Another New MN Twins Arm Selected as Injury Ends Rookie’s Season

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Rocco Baldelli, Minnesota Twins
Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins came out of the crazy trade deadline with a renewed sense of scrappiness. They played inspired baseball and won two of the first three series that they played.

Since, things have gone back downhill. The New York Yankees nearly swept Minnesota, and the Detroit Tigers are on the verge of mopping them up in a four-game series sweep. Rocco Baldelli has plenty of fresh faces, and he’ll get another one on Sunday.

Alan Roden, Minnesota Twins
Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Alan Roden was placed on the injured list with James Outman (acquired for Brock Stewart) taking his roster spot Saturday. The thumb injury was something we speculated could be significant, and that’s now proven true.

Genesis Cabrera promoted to MN Twins

With Roden’s thumb injury being a long-term issue, as was the case for Minnesota Twins prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez, his season ends as he now moves to the 60-day injured list. That allowed for Minnesota to select the contract of recently signed pitcher Genesis Cabrera.

The 28-year-old is a big league veteran with seven seasons of big league experience. Once he hits the diamond for the MN Twins, he’ll have played for four different teams this summer alone.

Across 28 major league innings in 2025, Cabrera owns a 5.79 ERA (5.65 FIP). He has allowed a whopping seven home runs, which has been at the crux of his ineffectiveness. Cabrera also has just a 22/7 K/BB.

Serviceable for the Cardinals and Blue Jays last season, Cabrera posted a 4.04 ERA (4.44 FIP) in 55 2/3 innings. He carried a 9.4 K/9 and allowed just a total of eight home runs in that span. It’s possible Minnesota thinks they can get that sort of production from him down the stretch.

Related: Injury Forces Twins to Swap Out Traded Outfielders

Travis Adams was moved off the 26-man roster to accommodate Cabrera. He has a 7.71 ERA (5.90 FIP) across 23 1/3 innings. Adams pitched on Saturday and threw 1 1/3 innings allowing one run and four walks against the Tigers.

Roden’s rookie season ends after 55 big league games. He posted a .191/.261/.294 line with two home runs and a 37/8 K/BB. He will compete for a corner outfield spot amongst a crowded MN Twins group next spring.

Where are the top acquired starters?

Genesis Cabrera is just the latest arm tasked with giving the Twins more length out of the bullpen. Of course, if they just used a rotation of capable starters, it may not be necessary to rifle through new long relievers every few days.

Yes, both Simeon Woods Richardson and Pablo Lopez are hurt and working their way back. But neither newcomers, Taj Bradley or Mick Abel, are hurt. The tandem was acquired at the trade deadline, have already pitched at the big league level, and are seemingly a big part of Minnesota’s future.

Yet… they’re in St. Paul. And while Bradley has not been very good for the Saints, coughing up seven runs on 16 hits in just 10 2/3 innings. The same can’t be said about Abel, a former MLB closer and Phillies top 100 prospect, who owns a 1.76 ERA across 15 1/3 innings, plus a 23/6 K/BB to boot.

There’s no reason for Minnesota to be holding Abel down in St. Paul when their rotation could be a proving ground for his future success. It’s not service time related with Abel as he has roughly 31 days, and would not hit the 172 necessary to lose a year by the end of the season.

Although he pitched on Saturday for St. Paul, the plan could have easily been for him to assume Sunday’s vacant rotation spot for Minnesota. The severity of Roden’s injured thumb didn’t change overnight.

Related: Traded Minnesota Twins Reliever Carted Off Field

Still, as the Twins continue to roll out a depleted starting rotation, they put band-aids on a bullet hole by cycling through dart throws in the bullpen. Abel is showing he’s ready. Hopefully someone listens soon.

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