The Minnesota Twins made a series of roster moves on Friday, including placing a promising young pitcher on the injured list.
The Minnesota Twins have dealt with multiple injury setbacks in the first couple of months of the season, and their bullpen and rotation took another hit on Friday.
Minnesota announced four roster moves ahead of the weekend's series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Left-hander Kendry Rojas was the biggest name on the list, placed on the injured list with left elbow inflammation and right-hander Travis Adams was optioned down to Triple-A St. Paul.
Joining the Twins are reliever Cody Laweryson, who was activated off the IL and lefty Kody Funderburk, who was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul.
The Rojas news comes a day after the 23-year-old was scratched from what would have been his second career start against the Chicago White Sox. Simeon Woods Richardson was called upon to fill the role as an emergency starter, though he struggled, allowing five earned runs in 2 2/3 innings in the 6-2 loss.
It's unfortunate news for both the Twins and Rojas, as he was pitching to a 1.26 ERA over 14 1/3 innings with 14 strikeouts and just two earned runs, making him one of the most effective arms the Twins have. He made his first career start on May 18 against the Houston Astros, striking out three batters over four shutout innings, suggesting that he could be a reliable starter going forward. Now the Twins will have to wait to see how serious the elbow issue is.
To offset the loss, Laweryson returns to the active roster after spending nearly a month apart since his last appearance on April 8. Before that, he carried a 4.26 ERA in five games with the Twins, with four straight scoreless relief appearances from April 3 to April 8.
Funderburk comes back to the Twins bullpen after being sent down to Triple-A St. Paul on May 10. He struggled with his command, averaging 7.3 walks per nine innings. In five appearances in the minors, Funderburk didn't find any greater success, posting a 9.00 ERA with five earned runs on eight hits with two walks over five innings.
The Twins sit at 27-29 in the American League Central. Neither replacement arrives in midseason form, leaving Minnesota thin behind its established relievers as it absorbs another rotation loss. With Pablo Lopez already out for the season, the next month could determine whether the Twins are buyers or sellers come the trade deadline, and the rest of MLB will be watching.
