2.08 FIP, 0.91 WHIP and 88:15 K:BB with nine saves and 24 holds this season.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2024 • ROTOWIRE