Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Twins Rumors

Twins Place Carlos Correa On Concussion IL

By | at

The Twins have placed shortstop Carlos Correa on the seven-day concussion injured list. He and outfielder Byron Buxton collided while attempting to make a catch yesterday and both players entered concussion protocol. Per Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune, Buxton is still in the protocol and there won’t be an update before tonight’s game starts. Infielder/outfielder Ryan Fitzgerald has been selected to take Correa’s place on the roster. To open a 40-man spot, right-hander Michael Tonkin has been transferred to the 60-day injured list. Dan Hayes of The Athletic was among those to relay the moves.

In yesterday’s game, Cedric Mullins lofted a pop-up to shallow center field, as seen in this video from MLB.com. Correa drifted out to get it while Buxton charged in. Buxton tried to call off Correa at the last second but Correa wasn’t able to get out of the way. The two collided with both appearing to take a knock on the head. Both were removed from the game and placed in concussion protocol.

It’s unclear how long Correa is expected to be out but his health obviously take priority in a situation like this. The Twins have Brooks Lee at shortstop tonight and he could see regular time there for now. Willi Castro is also an option but he’s in left field tonight, helping to cover on the grass while Buxton and Harrison Bader are both banged up.

Though it’s not under the most pleasant of circumstances, Fitzgerald gets to the majors for the first time, just ahead of his 31st birthday. He has been grinding in the minors for a while, making his professional debut back in 2018.

He’s never really been on the prospect radar but is having a great season. He has taken 148 Triple-A appearances so far this year, drawing a walk in 12.8% of those while only striking out 19.6% of the time. He has four home runs and a .328/.426/.528 line, which translates to a 154 wRC+.

What also probably appeals to this Twins is his defensively versatility. In his minor league career, he has played every position outside of the battery. In addition to Correa and Buxton, the Twins are also working around minor injuries to Bader and Ty France, though the latter is in the lineup tonight. Whatever happens, Fitzgerald should be able to help them out.

As for Tonkin, this doesn’t change much about his status. He has been on the 15-day injured list since the start of the season due to a rotator cuff strain and his 60-day count can be backdated to that initial placement. That means he can technically be reinstated as soon as late May. He started a rehab assignment in the middle of April but that was recently shut down, per Hayes. As of that May 11th update, Tonkin had just experienced a setback due to tendinitis in his right bicep and was set to receive an anti-inflammatory injection.

Photo courtesy of Mitch Stringer, Imagn Images

Huascar Ynoa Signs With Mexican League’s Leones De Yucatán

By | at

The Mexican League’s Leones De Yucatán announced that they have signed right-hander Huascar Ynoa. He had signed a minor league deal with the Minnesota Twins in the offseason but he was released last month, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com.

Ynoa, turning 27 this month, didn’t have a good tenure with the Twins. He made five Triple-A appearance but allowed five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. He issued seven walks and hit a batter while only recording one strikeout. That poor performance seemingly led to his release. Now that he’s signing in Mexico, it seems he didn’t get much interest from the other affiliated clubs.

However, he is still relatively young and put up some good numbers a few years ago. With Atlanta in 2021, he tossed 91 innings with a 4.05 earned run average. His 26.9% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate and 47.3% ground ball rate were all better than average.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to build off that solid season in subsequent years. In 2022, he had two bad starts to begin the year and spent most of the season in Triple-A, putting up a 5.68 ERA at Gwinnett. He required Tommy John surgery in September of that year, which wiped out his entire 2023. Last year, he missed more time due to a stress reaction in his elbow. He logged only 29 2/3 innings in the minors with a 6.37 ERA. He was non-tendered by Atlanta, which led to his minor league deal with the Twins.

After missing most of the 2023-24 seasons, it’s perhaps not shocking that Ynoa showed some rust to start this year. Ideally, the Leones can give him some time to get back into a groove and rediscover his previous form. If that comes to pass, he would likely have MLB clubs calling him up again.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images

Twins Option Simeon Woods Richardson, Likely To Promote Zebby Matthews

By | at

1:08pm: The Twins are planning to recall Matthews for what’ll be his first major league look this season, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. He’ll likely get the ball for Sunday’s series finale. Nightengale adds an ominous note that Festa’s last start was skipped over due to arm fatigue, although the promising righty is slated to start Saturday’s Triple-A game.

10:21am: The Twins optioned righty Simeon Woods Richardson to Triple-A St. Paul following yesterday’s tough start, per the team. Left-handed reliever Kody Funderburk, who’d been with the team as the 27th man in Minnesota’s doubleheader versus the Orioles, will stay in the big league roster in his place.

Woods Richardson has been a constant in the Twins’ rotation dating back to last April. He’s been solid on the whole, working to a 4.36 ERA with a 20.7% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate across 171 1/3 innings, but his recent work has been lackluster. Woods Richardson has lasted fewer than five innings in four of his past five starts. He pitched into the sixth inning and held the Angels to one run back on April 26, but that’s the only time in the past month he’s completed five frames.

The three most recent starts for Woods Richardson have been particularly problematic. Beyond their abbreviated nature, he’s been tagged for a combined 10 runs and seen his command suffer considerably. Since the calendar flipped to May, Woods Richardson has pitched 13 1/3 innings and allowed 10 runs (6.75 ERA) on 15 hits (four homers) and eight walks. He’s walked 13.6% of his opponents against an ugly 15.3% strikeout rate and served up four of his eight home runs during that span.

A team optioning its fifth starter isn’t always headline news, but Woods Richardson’s demotion is a bit more notable given both a relatively lengthy run in starting five and the presence of two high-end young starters with the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate: right-handers David Festa and Zebby Matthews. Both ranked among the game’s top-100 prospects prior to their respective MLB debuts last year. Matthews is still prospect-eligible and sits at the No. 46 spot on Baseball America’s recently updated top-100 list.

Festa, 25, was hit hard in his first two big league starts last year but settled in with a 3.81 ERA, 30% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate in his final 11 major league turns down the stretch. He started three games for the Twins earlier in 2025, pitching 13 innings with a pristine 1.38 ERA. Over his past 14 MLB starts, the 6’6″, 185-pound righty — nicknamed the “Slim Reaper” — carries a 3.34 ERA, 29.4% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate. Since being sent back to Triple-A last month, he’s tossed 11 2/3 innings and held opponents to three runs (2.31 ERA) on six hits and no walks with 14 punchouts.

Not to be outdone, the 24-year-old Matthews has started seven games in Triple-A this year and logged a sparkling 1.93 earned run average. The 6’5″, 225-pound righty has set down 28.1% of his opponents on strikes and walked a sharp 6.7% of his opponents. Matthews’ 2024 debut was the inverse of Festa’s first MLB look; he was terrific through three starts before being trounced for nine runs by the Blue Jays on Aug. 31. In his final six starts, he pitched just 22 2/3 innings and was tagged for 23 runs.

Both Festa and Matthews have the makings of potential long-term rotation pieces for the Twins. That’s not to say Woods Richardson won’t get another chance. He’s still only 24 himself and won’t turn 25 until September. This is also Woods Richardson’s final option year, so the Twins will need to find a role for him heading into the 2026 season. Righty Chris Paddack is a free agent at season’s end, and injuries can arise at any time to create further opportunities, of course.

For the time being, the Twins have Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober and Paddack starting games. Festa, Matthews and Woods Richardson are all on the 40-man roster and in the mix for the last rotation job, though it seems Woods Richardson is shifting to the back of the line for the short term, at the very least.

The Twins will start Paddack today (2.51 ERA, 20.2 K%, 7.8 BB% over his past six starts) and then go to Ryan (2.74 ERA) and Lopez (2.77 ERA) against the Brewers on Friday and Saturday, respectively. They’ll need to bring up another starter for Sunday’s series finale in Milwaukee, as Ober would only be on three days’ rest. They could also push Ryan and Lopez back a day, as Matthews is slated to start tomorrow and Festa would also be on full rest if summoned for Friday’s game.

MLBTR Podcast: Devers Drama, Managerial Firings, And Jordan Lawlar

By | at

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Should the Orioles try to extend Cedric Mullins or Tomoyuki Sugano (35:05)
  • How real are the Twins and the Tigers? (39:00)
  • What should the Cardinals do in right field if Jordan Walker doesn’t get going? (44:50)
  • Why do the Mets seemingly do better with external pitching additions than their homegrown arms? (49:25)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images

Rich Rollins Passes Away

By | at

Former All-Star Rich Rollins passed away this week at age 87, according to multiple reports. A third baseman, he spent the majority of his career with the Twins in the 1960s.

Rollins was born a little outside Pittsburgh and moved to Ohio as a child. He attended Kent State and signed with the Washington Senators in 1960. The franchise moved to Minnesota and rebranded as the Twins the following year. Rollins earned a cup of coffee during the first season in Minnesota. He opened the following season as the starter at the hot corner.

That rookie year was probably the best of Rollins’ career. He appeared in 159 games and hit .298/.374/.428 with career marks in homers (16) and RBI (96). He was selected to both All-Star teams — the league briefly had both a midseason and postseason All-Star Game at that time — and placed eighth in AL MVP balloting. Rollins hit another 16 homers while batting a personal-best .307 the following season. He again received a few down-ballot MVP votes.

Rollins had one more quality season and posted a cumulative .291/.356/.425 batting line between 1962-64. He placed among the top 30 qualified hitters in both average and on-base percentage during that stretch. His numbers declined sharply in the middle of the decade, perhaps due to recurring knee injuries. Rollins had brief stints with the Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers franchise and Cleveland before retiring after the 1970 season. He’d later spend some time as a scout in the Cleveland organization.

Over 10 seasons in the big leagues, Rollins appeared in a little more than 1000 games. He hit .269/.328/.388 with 77 home runs, 399 RBI and 419 runs scored. MLBTR sends our condolences to his family, friends and loved ones.

Twins Reinstate Willi Castro and Royce Lewis, Option Edouard Julien and Mickey Gasper

By | at

The Twins made some roster moves this morning, reinstating Willi Castro and Royce Lewis from the 10-day injured list and optioning Edouard Julien and Mickey Gasper to Triple-A.

After bursting out of the gate as a rookie in 2023, Julien has struggled badly at the plate. He hit .207 with a 97 wRC+ through his first 58 games last season before the Twins sent him down to Triple-A. However, a pair of demotions that summer didn’t seem to help, as he would go on to hit just .186 with a 49 wRC+ over another 36 MLB games. Despite his poor showing in 2024, a solid spring helped Julien earn a spot on Minnesota’s Opening Day roster, and the injuries to Lewis and Castro helped him earn regular playing time. Unfortunately for Julien, he failed to capitalize on that opportunity. His 2025 slash line looks eerily similar to his disappointing 2024 slash line, and he has already compiled -0.5 FanGraphs WAR. The silver lining is that his Statcast expected metrics are much more promising than they were last year (.337 xwOBA, 57th percentile), but even so, it’s not hard to understand why the Twins would rather the second baseman get consistent at-bats at Triple-A to help him work through his struggles and (hopefully) build back his confidence.

Gasper’s demotion is, admittedly, less newsworthy. The Twins acquired the 29-year-old in a minor trade this past offseason, and this is already the second time they have optioned him in 2025. Versatility is his primary asset, as he has spent time at first base, second base, catcher, and left field for the Twins in 17 games this season. He has hit .176 with a 49 wRC+.

Castro, an All-Star for the first time in 2024, had been on the IL with a right oblique strain since April 24, retroactive to April 21, although he has not played since April 16. The utility man was off to a poor start, batting just .227 with an 89 wRC+. As the Twins’ offense continues to underwhelm, the team will look to a healthy Castro to rediscover the above-average offense that made him such a sneakily valuable player in each of the past two years.

Lewis, meanwhile, will be making his 2025 debut after suffering a hamstring strain in spring training. The young third baseman has shown the potential to be a game-changing bat in the middle of the order; he hit .307 with 17 home runs and a 158 wRC+ in 70 games between 2022-23. Yet, he took a step back offensively last season. His power numbers were still impressive (16 home runs in 82 games), but his batting average dropped substantially, and his overall numbers fell with it. He was still an above-average hitter (108 wRC+), but he didn’t develop into the superstar the Twins were hoping he could be. It certainly didn’t help that injuries, a common theme throughout his first two seasons, continued to plague him in 2024. Thus, as Lewis returns to the field in 2025, the Twins will hope he looks more like his 2022-23 self at the plate and that he can finally put his injury issues behind him.

Twins Notes: Keaschall, Wallner, Lewis, Jeffers

By | at

Top prospect Luke Keaschall provided a spark to a listless Twins lineup upon his initial call to the majors. The 2023 second-rounder has done nothing but hit since moving from Arizona State to pro ball, and the majors were no exception. Through the 22-year-old Keaschall’s first seven games, he hit .368/.538/.526 with more walks (five) than strikeouts (two) in 26 plate appearances. The former Sun Devil also tied a major league record with five stolen bases in his first five MLB games.

Keaschall landed on the injured list after an errant pitch from veteran Kyle Hendricks hit his forearm and resulted in a non-displaced fracture. For the time being, there’s no indication he’ll require surgery, but head trainer Nick Paparesta told the Twins beat last night that Keaschall is likely to miss multiple months nonetheless (link via Dan Hayes of The Athletic). Keaschall will be reevaluated in about one month.

The injury to Keaschall is the latest for a Twins club that has been torched by health troubles this season. Third baseman Royce Lewis has yet to play in a regular-season game. Utilityman Willi Castro is out with an oblique strain. Ace Pablo Lopez missed two weeks with a hamstring strain. Top infield prospect Brooks Lee is healthy now but started on the shelf with a back injury. Relievers Brock Stewart and Michael Tonkin opened the year on the injured list due to hamstring and shoulder strains, respectively. Infielder Jose Miranda struggled early, was optioned to Triple-A, and has since gone on the minor league injured list with a strain in his left hand.

Most of those injuries have been relatively minor in nature. Keaschall is the most significant injury, but slugging corner outfielder Matt Wallner is also looking at a lengthy absence. Via Hayes, Paparesta added that Wallner is dealing with a moderate to severe strain of his hamstring. Wallner only first began light jogging on a treadmill yesterday, two weeks after his initial injury. He’ll be reevaluated next week, but it seems likely that the injury will sideline him well into May, if not longer.

Wallner, 27, is hardly a household name but has emerged as the Twins’ top power threat. The Twin Cities native, selected 39th overall in 2019, floundered through a catastrophically poor start to his 2024 season but mashed for the final three months after being recalled from Triple-A. In 228 plate appearances following last year’s recall, Wallner hit .282/.386/.559 with a dozen homers, 16 doubles and a triple.

A sky-high .410 average on balls in play and an ugly 34% strikeout rate point to plenty of regression in batting average for Wallner, but he draws enough walks and makes enough hard contact that he could be a productive overall hitter even if his average dips into league average territory (.241) or a bit lower. Between last year’s torrid finish and this year’s hot start, Wallner boasts a .278/.383/.540 line (164 wRC+) in 295 plate appearances. He’s walked in more than 10% of those trips to the plate and posted eye-popping batted-ball metrics: 92.4 mph average exit velocity, 16.1% barrel rate, 52.3% hard-hit rate.

With Keaschall and Wallner out for extended periods and injuries at multiple other positions, the Twins have turned to the DFA market to add some depth on the bench. Jonah Bride and Kody Clemens came over in cash swaps with the Marlins and Phillies, respectively, after both were designated for assignment. Both are out of minor league options, so it could be a short stay for one of them on the roster, particularly once Lewis returns. He’s played two Triple-A rehab games already and gone 3-for-6 with a double. A return next week wouldn’t be a surprise.

The Twins could opt to preserve their depth by instead optioning Lee or Edouard Julien so they can get regular at-bats in Triple-A. The ultimate move will come down to health and production among the current infield group. It’s a more straightforward scenario in the outfield, where Harrison Bader — signed to be an oft-used fourth outfielder — will see regular run alongside Byron Buxton and Trevor Larnach.

In general, the Twins’ lineup has begun to emerge from a dormant state. Facing clubs with poor pitching staffs like the White Sox and Angels surely plays a role, but Minnesota is hitting .276/.359/.432 as a team over the past two weeks. Unsurprisingly, they’ve gone 8-4 in that time. They’re still three games under .500, but the lineup is meshing and Lewis’ looming return creates reason for more optimism.

Part of that resurgence has been a blistering hot streak from catcher Ryan Jeffers. Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wrote last week that manager Rocco Baldelli is moving away from the largely even split in playing time between Jeffers and veteran Christian Vazquez. Jeffers is seeing an uptick in at-bats and will shoulder a larger portion of the catching workload. So far, it’s paying off. Jeffers is hitting .308/.426/.538 during this Twins hot streak; that looks more closely in line with the 27-year-old’s terrific 2023 season and strong start to 2024.

A slow finish last year dampened Jeffers’ numbers, but he’s a .247/.331/.449 hitter (120 wRC+) in 885 plate appearances dating back to ’23. Jeffers tells Matthew Leach of MLB.com that he feels some mechanical changes he’s incorporated in recent years have reached the point where he no longer even needs to think about them.

The move away from Vazquez is understandable, particularly at a time when the lineup was struggling. The 34-year-old remains a premier defensive catcher but has limped out of the gate with a .139/.200/.250 output in 14 games and 40 plate appearances. He’s in the final season of a three-year, $30MM contract that hasn’t panned out as the Twins hoped, but Vazquez’s glove is strong enough that he can hold a backup role even with a .218/.261/.318 slash in 710 plate appearances as a Twin. Jeffers, meanwhile, is in his second of three arbitration seasons and can be controlled through 2026.

Twins Sign Matt Canterino To Two-Year Minor League Deal

By | at

The Twins re-signed Matt Canterino to a two-year minor league contract, they informed reporters (including Betsy Helfand of The St. Paul Pioneer-Press). Minnesota had released Canterino, who will miss this season after undergoing shoulder surgery during Spring Training, last week.

That sequence came in response to the righty’s latest in what has been a brutal series of injuries. Minnesota no longer wanted to carry Canterino on the 40-man roster. Injured players cannot go on outright waivers, so they either needed to add him to the major league injured list or release him. Placing him on the major league IL would have required paying him the $760K minimum salary, and there’s a decent chance they would have taken him off the 40-man when the injured list goes away during the offseason anyhow.

Canterino was once one of Minnesota’s most promising young arms. The Rice product ranked in the top half of Baseball America’s ranking of the organization’s top 30 prospects every season between 2020-24. A mid-90s fastball and plus slider gave him a chance at a mid-rotation role or potential leverage work out of the bullpen.

He just hasn’t been able to stay healthy for almost his entire professional career. Canterino battled elbow issues early in his minor league tenure. That was a precursor for 2022 Tommy John surgery. He missed two seasons recovering from that procedure. Minnesota added him to the 40-man roster during the 2022-23 offseason so as not to lose him in the Rule 5 draft, but he hasn’t thrown a regular season pitch since then. They were hopeful that he’d return from the elbow problem this year. The shoulder issue arose during Spring Training and will cost him yet another season.

Canterino has been very effective in his intermittent stints. He has a 1.48 ERA with a 39.1% strikeout rate over 85 career minor league frames. The Twins will be able to see how his stuff looks next year, probably in a relief role, without carrying him on the 40-man. He’ll be entering his age-28 season.

Twins Place Luke Keaschall On 10-Day IL Due To Forearm Fracture

By | at

TODAY: The Twins officially announced that Keaschall has been placed on the 10-day injured list.  His roster spot will be taken by Clemens, as the trade between the Twins and Phillies has now been officially announced.

APRIL 25: Twins rookie infielder Luke Keaschall suffered a non-displaced fracture in his right forearm during tonight’s win over the Angels. The team announced the injury to reporters (including Phil Miller of The Minnesota Star-Tribune and Dan Hayes of The Athletic).

Keaschall was hit by a Kyle Hendricks pitch on the inside of the arm. He stayed in the game to run the bases but was lifted for Mickey Gasper the next time through. Keaschall started tonight at designated hitter, so it wasn’t clear that he suffered an injury until the pinch-hit appearance. It halts a scorching start to the 22-year-old’s big league career. Keaschall has hit .368 with a .538 on-base percentage through his first 26 plate appearances. He has walked five times with just a pair of strikeouts.

Manager Rocco Baldelli quickly bumped Keaschall to the third spot in the Minnesota batting order. This was his fourth consecutive start there. The righty-hitting infielder has raked since entering pro ball as a second-round pick in 2023. He’s a .297/.415/.470 hitter over 662 minor league plate appearances. The bat has quickly put him among the sport’s top 50-100 prospects.

The Twins have been without Royce Lewis all season after a Spring Training hamstring strain. They lost Willi Castro to an oblique strain yesterday. Brooks Lee returned from an IL stint not too long ago. That pushed the scuffling Jose Miranda back to Triple-A. Minnesota has needed to look outside the organization to patch some of the holes. They acquired Jonah Bride from the Marlins last week and are reportedly in agreement to bring in Kody Clemens from the Phillies.

Keaschall is probably headed for an extended stay on the IL. The Twins will presumably shuffle most of their depth infielders through the DH spot, with Clemens an option to play second base on days when Edouard Julien works as the designated hitter.

Twins Acquire Kody Clemens From Phillies

By | at

TODAY: The trade has been officially announced, with the Phillies receiving cash considerations in exchange for Clemens.

APRIL 25: The Phillies are trading infielder Kody Clemens to the Twins, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Philadelphia had designated him for assignment earlier in the week. Minnesota adds infield depth within an hour of losing rookie second baseman Luke Keaschall to a broken arm.

It’s the second DFA infield pickup for the Twins in as many weeks. They made a similar move to bring in corner bat Jonah Bride from Miami. Clemens, a left-handed hitter, has 402 MLB plate appearances under his belt. He owns a .197/.244/.367 slash over parts of four seasons. The Texas product has been far more productive in Triple-A. Clemens has hit .259/.331/.507 in nearly 1300 plate appearances at the top minor league level.

Clemens spent two-plus seasons in Philadelphia. He was included as part of the Gregory Soto/Matt Vierling trade during the 2022-23 offseason. They’d shuttled him on and off the active roster for the first two seasons, but he has now exhausted his minor league options. Philadelphia couldn’t get him back to Triple-A without running him through waivers. While he broke camp as a result, Clemens wasn’t playing enough to make that a worthwhile use of a roster spot. He didn’t start a single game and had come off the bench for just six plate appearances.

There should be a better path to at-bats in Minnesota. The Twins recently lost Willi Castro to the injured list as well. Clemens and Bride are multi-positional infielders off the bench. Neither can really play shortstop, but Clemens could factor at any of the other infield spots and in the corner outfield. He could play some second base when the Twins want to use Edouard Julien as the DH.

They’ll open an active roster spot by placing Keaschall on the injured list. They created a 40-man roster spot by running minor league catcher Diego Cartaya through outright waivers this afternoon.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top