MN Twins Calling Up Young Lefty

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Kendry Rojas, Minnesota Twins
Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins unexpectedly placed Taj Bradley — who was scheduled to take the mound Sunday — on the injured list with right pec inflammation Saturday, it created a vacancy in the starting rotation.

Unfortunately the MN Twins have exhausted most of their worthwhile pitching depth due to a rash of early season injuries. So, manager Derek Shelton called on Andrew Morris to make his first big league start, despite throwing one inning out of the bullpen yesterday.

Still, there were more moves to be made Sunday morning.

Kendry Rojas rejoins Minnesota Twins

At the end of April the Minnesota Twins promoted Kendry Rojas to make his big league debut. He worked two scoreless innings against the New York Mets out of the bullpen.

After traveling on the taxi squad with the Twins to Cleveland, Rojas has been added to the active roster where he hopes to have a longer leash than his first big league call-up.

Rojas didn’t allow a run against the Mets, the last time he was a Twin, but did need to work around traffic, allowing a pair of hits and three walks.

Since returning to Triple-A St. Paul, Rojas has worked three games, all in relief, throwing nine total innings while allowing four runs on ten hits and three walks. He also struck out ten. On the season at Triple-A, the young lefty has a 2.40 ERA with a 15/ K/BB across 15.0 innings.

The Minnesota Twins would love to have Rojas work as a starter, but his long-term upside may be as a high-leverage reliever. The 23-year-old southpaw has averaged 97.1 mph on his fastball this season, which he combines it with a slider and a changeup.

Rojas takes the place of Kody Funderburk on the active roster. Although Funderburk has a 2.81 ERA across 16.0 innings of work, it’s backed by an ugly 5.51 FIP and an untenable 10/13 K/BB. If he’s going to be a legit option as the season goes on, a significant amount of polishing has to take place.

The Minnesota Twins are looking for a Mother’s Day victory that gives them a series victory over the Cleveland Guardians. Their 11th inning victory on Saturday night was just the second one-run win of the season.

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