How Yoendrys Gómez Emerged As The Minnesota Twins' Dominant Closer

Towards the beginning of May earlier this season, the Minnesota Twins acquired reliever Yoendrys Gómez from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for cash considerations. When the Twins made that move, it’s unlikely they expected the right-hander would end up being very impactful.

This season, Gómez has turned himself into arguably one of the Twins’ most reliable relief arms, cementing himself as a consistent high-leverage option. He has even taken on the closer role in elite fashion.

Gómez closed out the Twins’ sweep of the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday with his third save in three days, shutting the door with ease in each game of the series. The right-hander is now 19-for-19 in save opportunities with the Twins this season.

The road to his recent dominance is an especially impressive one.

The 26-year-old reliever, who had lacked a consistent role in his career in parts of four seasons, has found a home in the Twins bullpen after playing for four different teams since the start of the 2025 season. Brief stints with the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox and the Rays all led to him finding his role with Minnesota.

Prior to joining the Twins, Gómez had yet to make over 12 appearances with a team in his career. Since his addition to the Minnesota bullpen, Gómez has appeared in 44 games and boasts stellar numbers.

In 39 innings pitched with Minnesota this season, Gómez has spun a 1.85 ERA and has yielded an opponent batting average of .186 and a WHIP of 1.15. His command has taken some significant steps forward as well, improving from the walk totals he had with the Rays earlier this season, where he had posted a 6.23 ERA in nine outings.

Gómez had spent time as a starter for the White Sox last season, making nine starts in his stint with the team. Since then, he has been converted back to a reliever and unlocked something in Minnesota. 

The right-hander pairs a four-seamer with a devastating sweeper, while also mixing into a cutter and a sinker. Though his velocity is at a decent percentile, his extension on the mound is a facet of his game that he finds success in.

At the trade deadline, the Twins added to their bullpen in trading for AJ Minter and Jeff Hoffman. While the two each own more experience than Gómez in high-leverage in their careers, manager Derek Shelton has continued to rely on Gómez to close things out late and he has consistently proved that he is the man for the role.