Twins' Kendry Rojas Will Be Under More Pressure Next Season

The Minnesota Twins have decided to go all-in on competing next season with owner Tom Pohlad recently promising an increased payroll.

While the Twins will be expecting solid results from players like right-handed ace Joe Ryan and center fielder Byron Buxton, some of that pressure will also fall on left-handed reliever Kendry Rojas.

The 23-year-old out of Ciego De Avila, Cuba had a relatively decent first season with the Twins, compiling a 3.34 ERA and 1.52 WHIP with 34 strikeouts in 12 games and 29.2 innings pitched.

Rojas made his way to Minnesota via a trade from the Toronto Blue Jays last July as part of a package that sent Louis Varland and Ty France the other way. 

At the time of the move, the Twins weren't as committed to winning as they are now. They sold off many of their core pieces at the trade deadline not named Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton.

Now that general manager Jeremy Zoll will have the support of the Twins' higher-ups, Rojas will have to fight hard to earn a long-term spot in a bullpen occupied by Yoendrys Gómez, Kody Funderburk and fellow former Blue Jay Jeff Hoffman. There is also the chance that Minnesota retains free agent A.J. Minter, further adding to Rojas' competition for innings.

Rojas spent most of this year with Triple-A St. Paul, posting a 2.84 ERA and striking out 38 batters through 38 innings of work. While he's had a few promising major-league outings, Rojas still has work to do.

He was sent back down to the minors where he spent the remainder of the season following a rough outing on Aug. 2 against the Seattle Mariners. Rojas surrendered two hits and three earned runs including a homer.

Nonetheless, he's shown a knack for getting hitters out when his stuff clicks and his command is where he wants it to be. Rojas' performance against the Athletics comes to mind after he fanned five batters and only allowed one walk and a single hit across four innings with Minnesota winning 2-0.

Besides his main role in the bullpen, Rojas might also be tasked with piggybacking or even making full starts as Mick Abel and David Festa recover from season-ending surgeries and Pablo López works his way back into the rotation after missing all of this year with a UCL injury.

While Rojas improves his form this offseason, the Twins will be hard at work themselves trying to re-sign Minter and other key pieces like catcher Ryan Jeffers.