The Los Angeles Dodgers came calling for reliever Brock Stewart. It is a reunion of sorts in that he went back to the franchise that originally drafted and debuted him.

When the trade was first announced it took some time to be finalized as Stewart has an extensive medical history. Los Angeles poured over his records and wound up pulling the trigger. That didn’t guarantee he’d stay healthy though.

Brock Stewart lands on IL for Los Angeles

Over the past three seasons with the MN Twins Brock Stewart has been a very good pitcher. His health has also been sporadic and that allowed him to throw just 77 1/3 innings. Now back with Los Angeles, he made it just four appearances before needing another trip to the injured list.

Dave Roberts said Brock Stewart is going on the IL with shoulder inflammation.

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 12, 2025

Should inflammation is not something new for Stewart. The talented pitcher missed time for the MN Twins while dealing with the exact same issue.

This season in Minnesota Stewart owned a 2.38 ERA (3.08 FIP) across 34 innings. Those 34 innings beat both the 27 2/3 he threw in 2023, and the 15 2/3 he contributed in 2024.

Unfortunately for Stewart, arm and shoulder problems have become commonplace. His time spent on the injured list has effectively taken years off of his pitching career.

Related: Minnesota Twins Sale Dead

Minnesota got outfielder James Outman in return for Stewart. Despite the pitcher being under team control through 2027, his return was always going to be limited due to the injury concerns. Outman is a post-hype prospect that has played in the majors each of the past four seasons.

He’s yet to put it together and owns just a 100 OPS+ over the course of his career. Currently at Triple-A St. Paul, it’s likely that Minnesota will get more run from Outman than they (or the Dodgers) saw from Stewart.

After being out of the big leagues for nearly five years, Stewart resurfaced with the Twins and showcased electric stuff. While the injury concerns persisted, he was among the best high-leverage arms in the sport.

As Derek Falvey continues the Twins selloff, that started with Duran and continued with Bader, Stewart gets to go back to where it all started to try and win a ring.

Dodgers get Brock Stewart from Minnesota Twins

Brock Stewart has been healthy for the Minnesota Twins this season, something that is a rather uncommon for him. And now with the season having reached uncompetitive status, it makes sense for him to go and succeed elsewhere. The Los Angeles Dodgers are a perfect landing place.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are finalizing a deal to acquire right-handed reliever Brock Stewart from the Minnesota Twins, sources tell ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 31, 2025

Minnesota has used Stewart in 39 games this season, and he owns an impressive 2.38 ERA across 34 innings. He has a 41/11 K/BB and is every bit as dominant as any other late-inning reliever.

In 2023, his first season with the Twins, Stewart owned a 0.65 ERA and went 14 games without allowing a run. Across his 28 appearances, he allowed just two, and they came in the same game. Unfortunately injuries cut that season short and he pitched just 43 1/3 innings the past two seasons.

Brock Stewart, aka “Beef Stew,” is a Dodger once again!

He returns to the organization where he began his big-league career, this time as an elite late-inning weapon to bolster the Dodgers’ bullpen. pic.twitter.com/t3uoyLrsgS

— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) July 31, 2025

It makes sense for the Twins to cash in on Stewart while he is pitching well and healthy. The Dodgers bullpen needs serious help with Kirby Yates struggling and Tanner Scott hurt. They had interest in both Jhoan Duran (who went to the Philadelphia Phillies) and Griffin Jax.

Related: Breaking: Harrison Bader Traded to Philadelphia Phillies

Ultimately Los Angeles landed on a name that has familiarity to them. This could be a fun full-circle moment for Brock and his family.

James Outman heads to Minnesota Twins

The return for Brock Stewart took time to be reported as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured over the pitcher’s extensive injury history. In the end though, it seems the MN Twins did quite well.

Source: The Dodgers are sending CF James Outman to the Twins as part of the trade for RP Brock Stewart.

— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) July 31, 2025

Outman was a seventh round pick in 2018 and isn’t arbitration eligible until 2027. He generated plenty of prospect hype despite never hitting a top 100 list. In 2024 with Triple-A Oklahoma City, Outman slashed .279/.390/.543 with 17 home runs.

This season across 70 Triple-A games Outman owns a .289/.378/.592 slash line with 20 home runs. He already has four years of big league experience under his belt, but most of it has been sporadic.

This 465-foot homer from @Dodgers outfielder James Outman (@OKC_comets) should have a boarding pass for being in the air this long ✈️ pic.twitter.com/m5CXdZYupj

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) June 1, 2025

As a rookie in 2023 Outman played 151 games and batted .248/.353/.437 with 23 home runs. There was a ton of strikeouts (181), but he also drew 68 walks. Opportunity in the Dodgers outfield is tough to come by and he has largely been castoff getting just 75 games of action the last two seasons. He owns a poor .514 OPS but is a prime candidate for a change of scenery.

Outman can play all three outfield positions, but brings a level of redundancy as another left-handed bat. Still, this is a pretty solid return for a reliever with an extensive injury history. Expect him to immediately play on the Twins big league roster as a Harrison Bader replacement.

In his lone season playing primarily at the big-league level, Outman accumulated eight outs above average and seven field run value in centerfield. He might not be peak Byron Buxton in centerfield, but he can be Bader or better defensively.

Unfortunately, as has been the case for the 30-year-old out of Air Force for most of this season, Griffin Jax as not up for the task. After striking out Austin Riley to start the inning, he walked Ozuna, allowed a single to Matt Olson, then an infield single to Sean Murphy, before he was pulled.

Cole Sands then entered the game, and unloaded the bases, plus more. When it was all said and done, the Braves put up 5 runs, before turning the bats back over to the Twins, who went three-and-out in the 9th. Game over.

Listen to Truist Park ROAR on the Drake Baldwin go ahead base hit

pic.twitter.com/NRs8wvCLyF

— Peyton (@PeytonTowry) April 19, 2025

Now 6-13, most of the good vibes Minnesota had built up during their streak of three wins in four games, including a series victory over the loaded New York Mets, have been erased. But, there is some good news.

Brock Stewart is back

On Saturday, the Twins made yet another roster move in the bullpen. This time, however, it was to activate right-handed reliever, Brock Stewart. The corresponding move was to option lefty Kody Funderburk back down to Triple A, bringing the LHP bullpen count down to one, Danny Coulombe.

We have made the following roster move: pic.twitter.com/b4fIYVOoJF

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 19, 2025

We haven’t seen a lot of Brock Stewart over the last two seasons, since he signed with the Minnesota Twins back in the summer of 2022. After recovering from injury all of 2021 and pitching in the minors for all of 2022, Stewart emerged in the Twins bullpen in late-April.

What does Stewart bring to Minnesota Twins bullpen?

From April 27 to June 25, the now 33-year-old was the best pitcher in a pretty loaded reliever group, posting a 0.70 ERA, 2.44 FIP and .172 BA against, in 25.2 innings of work. Then, he hit the injured list for three months, finally returning just before the Twins’ playoff run, tossing another scoreless two innings of work from September 26 to October 1.

Related: Luke Keaschall Debut Forces Shuffling of Minnesota Twins Rosters

In 2024, Brock Stewart started the season in the Minnesota Twins bullpen, where he was completely dominant yet again… until he hit the injured list at the start of May and missed the rest of the season, outside of a few starts at the end of July, where he was not the same pitcher.

He has not played a regular season game since. But at least for now, he is back in the Twins bullpen, and hopefully he is right. In 43.1 total innings with the MN Twins, Stewart has accumulated a 2.28 ERA, 2.78 FIP and 12.3 K/9 ratio. If he is indeed as healthy as he claims, this is a huge addition to the bullpen.

Brock Stewart ⛽️

And is Fired Up. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/JAhOhkelyb

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 4, 2023

brock stewart bent space and time pic.twitter.com/0LLVQ3uKFl

— parker hageman (@HagemanParker) April 25, 2024

This week alone, they lost outfielder Matt Wallner, shortstop Carlos Correa and utility man Willi Castro. Thankfully, we saw Correa return in relief defensive duties on Wednesday, but the return status of the other two are more concerning.

Matt Wallner facing lengthy absence for Minnesota Twins

Matt Wallner was in the MN Twins dugout on Wednesday, but he shouldn’t be expected back in the lineup for a while. Local insider Darren “Doogie” Wolfson provided an update on Thursday’s episode of the The Mackey & Judd Show (SKOR North). Minnesota officially placed Wallner on the injured list Thursday.

“I should mention Matt Wallner, it’s going to be a bit. This is not a ten day injury. This is much beyond ten days, the hamstring.”

Darren Wolfson – Skor North

#MNTwins Matt Wallner left tonight’s game with a leg injury. He hurt himself legging out a single in the first inning pic.twitter.com/6T2leEm0IT

— Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) April 15, 2025

The Twins acquired infielder Jonah Bride from the Miami Marlins. He is taking Matt Wallner’s roster spot. Bride doesn’t help in the outfield though, and even if he did, he isn’t making up for Wallner’s team-leading 0.6 fWAR.

Through 18 games Matt Wallner owns a .263/.373/.474 slash line. He has five doubles, a league-leading two triples, and a home run. Minnesota will be forced to lean heavily on Trevor Larnach, Harrison Bader, and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. in his absence.

Brock Stewart making rehab progress for MN Twins

Brock Stewart started his rehab assignment earlier this week with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. He too was dealing with a hamstring injury, that first popped up during spring training. He was able to pitch in back-to-back games this week, something that was considered a major hurdle in his progress to return to a big league mound.

Brock Stewart appeared on consecutive days at Single-A Fort Myers, which was the big hurdle he needed to show the #MNTwins. He faced five batters. He struck out five batters. pic.twitter.com/2sU4rwKLJV

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) April 17, 2025

If there is something of a concern regarding Stewart, it’s that his velocity wasn’t quite there. He threw 95 mph in his first outing and that dropped during his second. That’s a pretty noticeable drop from his 97 mph average the past two seasons.

Stewart has had a myriad of arm issues, but his stuff has continued to play. A decrease in velocity this time around could alter his effectiveness. It’s likely he sees his rehab progress to Triple-A St. Paul soon, where there will be additional data.

The Twins would love to have the same Stewart that turned in a 0.65 ERA across 27 2/3 innings during the 2023 season. He gave up just two runs that year and struck out 39 batters. That performance would slot him in high-leverage opportunities with Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran.

Pablo Lopez could be back to Twins soon

Don’t forget about Minnesota Twins ace, Pablo Lopez, who’s been on the injured list with a hamstring strain since April 11 (retroactive to April 9). He is progressing through the rehab process and will be on the mound this week for a rehab assignment of his own. He has to be on the injured list for 15 days.

#MNTwins injury updates:

Pablo López (hamstring) is scheduled to make a rehab start Saturday with Triple-A St. Paul.

Royce Lewis (hamstring) is expected to do some light baserunning today.

Michael Tonkin (shoulder) is scheduled for a rehab outing Friday with Low-A Fort Myers.

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) April 17, 2025

Des Moines, Iowa is roughly a 3.5 hour drive for Pablo Lopez. That’s where he will don a Saints jersey, and pitch at Triple-A for the first time since 2021. He owns a 1.62 ERA (3.25 FIP) across 16 2/3 innings this year for Minnesota.

The Opening Day starter is looking for a bounce back year, after posting a 4.08 ERA (3.65 FIP) in 2024. Lopez has taken three turns through the rotation, but was lifted after just 4 2/3 innings in Kansas City on April 8 due to his hamstring strain.

David Festa has taken over the starting rotation spot in Lopez’s absence. The former top prospect has allowed just one run (unearned) in nine innings. He also has a 10/2 K/BB. It remains to be seen how Minnesota will slot Lopez back into the rotation, when he is eligible to return.

Related: Minnesota Twins Calling Up Top Pitching Prospect

Thus far, Chris Paddack and his 9.49 ERA (6.66 FIP) across 12 1/3 innings could be the odd man out. Simeon Woods Richardson has a 4.30 ERA (3.83 FIP) in 14 2/3 innings, and it’d be tough to send him back after he’s been in the big leagues for most of the past year.

We can’t let Gleeman slip that note in about Royce Lewis go unnoticed either. At roughly four weeks into his projected timeline, he should be about halfway through his recovery.

Michael Tonkin working back for Minnesota Twins too

Like Stewart and Lopez, Michael Tonkin is set to begin a rehab assignment of his own at Single-A, this week. He has been out longer than Stewart and last pitched in spring training on February 28th. Tonkin gave up four runs on six during Grapefruit League play. He also struck out three and walked two.

Michael Tonkin is set to start a rehab assignment tomorrow at Fort Myers. Brock Stewart began his earlier this week. #MNTwins

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) April 17, 2025

Last season the Twins brought Michael Tonkin back for the first time since 2017. He started the year with the Mets, was designated for assignment, and claimed by Minnesota. After the MN Twins DFA’d him, it wasn’t until a late summer move by the Yankees that he was again claimed off waivers.

For Minnesota Tonkin posted a 3.86 ERA across 16 1/3 innings. He has seen a career resurgence after resurfacing with the Braves during the 2023 season. The Twins are back in action on Friday against the Braves. Atlanta welcomes Minnesota to town off to a bad start of their own. Expected to contend for the NL East title, they are just 5-13 this season.

Rocco Baldelli’s butt has to be on fire with the amount of heat his chair is producing. He needs his players to show up and get the job done. Lackluster pitching that took place during the rotation’s first turn has all but subsided. It’s now on the lineup to get things going.

Minnesota’s bullpen has provided a shuttle service to the last pitcher among the group as they have already designated three relievers for assignment. The hope was that Brock Stewart would be back by now, but at least that process is taking place.

Brock Stewart kicks off rehab assignment for Minnesota Twins

The MN Twins knew that Brock Stewart was always going to be a bit behind this spring. He was coming off a season-ending shoulder surgery and has struggled to stay healthy. Then he suffered a hamstring injury which removed any possibility of making the Opening Day roster. He recently suffered another setback to the hamstring, but the severity must have been minor because he’ll be in the bullpen for Single-A Fort Myers on Tuesday.

Minnesota Twins reliever Brock Stewart is starting a rehab assignment today with the @MightyMussels

— Ted (@tlschwerz) April 15, 2025

It has been exactly one month since Stewart last appeared in a game. He threw for the Twins during Grapefruit League action against the Atlanta Braves on March 15 and recorded just two outs. With just three innings across four games, Stewart will need a significant amount of time to ramp back up.

Last year Stewart posted a 5.17 ERA for Minnesota across 15 2/3 innings. He recorded 20 strikeouts but allowed eight walks and 15 hits. It’s the 2023 version that the Twins are certainly dreaming on. In his first year with Minnesota Stewart compiled a 0.65 ERA across 27 2/3 innings in 28 appearances. He posted a 39/11 K/BB and gave up just two runs.

Brock Stewart ⛽️⛽️ pic.twitter.com/uESxgwqEWf

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 30, 2024

When right, Stewart has looked like one of the best relievers in baseball. He wasn’t completely healthy either of the past two seasons, and has had an injury-plagued career to that point as well. However, Stewart averaged 97.3 mph on his fastball in 2023 and returned with a 97.0 mph average in 2024.

The fact that the injuries haven’t resulted in diminished velocity for the Twins reliever is part of the reason why it is so imperative he returns. Stewart provides another high-leverage arm to pair with Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran at the back end of Rocco Baldelli’s bullpen.

Related: Minnesota Twins Sign Another Depth Reliever to Minor League Deal

It should be expected that Stewart makes a couple of appearances with the Mighty Mussels, then transfers his rehab to Triple-A St. Paul next week. He’s not a candidate to go multiple innings, and likely not back-to-back days at any point this season.

Minnesota Twins bullpen would love a boost

Projection systems that considered the MN Twins bullpen to be among the best in baseball definitely included Stewart amongst that group. While his availability will always be a question, his talent has never been much of one.

Despite the Twins record and a couple of blowups from the bullpen, the relief corps currently owns the 10th best ERA in baseball (3.38). Their 2.95 walks per nine innings also rank amongst the top ten in the sport (6th). To do that while having a revolving door of mop-up arms coming in is impressive.

Related: MN Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli Sitting on Top of Hot Seat List

A return of Stewart would quickly remove the need for arms like Randy Dobnak, Darren McCaughan, Scott Blewett, or Kody Funderburk to be forced into action. He also allows for all of the middle relief types to take a step back from forced leverage spots.

It’s going to be an uphill battle for Minnesota to stop taking on water in their sinking ship, but more high-level talent returning isn’t going to hurt them.

Not only were the Twins forced to start 2025 without infielders Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee, who both remain on the injured list for now, but health issues have cost manager Rocco Baldelli a couple of his best middle relievers, too — RHP Brock Stewart and LHP Michael Tonkin.

An ugly loss against the Houston Astros on Sunday was a byproduct of the bullpen’s latest meltdown. Despite a 7-1 lead in earlier innings, the Astros forced extras when a suddenly unreliable Griffin Jax gave up a game-tying two-run homer to Yordan Alvarez in the top of the 9th inning, which tied the game 7-7.

Brock Stewart remains out for Minnesota Twins

Brock Stewart is a high-leverage arm that absolutely would have factored into the Twins’ middle/back of the bullpen equation in 2025. Unfortunately, the vast majority of his time in Minnesota has been spent on the injured list.

This spring, following season-ending surgery in 2024, Stewart looked good to start Grapefruit League play, tossing three innings in four games. Then, just when we all thought his arm was in a good place, a hamstring strain landed him on the IR in March.

As tends to be the case when the Twins report early injuries, Stewart’s bad hamstring was initially reported as mild. Now weeks into the regular season, Brock’s return timeline is being extended yet again. According to Phil Miller (Star Tribune), the setback stems from tightness Stewart felt in his hamstring while ramping up for a rehab assignment in St. Paul.

“Righthander Brock Stewart had hoped to make a couple of rehab appearances for Class AAA St. Paul last week, but he reported tightness in a hamstring, forcing the Twins to pull back. Falvey said the Twins will know later this week what Stewart’s new timeline looks like.”

Phil Miller – Star Tribune

Stewart has thrown just 43 1/3 innings since 2023 with Minnesota. Across six major league seasons, he has only 149 total innings pitched under his belt. And most forget, he used to be an 11-game starter for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Brock Stewart ⛽️⛽️ pic.twitter.com/uESxgwqEWf

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 30, 2024

The MN Twins would love to have Brock Stewart back, if he can ever get healthy. Since landing in Minnesota, the 33-year-old has pitched 43.1 impressive innings, posting a 2.28 ERA, 12.3 SO/9 and 2.78 FIP. During 27 2/3 innings of work in 2023, Stewart allowed just two runs total.

MN Twins not on Michael Tonkin’s radar either

Stewart’s update isn’t a positive one, and what Phil Miller gathered on Michael Tonkin isn’t all that great either. Tonkin just threw his first bullpen session in Fort Myers, recently. That means we are still weeks — maybe even months — out from him returning to the bullpen.

“Righthander Michael Tonkin threw a bullpen session in Fort Myers as he recovers from shoulder soreness that cut his spring training short by several weeks. “It’s good news, but we don’t have a specific timetable on when he can progress to” facing hitters in batting practice, Falvey said, much less to playing rehab games.”

Phil Miller – Star Tribune

It was a mild surprise that the MN Twins brought Tonkin back after he was released last season. The $1 million arbitration salary was just too good of a deal to pass up, especially with Caleb Thielbar leaving in free agency.

Tonkin threw just 2 2/3 innings this spring, allowing four runs on six hits. Maybe the poor performance was a result of his shoulder issues. When the 35-year-old does eventually return to the Minnesota Twins bullpen they hope to get the reliever who posted a 3.63 ERA across 79 1/3 big league innings in 2024.

Related: Minnesota Twins Swap Out Bullpen Pitchers

The lack of expected bullpen arms out of the gate has led to Randy Dobnak, Darren McCaughan, and now Scott Blewett all being shuttled through the relief corps during the first nine games of the 2025 regular season. That doesn’t look like it’ll come to an end anytime soon, unless the starting staff figures out how to last more innings.

Young former top draft picks, Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis, will both miss the 2025 regular season opener, as they rehab from their latest bouts vs the injury bug. Manager Rocco Baldelli also informed Rule 5 draftee, Eiberson Castellanos, that he would not make the opening roster, meaning he’s likely moving on from his new team.

Minnesota Twins facing roster questions ahead of Opening Day

The Minnesota Twins essentially had four position players competing for three of the spots. Edouard Julien, Mickey Gasper, DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and Austin Martin were all vying to make the Opening Day roster. It was announced Monday that Gasper and Keirsey Jr. will make the roster, while Austin Martin goes back to Triple A.

However, with reliever Brock Stewart among the many Twins bullpen pitchers who will start the season on injured reserve, the Twins still have a spot to fill in the bullpen. According to Dan Hayes of The Athletic, they’d like to go outside the organization to find their guy.

With Stewart headed to the IL, the Twins are searching for the final reliever in their bullpen. That reliever may not currently be part of the organization.

If Stewart — who topped out at 96 mph in a minor-league game on Saturday — is only out a short time…the Twins are likely to scour the waiver wire or search for pitchers with opt-outs or upward mobility clauses.

Dan Hayes – The Athletic

How could the Twins fill this spot?

Minnesota Twins president of baseball operations, Derek Falvey probably won’t make a big move to fill this roster spot. As long as he can get healthy, this is Brock Stewart’s spot on the 26-man. But with Michael Tonkin and Justin Topa dealing with injuries of their own, this is a very interesting developing situation for the Twins’ bullpen.

It remains to be seen who could be on the Twins radar, but it’s pretty clear that whoever it is, they’re not currently in camp, or in the organization. After a horrendous collapse to end the 2024 season, the MN Twins are looking to reclaim the AL Central for the second time in three seasons. Healthy could very well determine that future.

Related: MN Twins Opening Day Roster Starting to Take Shape

If Lee, Stewart, and Lewis can return from their injuries and this team’s heavy hitters (Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton, Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan) can stay relatively healthy, the sky is the limit for the 2025 Minnesota Twins because talent isn’t an issue.

They lost their first position player when Royce Lewis strained his hamstring last week. Michael Tonkin is nursing an injury as well, and will begin the year on the injured list. He was a bottom-tier bullpen option regardless. Unfortunately he’s is going to be joined by another, much higher-tier, bullpen arm as well.

Brock Stewart begins season on injured list for Minnesota Twins

Plenty of steam has been percolating about the Minnesota Twins having the best bullpen in baseball this coming year. That could be true if they are healthy. Unfortunately, that same reality existed last year and they left Fort Myers with multiple players on the injured list. The first big blow this time around comes in the form of Brock Stewart starting the year on the injured list.

“Brock Stewart threw around 20 pitches in a minor league game Saturday against the Boston Red Sox’s Class AAA club, but it’ll likely be a couple of weeks before he is pitching in a major league game.

Stewart was informed he will begin the season on the Twins’ 15-day injured list. His buildup this spring was slightly delayed after he underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery last August, and he exited an outing March 15 with a minor hamstring issue.”

Bobby Nightengale – Star Tribune

Related: Minnesota Twins Bullpen Harboring Dark Horse Stud Nobody is Talking About

There was always a level of uncertainty as to whether Stewart would begin the season with Minnesota. The Twins played coy about it, but this is a pitcher that has thrown just 43 1/3 innings since 2020. It’s possible that the buildup from his offseason shoulder surgery would have kept him from Opening Day, but the slight hamstring injury is an easy way to explain it.

“We have to keep our eyes open to the end goal here, which isn’t just the start of the season. It’s the whole season.”

Nick Paparesta – Star Tribune

The good news, which has remained the case despite his many injuries, is that Stewart’s stuff stays intact. He was reportedly around 95-96 mph in the minor league game. The last two seasons with the MN Twins he has averaged 97 mph on the fastball.

He throws his heat around 43% of the time, and in 2023, generated a whiff rate near 20%. Stewart’s 2.28 ERA with the Twins makes him among the most dominant relievers in baseball. He has 59 strikeouts, and just 19 walks the past two seasons. Obviously Minnesota needs to get him to a place where he can be, and stay, on the mound.

An open spot remains for MN Twins

Once it was announced that Tonkin would start on the injured list it became apparent that there was room for Louie Varland in the bullpen. Now with Stewart destined for the same result, Baldelli has another spot to decide on.

Rule 5 selection Eiberson Castellano remains in camp. The Twins would love to keep the Phillies 2024 minor league pitcher of the year in the organization, but he has made it tough to trust him with his Grapefruit League performance. The 7.59 ERA across 10 2/3 innings isn’t as problematic as the 13/10 K/BB is.

If Minnesota is going to keep Castellano for mop-up duty, they can’t afford for him not to throw strikes. Scott Blewett started on Saturday and also remains in camp. He owned a 1.77 ERA across 20 1/3 innings for the MN Twins last season. Blewett was solid, if not unspectacular at Triple-A as well with a 3.79 ERA in 54 2/3 inning with the Saints. He could be the option if they don’t trust Castellano at this point.

Related: Chronic Back Injury Causing Problems for MN Twins Infielder Again

As camps wind down there should be plenty of pitchers that are released, and trigger opt outs as well. Minnesota could go that route if they aren’t convinced their internal options are the best choice. When it comes to open roster spots, this is one to watch.

But of course, the Twins haven’t fully escaped the injury bug down in Florida, especially when you look at the middle reliever talent they were hoping to lean on, before games reach backend bullpen staples, Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax.

Over the past 24 hours, Minnesota Twins injury updates have revealed injuries to RHP Brock Stewart, RHP Michael Tonkin and RHP Matt Canterino. While all three injuries have different severity, the overall health of the bullpen is becoming a bigger concern, as spring goes on.

Michael Tonkin, Brock Stewart injury updates

33-year-old Brock Stewart, who left his Friday Grapefruit league appearance vs the Boston Red Sox with a leg injury, has been diagnosed with a mild left hamstring strain. The good news is that he is expected to start throwing later this week.

Michael Tonkin, 35, came back to the Twins midseason 2024, pitching 13 impressive innings (2.13 ERA and 12.1 SO/9), but will not open the season on the 26-man roster, as he works his way back from a shoulder strain he suffered last week.

RHP Michael Tonkin (shoulder strain) will open the season on the IL, will remain in Fort Myers a few weeks to build up to pitch again.

RHP Brock Stewart has a mild left hamstring strain, but tested well today and should resume throwing later this week.

— Phil Miller (@MillerStrib) March 16, 2025

The update on Stewart is good news, though we have heard this type of story before, specifically with Stewart, whose season-ending injury in 2024 started out as something that was supposed to be minor. With this organization, take all early injury updates, diagnosis and timelines with a large grain of salt.

The Twins would really love to have Stewart on the Opening Day roster. His career in Minnesota has been marred by injury, including missing most of last season. But when he’s available, Brock Stewart has been nothing short of dominant. In 43 innings as a Twin, the Illinois State University alum has a 2.28 ERA, 2.78 FIP, 191 ERA+ and 12.3 SO/9.

Related: FanGraphs Extremely Confident Twins Reliever Will Return to Form

Tonkin played the first seasons of his MLB career with the Minnesota Twins (2013-2017), before spending 2018 in Japan. He returned to the Big Leagues in 2019, where he’s played for three other teams, the Braves, Yankees and Mets. Both guys project as major pieces of Minnesota’s bullpen this season.

Oft-injured Minnesota Twins reliever Matt Canterino going through it again

A spring training Minnesota Twins injury update would not be complete without mentioning Matt Canterino, their 27-year-old pitching prospect who’s brought a lot more hype during the course of his career than he has minor league production.

That’s saying something, being he has a 1.91 ERA, 0.859 WHIP and 13.8 SO/9 in 85 minor league innings between 2019 and 2022. Unfortunately, injuries have kept Canterino from the mound in each of the past two seasons. And now, he’ll miss a third-straight season, following surgery on his right shoulder.

RHP Matt Canterino underwent shoulder surgery in Dallas this week to “tighten” ligaments, Twins announce. He’ll miss the entire season for the third straight year.

— Phil Miller (@MillerStrib) March 16, 2025

There are less than ten days before the 2025 Minnesota Twins regular season begins on March 26 in St. Louis vs the Cardinals. Manager Rocco Baldelli and the rest of the organization will be holding their breath every day between now and then, as their bullpen cannot afford anymore injuries between now and then.

As long as guys like back-end staples like Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax enter the regular season healthy, Minnesota should have one of the best bullpens in baseball. And if the Twins can get above-projected production out of another reliever or two — on top of the usual from their established All-Stars — this bullpen could prove to be a devastating late-inning weapon.

Brock Stewart could add even more bulk to Minnesota Twins bullpen

Once a highly-touted prospect, Brock Stewart debuted with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016, but his early MLB career did not go as planned. In 105.2 big league innings pitched between 2016 and 2019, most of which came as a starter, Steward posted a 6.05 ERA, 70 ERA+, 6.25 FIP and 1.599 WHIP.

Related: Minnesota Twins Provide a Bunch of Injury Updates

By 2020, he was pitching in the independent league, where he resurrected his career… until Tommy John surgery wiped out both his 2021 and 2022 seasons. Finally, Brock Stewart resurfaced in the big leagues as a Minnesota Twin in 2023 as a completely different dude, striking out 39 batters in just 27.2 innings (12.7 SO/9) — good for a 0.65 ERA, 2.21 FIP and 1.084 WHIP.

Unfortunately, the now 33-year-old’s body continues to fail him. In total, Stewart — a former 6th round pick out of Illinois State University — has thrown just 43 1/3 innings the past two seasons. But man, the numbers sure are impressive.

John Bonnes (Twins Daily) pointed to possibilities with Stewart on the most recent episode of the Gleeman and the Geek podcast, which he co-hosts with The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman. It may seem far-fetched to consider him among the Twins best relievers, but that’s exactly what the numbers suggest.

“[Brock Stewart] is not somebody that a lot of Twins fans think about right now, in terms of oh we could have a dominant bullpen right now, because he’s been out of sight, out of mind for most of the 2024 season. He missed a good chunk of the 2023 season. He was arguably the Twins best, or second-best reliever when he was healthy last year. He could arguably be the best, or second-best reliever again this year.”

“I heard back in October, right after that surgery, before we knew [Brock Stewart’s] velocity was going to come back, before anything else, Twins officials saying off the record, like, ‘we think we figured out what was going on with Stewart for the last two years and we think this surgery in particular [is going to clean it up]’.

Like, there’s something about the diagnosis or about what they found in there when they did the arthroscopic shoulder surgery and handled this, that made them really optimistic about how he was going to come back and how healthy he would stay when he came back.”

John Bonnes – Gleeman and the Geek

Brock Stewart, 97mph Two Seamer (18 inches of Run) and 85mph Sweeper (20 inches of Break), Overlay

😳😳😳 pic.twitter.com/RJwcRWaFaW

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 25, 2024

If (and that is a big “if”) he can stay healthy, there’s a really good possibility Brock Stewart quickly proves himself to be yet another devastating option in the Twins’ bullpen. His stuff is right up there with Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran.

In his first 13 appearances last season, Stewart picked up seven holds and struck out 17 batters across 13 1/3 innings. I know there are darkhorse talents in every camp, across MLB Spring Training, but most of them do not have the immediate upside that Brock does, something that is being overlooked, as we move closer to Opening Day on March 27.

Louie Varland’s role with Twins revealed…

While the Minnesota Twins haven’t made anything official, and Louie Varland has only commented on his name, the transition to relief is real. He has made five appearances during Grapefruit League action, and each of them have been for just a single inning. The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman has taken note as well.

“Louie Varland, as you said, has thrown one inning four times, hasn’t come out for a second inning, hasn’t warmed up for a second inning. He comes in like in the fifth inning, he pitches the fifth inning, he leaves, he goes home. He talks to you guys, gives short quotes, gets annoyed that you guys keep asking about his name, and he goes home. And so, you can connect those dots fairly easily.”

Aaron Gleeman – Gleeman and the Geek Podcast

Minnesota apparently wants to avoid announcing anything on Varland in case there is an emergency need for a starter. The reality is that, at this point of Spring Training, there isn’t runway for him to be stretched out as a starter. The Twins also have depth options in the form of David Festa, Zebby Matthews, Cory Lewis, and Andrew Morris.

Related: Minnesota Twins Prospects Revealed for Exclusive MLB ‘Spring Breakout’

Varland owns a 5.51 ERA in the big leagues, but has been utilized in both starting and relief roles. His 6.44 ERA as a reliever is actually higher than the 5.27 mark as a starter. However, Varland can now settle into a set position and simply let it fly when coming out of the bullpen.

Louie Varland, 98mph ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/P5MKMRzZdx

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 2, 2024

When the season starts it’s likely that Varland will be used in middle-relief. By the midway point it wouldn’t be shocking if he has been elevated to high leverage as a byproduct of his performance.

The injury to Justin Topa opens the door for Varland or someone like Eiberson Castellano to make the Opening Day roster. The more pitching talent that Minnesota can harbor going into the season, the better they will be positioned to handle the setbacks that are sure to pop up along the way.