Minnesota Twins: 10 Reasons Francisco Liriano Should Be Looked at for Closer

A couple of months ago, I entertained the possibility of moving Francisco Liriano from the Minnesota Twins starting rotation to the back end of the bullpen. The idea still sounds crazy today, but it's worth revisiting as the Twins find themselves with a record toward the bottom of baseball.

Liriano was moved to the bullpen soon after that article was written, and it may benefit the Twins to see if they actually have something special in Liriano coming out of the bullpen rather than having him start every fifth day.

I've said it once, and I still hold firm on the idea: Francisco Liriano should be the closer for the Minnesota Twins.

Liriano's Stuff Would Become More Explosive out of the Bullpen

The biggest advantage to having Francisco Liriano coming in for the ninth inning is his electric stuff. Sometimes Liriano can get himself in trouble by overthrowing his pitches, but in the ninth inning, adrenaline usually takes over not only on the pitcher's mound, but in the batter's box as well.

Coming out of the bullpen, Liriano could add a couple miles-per-hour on his pitches. That would mean that his fastball, slider and seldom-used changeup would become more effective and lead to more strikeouts.

While Liriano would have to work on his control to effectively use these pitches in a pressure situation, seeing his stuff become even filthier would be a huge advantage to the back end of the Twins bullpen.

Moving Liriano to Closer Would Allow a Matt Capps Trade

Twins fans can look at Matt Capps' start to the 2012 season in two ways. On one hand, he's probably been the most pleasant surprise on the team, as he has yet to blow a save in nine opportunities.

On the other hand, Capps has made things interesting, and it would be a better move to trade him while his value is highest.

If Capps can continue his hot streak, teams will come calling for him at the July trade deadline. With the Twins having very few tradeable assets, trading Capps may be the team's only opportunity to quickly restock their farm system with quality prospects.

With Capps out of the fold, the Twins could take a look at Liriano in the closer role and see how things turn out.

Liriano Would Be Better Than Glen Perkins (or Anyone Else the Twins Have)

Glen Perkins found himself in a situation similar to Liriano's a couple seasons ago. Perkins came up through the Twins system as a starter. While he was effective early in his career, he tailed off over the next couple of seasons which led to a stint in the bullpen.

After bickering with Twins management for roughly two seasons, Perkins accepted his role and became the primary set-up man for the team. His performance in 2011 earned him a three-year, $11.85 million extension last March.

Most people viewed this as Perkins' certificate of becoming the closer of the future, but after he's struggled in the early part of the season, you have to wonder if he would be that much better than what Liriano could provide in the role.

Liriano has better stuff than Perkins does and could be more of a game-changer if the Twins chose to put him in the closer role.

Liriano Can No Longer Be an Effective Starting Pitcher

While Liriano compares to Glen Perkins in some ways, he also reminds me of former Twins reliever J.C. Romero.

The Twins weren't sure what they had in Romero, as he became a five-and-fly pitcher at the back end of their rotation during the franchise's dark years. Prior to the 2002 season, the Twins decided to move him to the bullpen, and Romero went on to have a long career as a quality set-up pitcher.

Even if Liriano couldn't crack the closer role, I think he would be a solid set-up man as opposed to a starting pitcher.

The last couple of times when Liriano was thrown out as a starter for the Twins, he would give them a couple quality innings and then fall apart with walk after walk. That led to dangerously high pitch counts after the fourth inning and an early hook taxing the bullpen.

While Liriano was brilliant as a starter to begin his career, it's run its course and Liriano may have to accept that he can only go an inning without getting shelled (much like J.C. Romero found out).

Liriano's First-Inning Numbers Are Outstanding

As I mentioned, Liriano has had performances where he's been able to give the Twins a good inning or two and then completely loses it. Putting Liriano at closer would mean that instead of having Liriano try to get 27 outs, he would have to get just three.

Liriano's first-inning numbers suggest that it wouldn't be a problem. In the 2012 season, the first inning has been Liriano's best inning, as he's allowed just one earned run in six games. His strikeout-to-walk ratio in the first inning of appearances has been 7-to-1, and opponents are hitting just .143.

It is a small sample size, but those numbers suggest that if Liriano had to only get three outs, he could probably save a lot of games for the Twins.

Putting Liriano in Pressure Situations Would Help Him Gain Confidence

When announcers talk about Francisco Liriano, they always talk about him having to regain his confidence. If Liriano could find success in the ninth inning as a closer, I believe that confidence would re-emerge quickly.

Take Liriano's appearance against the Detroit Tigers on May 17. Liriano came into the game after P.J. Walters put a couple of men on with the Twins nursing a slim lead. Liriano successfully induced a ground-ball double play to get the Twins out of the inning.

When Liriano returned to the dugout, his teammates were high-fiving and shouting words of encouragement at their new reliever. At that point, Liriano cracked a smile and was feeling pretty good about himself.

If Liriano could do that at the end of games, his teammates would probably give him more words of encouragement in the postgame handshake line, and "The Franchise" would feel a lot better about his performances.

Sending Liriano to Triple-A Would Do No Good

There's a reason Francisco Liriano is in the bullpen in the first place. When the Twins were trying to figure out what to do with Liriano, they had the option of sending him back to Triple-A Rochester to see if he would get his confidence back that way.

As manager Ron Gardenhire would later put it, sending Liriano down to Triple-A would do him no good because he needs to get major-league hitters out.

This is an accurate point, as sending Liriano to Rochester to strike out Crash Davis three times wouldn't do anything for him when he's facing Albert Pujols late in a game.

The Twins needed to shift Liriano to the bullpen, and the next step for him is to become the team's closer.

Liriano Could Be the New Eddie Guardado

One of the biggest counterpoints to using Liriano in the closer's role is that he puts too many people on base. If you remember things right, Eddie Guardado also made things a little interesting.

My second-favorite memory of "Everyday Eddie" (behind the "Flying Burrito" catch off a speaker in the Metrodome) was in Game 5 of the 2002 American League Divisional Series against the Oakland Athletics.

After the Twins took a late lead on a three-run homer by A.J. Pierzynski in the top of the ninth inning, Guardado came out and made the Twins' four-run lead become a one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth.

Guardado was able to get a pop-up to Denny Hocking to give the Twins their last playoff series victory to date, and the Twins advanced to the ALCS.

The point I'm trying to make is that it doesn't matter how many people Liriano lets on base as long as he gets the three outs before the other team can tie the game. This doesn't do favors for Twins fans with heart conditions, but all Liriano has to do is get three outs consistently to become a good closer.

This Is the Last Chance for the Twins to Find out What They Have

While Liriano has been difficult to figure out the past couple of seasons, the Twins have a decision to make. Liriano is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2012 season, and the Twins need to finally decide whether Liriano can become a piece in their rebuilding efforts.

As I mentioned before, Liriano's time as a starter has come and gone in my mind. He can no longer get to the sixth or seventh inning without having a meltdown, so the next option would be to put him in the bullpen and see how he does—which is exactly what the Twins have done so far.

To put Liriano in pressure situations as a closer would give the team a definitive answer on his future, and would possibly let Terry Ryan sleep easy if he does fail. After all, with the Twins being so bad, what else does the team have to lose with a couple Liriano blown saves?

If Lirano Succeeds, He Could Get PAID

With Liriano's opportunity to be a starter gone, there is another way that he can earn a ton of money when he becomes a free agent at the end of the 2012 season, which is to become a successful closer.

Just like teams with a need at the back end of their bullpen could inquire about Matt Capps if he keeps his performance up, a successful stint by Liriano as the Twins closer could net him a big payday this winter from a team wanting to bolster their bullpen.

Perhaps putting Liriano as the Twins closer wouldn't be the best move for the team, but it would be the best move for Liriano going forward as he tries to resurrect his once promising career (and make a lot of money doing it.)