New Minnesota Twins Starter Coming for MLB Debut

The Minnesota Twins starting rotation has been decimated by injury this season. Pablo Lopez won’t be back any time soon and David Festa recently joined him on the injured list as well. After trading Chris Paddack (and Randy Dobnak) to the Detroit Tigers on Monday, the depth is in serious question.

Travis Adams was optioned back to Triple-A St. Paul in favor of bullpen arm Michael Tonkin. That removes a bulk arm out of the bullpen and leaves the rotation in flux this week.

Minnesota already had an undecided starter for their matinee against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday. Chris Paddack was scheduled to start Tuesday and that will now be assumed by prospect Pierson Ohl.

Pierson Ohl to make MLB Debut for MN Twins

The Boston Red Sox are in town for a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins this week. Those are the final three contests before the Major League Baseball trade deadline and Derek Falvey is going to sell. The starting rotation needs live arms to compete though, and that’s where Pierson Ohl comes in.

Ohl was a 14th round pick by the MN Twins during the 2021 MLB Draft. He threw 13 games for the Wichita Wind Surge this year and posted a 2.08 ERA across 39 innings. Last season Ohl operated heavily as a starter with 102 innings between 21 games (15 starts) and had a 4.68 ERA at Double-A.

He has split time as a starter and bulk guy this season, but has also reached Triple-A for the first time. In 22 1/3 innings for the Saints, Ohl has a 2.82 ERA with a 23/5 K/BB.

Incredible Triple-A debut for @Pierson_Ohl. He goes 4.0 shutout innings allowing three singles and struck out one. Did not have a runner reach second base. He threw 54 pitches, 40 for strikes. The AVERAGE exit velocity of the 14 balls put in play was 72.7 mph. pic.twitter.com/UCCjK66OCy

— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) June 25, 2025

It’s unlikely he starts in a traditional sense for the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday. Rocco Baldelli utilized a bullpen game on Sunday and then needed to send Adams back to Triple-A. If Minnesota is simply going to operate the shuttle, then it may just be a single day of work for Ohl.

Unlike Adams, Ohl is not on the 40-man roster and will need a move to clear space. They could DFA Noah Davis or put on of Carson McCusker or Ryan Fitzgerald through waivers. There isn’t necessarily a straightforward path, but one will certainly be taken.

Related: Minnesota Twins Trade Veteran Starter to Division Rival

As the Twins look at their season through a transitional lens, the roster is surely about to be in flux. How that shakes out remains to be seen but that won’t stop it from happening.