Another Promising Twins Pitcher Hits the IL, Two Relievers Recalled

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In what has become a bit of an unfortunate theme of this season, another promising Twins pitcher has landed on the injured list. Rookie left-hander Kendry Rojas was officially placed on the 15-day IL on Friday with inflammation in his pitching elbow.

Rojas, 23, was just starting to find a groove in the big leagues. He had thrown seven scoreless innings with three hits, two walks, and six strikeouts over his last two outings. For the season, the Twins’ No. 10 prospect has a 1.26 ERA in 14.1 innings across five appearances, with 14 strikeouts but also a somewhat concerning 10 walks.

Hopefully this is nothing more than mild inflammation for Rojas, who the Twins acquired along with Alan Roden in the Louis Varland trade with the Blue Jays last summer. The young Cuban has a big-time fastball and a couple offspeed pitches that have shown promise, but he has work to do when it comes to the command of his arsenal.

Rojas joins Pablo Lopez, David Festa, and Mick Abel as Twins starters (Rojas is a starting prospect, even if he’s mostly been used as a multi-inning reliever so far) currently on the IL. Lopez is out for the season, while Festa and Abel don’t have clear timetables to return.

The Twins also saw Taj Bradley spend time on the IL, though he was fortunately able to return shortly after the 15-day minimum. Joe Ryan, Minnesota’s ace, has had a couple injury scares this year but has not missed any time.

The Twins also optioned righty Travis Adams to Triple-A St. Paul, recalled lefty Kody Funderburk, and reinstated righty Cody Laweryson from the IL. Adams pitched in each of the last two games, including a 33-pitch outing where he allowed five runs in Wednesday’s blowout loss to the White Sox.

Funderburk has a 2.81 ERA in 16 MLB innings this season, but he was optioned earlier this month because his 13 walks to 10 strikeouts were a better reflection of how he’s pitched. He’s allowed five earned runs in five innings for the Saints since his demotion, but the Twins don’t have many other options at the moment.

Laweryson’s return to health could be helpful. He looked good in early April before getting hurt. After a tough season debut, he tossed five scoreless innings with one hit, no walks, and six strikeouts in his next four appearances.

Here’s what the Twins’ pitching staff looks like heading into this weekend’s series in Pittsburgh.

Rotation

  1. RHP Joe Ryan
  2. RHP Taj Bradley (starting Friday)
  3. RHP Bailey Ober (starting Saturday)
  4. RHP Zebby Matthews (starting Sunday)
  5. LHP Connor Prielipp

Bullpen

  • RHP Yoendrys Gomez
  • LHP Taylor Rogers
  • LHP Anthony Banda
  • RHP Andrew Morris
  • RHP Eric Orze
  • RHP Simeon Woods Richardson
  • RHP Cody Laweryson
  • LHP Kody Funderburk

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