Giants Place Daniel Susac On IL, Select Eric Haase
The Giants announced that catcher Daniel Susac has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 20th, due to right elbow neuritis. He’ll miss about two to three weeks, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Catcher Eric Haase has been selected to take his place on the active roster. To open a 40-man spot for Haase, right-hander José Buttó has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Susac was picked up in the Rule 5 draft, via an intermediary. The Twins took him from the Athletics and then flipped him to the Giants for minor leaguer Miguel Caraballo. The Giants had Patrick Bailey lined up as their catcher but Susac and Haase battled for the backup job.
In the end, Susac won the job and has been on a tear. He has a .478/.500/.652 line through his first 24 big league plate appearances. He wasn’t going to hit like that forever, especially with a .550 batting average on balls in play, but the Giants really needed that. Most of the rest of the lineup has been struggling, including Bailey. He is considered by many to be the best defensive catcher in the game but has never been much of a threat from the batter’s box. He has a .226/.283/.331 line in his career and is at .151/.211/.151 this year.
Susac’s strong showing and the general underperformance of the lineup, including Bailey, were seemingly leading to more playing time for Susac. That will be on pause for the next few weeks. Though Susac was due for some regression, it’s still not ideal for him to hit the IL when the club is struggling to score runs.
Haase will jump onto the roster and see if he can make up some of the slack. When Susac won the Opening Day job, Haase was granted his release but then quickly re-signed on a new minor league deal. He has appeared in nine Triple-A games this year with a .250/.300/.472 line.
His best attribute is his power. He had a 22-homer season with the Tigers back in 2021 and has 48 home runs in 1,224 career plate appearances. However, his offense is otherwise poor. His 30.7% career strikeout rate is quite high and he’s been above 40% since the start of 2024. His 6.2% career walk rate is also subpar. Despite the long balls, his career .228/.278/.396 line translates to an 85 wRC+, indicating he’s been 15% worse than the league average hitter.
That’s not necessarily disastrous for a catcher since backstops are usually about 10% below the rest of the league. For a backup catcher, the threshold of respectability is even lower. Unfortunately, Haase isn’t considered a strong defender. He has a minus-12 grade from Defensive Runs Saved in his career behind the plate. Statcast has considered him around par in terms of throwing but below average with blocking and framing.
Haase is out of options and could get squeezed back off the roster when Susac comes back. For now, he’ll try to support Bailey as the Giants try to find some momentum. They’re currently 9-13, with the Mets the only club with fewer runs scored so far. The Giants are hosting the 16-6 Dodgers for a three-game set beginning tonight.
Photo courtesy of Geoff Burke, Imagn Images
Mariners Designate Casey Legumina For Assignment
The Mariners announced that they have recalled right-hander Alex Hoppe. The righty will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. In a corresponding move, Seattle has designated righty Casey Legumina for assignment. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reported the moves prior to the official announcement.
Hoppe, 27, was just acquired from the Red Sox in November. That was the Rule 5 protection deadline. The Sox apparently didn’t have roster space for him, so they sent him to the Mariners in exchange for minor league catcher Luke Heyman. The M’s immediately selected him to their 40-man so that he wouldn’t be available in the Rule 5.
He started the season on optional assignment at Triple-A and is out to a great start with his new organization, having thrown eight scoreless innings. Of the 30 batters he has faced, he struck out 12 of them, a 40% clip. He also induced grounders on two thirds of ball in play. He has issued three walks, a 10% pace.
That’s a small sample of size of work. Last year’s numbers were somewhat similar but not quite as impressive. He tossed 61 1/3 innings across Double-A and Triple-A with a 4.55 ERA, 26.4% strikeout rate, 12.3% walk rate and 54.7% ground ball rate.
His fastball averages in the upper-90s and he pairs that with a high-80s slider he has been throwing more than half the time so far this year, while also mixing in a cutter and a changeup. The M’s will give him a chance to see if his stuff plays against major league hitters. He has a full slate of options and can be easily sent back down to Triple-A if he scuffles, or just if they need some fresh arms.
For now, the roster casualty is Legumina. He made his major league debut with the Reds but that club designated him for assignment in January of 2025. The Mariners sent cash to Cincinnati in order to get Legumina. His first season with the Mariners didn’t go especially well. He made 48 appearances for the big league club, throwing 49 2/3 innings with a 5.62 ERA. His 25.1% strikeout rate was a bit better than average but his 11.4% walk rate was a few ticks worse than par.
Due to those struggles, he was sent to the minors a few times and burned his final option year, leaving him out of options here in 2026. That put him on thin ice in terms of his roster spot. Thus far, he has thrown 11 2/3 innings over eight appearances. His 4.63 ERA is about a run better than last year but his strikeout rate is down to 17% in that small sample. The lower ERA is mostly due to the fact that none of the fly balls he has allowed have cleared the fence, a fact that wouldn’t have been sustainable.
His velocity is also down on most of his pitches. His four-seamer averaged 94.3 miles per hour last year but is down to 93.5 so far this year. His sinker has gone from 93.8 to 93 mph while his slider has dropped from 81.1 to 79.7 mph.
Legumina’s struggles and his out-of-options status have pushed him into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so Seattle could take as long as five days to explore trade interest, but they could also place him on waivers sooner than that. If he were to clear outright waivers, he would stick with the Mariners as non-roster depth. Since he doesn’t have a previous career outright or at least three years of service time, he would not have the right to elect free agency.
Photo courtesy of David Frerker, Imagn Images
Mets Planning To Recall Christian Scott For Thursday Start
The Mets will recall righty Christian Scott from Triple-A Syracuse to start Thursday’s series finale against the Twins, manager Carlos Mendoza tells the team’s beat (link via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo). It’ll be Scott’s first big league action since undergoing Tommy John surgery during the summer of 2024. He’ll square off against Twins top starter Joe Ryan.
Scott, now 26 years old, once ranked as the organization’s top pitching prospect and one of the top prospects in the entire sport. He made his major league debut in 2024 and posted a 4.56 ERA with 19.8% strikeout rate and 6.1% walk rate in his first nine starts in the Mets’ rotation. He’d previously tossed 42 1/3 innings with a 2.76 ERA, 33.5% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate at the Triple-A level. His surgery didn’t take place until September, so he was never going to be an option for the Mets in 2025.
At this point, Scott is 19 months removed from going under the knife. He held opponents to three runs in six spring innings and has tossed 13 2/3 innings in Syracuse so far in 2026. His 5.27 ERA isn’t much to look at, but Scott has set down 29.3% of his opponents against a microscopic 3.4% walk rate. His 95.3 mph average four-seamer is actually up about a mile per hour over his prior levels. He’s pairing that pitch with a slider and splitter — the same three-pitch mix he featured prior to his elbow injury.
Outside of Nolan McLean, the Mets’ rotation is something of a mess at the moment. Freddy Peralta has been solid but not as effective as expected when trading a pair of top-100 prospects for the final season of his contract. David Peterson‘s 5.40 ERA is tied heavily to a sky-high .373 average on balls in play, but the results are discouraging nonetheless. Clay Holmes has a sub-2.00 ERA but is working with diminished strikeout and walk rates; metrics like FIP (4.18) and SIERA (4.23) feel he’s in line for a change of fortune. Lefty Sean Manaea, in the second season of a three-year deal guaranteeing him $75MM (with some notable deferrals), has been relegated to a long relief/swing role.
Most concerning of all is right-hander Kodai Senga, whom the Mets optioned to Triple-A last summer amid a series of struggles that looks to have been rekindled. The 33-year-old started the season in strong fashion (four runs, 16-to-5 K/BB ratio in his first 11 2/3 innings) but has lasted only 5 2/3 innings over his past two starts. In that time, he’s been shelled for 14 runs (13 earned) on 14 hits and five walks with only six strikeouts (17.1%).
For the time being, Mendoza indicated that Senga would stay in the rotation. His start date will be pushed back to Saturday, however. Peterson, meanwhile, will pitch out of the bullpen during the upcoming turn through the rotation (via SNY’s Chelsea Janes). It doesn’t seem that move is permanent, but with the Mets mired in a calamitous 11-game losing streak, they’re pulling some levers to try to change the team’s fortunes and avoid the doomsday scenario of digging an April hole that’s simply too large to escape.
The tumult in the Mets’ rotation could pave the way for Scott to carve out a lasting spot. His workload will probably be monitored closely this season, but the Mets can find ways to try to manage that if he’s pitching like one of the team’s five best starters. From a service time vantage point, Scott only needs 56 days on the major league roster or injured list this season to cross from one to two years of service. Doing so would put him on track for arbitration following the 2028 season and free agency following the 2030 campaign. He’s currently in the second of his three minor league option years.
Astros Select Daniel Johnson, Designate Christian Roa For Assignment
The Astros announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Daniel Johnson. He takes the active roster spot of fellow outfielder Taylor Trammell, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left groin strain. To open a 40-man spot, right-hander Christian Roa has been designated for assignment.
Houston has been infested with injury bugs. Trammell is now the 16th Astro on the IL. Trammell was just added to the roster a little over a week ago in response to the Jake Meyers injury. Since then, Joey Loperfido has also hit the IL, dealing another blow to the outfield. Now Trammell himself is injured, adding another outfielder to the injury pile.
Cam Smith is the only guy who has stayed in the regular outfield mix all year. Yordan Alvarez has been there but mostly serving as the designated hitter. Dustin Harris was just claimed off waivers a few days ago. Brice Matthews and Shay Whitcomb are on the bench and have been getting occasional starts.
Johnson, 30, was just signed to a minor league deal a few days ago in response to all these injuries. He had been released by the Marlins from a minor league deal but is now quickly in the majors with Houston. He hasn’t hit in the majors, with a .196/.243/.322 line in 152 scattered plate appearances in his career. He has been better at Triple-A, with a .255/.321/.448 line at that level over the years, though he has put up a rough .100/.143/.150 line so far this year.
Even if he doesn’t provide much with the bat, he can be useful in other ways. His sprint speed was ranked in the 94th percentile of qualified big leaguers last year and his glovework has been well regarded.
The center field job is currently up for grabs. Meyers was getting most of the playing time there until he hit the IL, which is when Trammell took over. Loperfido also had a few scattered starts there but he’s now on the IL as well. Matthews is the only other guy to get a start in center this year, so perhaps he will get more time, but he has a .151/.225/.384 line in his career so far.
Between Matthews and Johnson, the Astros can probably ride the hot hand, if one emerges. As the injured guys get healthy, Johnson is out of options and would have to be bumped off the 40-man if he gets nudged off the active roster.
With the Astros scrambling to cover center field, they have had to bump a few pitchers off the roster, even though they are dealing with huge injury issues there as well. J.P. France was designated for assignment and outrighted in recent days and now Roa has been sent into DFA limbo as well.
Roa, 27, was signed to a minor league deal in the offseason. He cracked the Opening Day roster but was shuffled to Triple-A and back as the Astros tried to keep fresh arms in the big leagues. He threw 8 2/3 innings in the majors, allowing five earned runs via 10 hits, seven walks and hitting three batters while striking out six.
Now that he’s in DFA limbo, he can be there for a week at most. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Astros could take five days to explore trade interest, but they could also place him on waivers sooner than that.
A former second-round pick of the Reds, he has a 4.52 ERA in 171 1/3 Triple-A innings. He did show improvement last year, as he got moved to a relief role by the Marlins and put up a 2.83 ERA in Triple-A. His 26.1% strikeout rate was good but he also walked 11.4% of batters faced. The ERA got a lot of help from a .225 batting average on balls in play and 81.5% strand rate.
He cleared waivers at the end of the season, which led to him becoming a free agent and signing with the Astros. He still has options and could perhaps be stashed by a team in need of extra depth but he also might clear waivers again, at which point he would have the right to elect free agency.
Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images
Rockies Claim Blas Castaño, Designate Luis Peralta For Assignment
The Rockies have claimed right-handed Blas Castaño off waivers from the Mariners, according to announcements from both clubs. The righty had been designated for assignment by the Mariners a week ago. The Rockies have optioned him to Triple-A Albuquerque. In a corresponding move, left-hander Luis Peralta has been designated for assignment.
Castaño, 27, was originally an international signing of the Yankees out of the Dominican Republic. He was released in the summer of 2023 and scooped up by the Mariners. He impressed his new club in 2024, posting a 4.38 earned run average in 125 1/3 minor league innings, spending most of that in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He was added to the 40-man roster in November of 2024 to keep him from reaching minor league free agency.
He has spent the past year-plus as a depth arm for the Mariners without being needed much. He has only made one big league appearance, which was a three-inning relief outing in May of last year.
He tossed 126 2/3 innings for Triple-A Tacoma last year with a 5.19 ERA, in the unfriendly confines of the PCL. His 17.8% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate weren’t especially strong but he did induce grounders on 46% of balls in play. So far this year, he has been pitching out of the bullpen, throwing 6 1/3 innings over six appearances for the Rainiers. His 1.42 ERA in that small sample looks nice but his strikeout and ground ball rates are around the same level as last year.
The Mariners bumped him off their roster but the Rockies will take a shot on him. They may be attracted to his diverse pitch mix, something that has seemingly become an organizational preference. Statcast categorizes him as a five-pitch guy. He doesn’t throw his four-seamer often, leading instead with his sinker, in addition to a slider, cutter and changeup. His fastball and sinker average around 94 miles per hour, the cutter around 90, the changeup in the high-80s and the slider in the low-80s.
The Rockies could stretch him back out or keep in a relief role. They need pitching either way. They had a 5.99 ERA as a team last year, easily worst in the majors. They have a 4.40 mark so far this year, bumping them into them out of the bottom ten of MLB clubs, but in a much smaller number of games. Whether he’s working as a starter or a reliever, the Rockies can keep him at Triple-A until he’s needed. He can still be optioned for the remainder of this season and another season as well.
Peralta, 25, was acquired from the Pirates in the 2024 deadline deal which sent Jalen Beeks to Pittsburgh. Peralta, the younger brother of Freddy Peralta, showed some potential around the time of that trade but his stock has fallen.
Initially a starter, he was moved to a relief role by the Pirates. Between the Bucs and the Rockies, he tossed 47 2/3 minor league innings in 2024 with a 0.94 ERA. His 11.2% walk rate was high but he struck out 40.1% of opponents and induced grounders at a 48.8% clip. He also posted a 0.73 ERA in his first 12 1/3 big league innings.
2025 was a big step back, as he posted an ERA above 9.00 in both the majors and the minors. His 28% strikeout rate in Triple-A was still good but a big drop, while his walk rate climbed all the way up to 15.4%. In the majors, his 17.8% walk rate was worse than in the minors and also higher than his 15.8% strikeout rate, with both of those figures being well worse than average. So far this year, he has thrown 7 1/3 innings in Triple-A with a 31.1% strikeout rate but a 28.9% walk rate and 14 earned runs allowed.
Those struggles have nudged him off Colorado’s roster. DFA limbo can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Rockies could take as long as five days to explore trade interest. His recent numbers are obviously not good but perhaps some clubs see a path to getting him back to the dominant form he showed in 2024. He still has options and could be sent to the minors if any club acquires him in the coming days.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
Red Sox Place Sonny Gray On Injured List
April 21st: This is now official, with Gray placed on the IL with a right hamstring strain and Samaniego recalled.
April 20th: The Red Sox will place Sonny Gray on the 15-day injured list tomorrow, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive. The veteran righty left this morning’s start with right hamstring tightness and is slated for an MRI on Tuesday. Rookie southpaw Tyler Samaniego will be recalled as the corresponding move to give Boston an extra reliever for the next few games.
Although the Sox won’t know the severity of Gray’s injury until tomorrow, they’ve expressed optimism. The pitcher and skipper Alex Cora each said they don’t believe it’s a serious injury. Gray missed time with strains of the same hamstring in 2022 and ’24. That history adds some confidence to his feel that this isn’t a major issue but also incentivizes the Sox to be cautious. He’ll be eligible to return on May 6.
Gray’s first season in Boston has been a mixed bag. He owns a 4.30 earned run average with a much diminished 13% strikeout rate over 23 innings. Gray struggled in his team debut against Cincinnati, rebounded with consecutive quality starts against San Diego and Milwaukee, then was knocked around for five runs over four innings in Minnesota last week. He had allowed one run over 2 2/3 innings in today’s start.
The early exit forced the Sox to lean heavily on their bullpen. They used seven relievers to hang onto an eventual 8-6 win over Detroit. Long man Jack Anderson, who threw three innings and 41 pitches yesterday, was the only reliever who didn’t get into today’s game. Boston has divisional series against the Yankees, Orioles and Blue Jays before their next off day on April 30. Samaniego hasn’t pitched since Friday, so he should be available for a couple innings tomorrow. He was just optioned back to Triple-A last week but can be recalled to replace an injured pitcher.
Boston’s schedule will require them to turn to a fifth starter this weekend unless they want to run a bullpen game. Top prospect Payton Tolle seems the logical candidate after making a late-season debut in 2025. The big lefty has recorded 19 strikeouts while allowing eight runs (five earned) through 15 Triple-A frames this year.
Tolle hasn’t pitched since April 12. Cotillo notes that the Sox scratched Tolle from his Triple-A start over the weekend in case he was needed at the MLB level with uncertainty about potential weather postponements and doubleheaders. Connelly Early, Ranger Suárez and Brayan Bello are lined up for the series against the Yankees. Boston hasn’t announced a probable starter for Friday’s opener with Baltimore, but Garrett Crochet would be on regular rest for that outing. Gray’s next turn would have come on Saturday.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Steve Adams
- Good morning! We’ll get going at 1pm CT, but as always, feel free to ask questions ahead of time.
- Good afternoon! Let’s get started a little arly.
- Early, even.
Green Monster
- Any chance someone other than Tanner Scott will pick up all the Dodgers’ saves with Diaz going on the IL?
Steve Adams
- I’d imagine Alex Vesia and Blake Treinen get some chances as well
squinky
- Will Hoffman be the jays closer much longer?
Steve Adams
- Lots of early closer questions. I can tell fantasy season is in full swing! Ha
- Hoffman has struck out 45% of the opponents he’s faced. I know he had the one really bad outing and another two-run hiccup, but yeah, he’s going to hold onto it as long as he’s missing bats anywhere close to this level. He faced four hitters last night and fanned three of them in a scoreless frame.
- Can I be an “ace” while Hunter Brown is out?
Steve Adams
- They don’t even need him to be an ace — they just need someone (multiple someones) to be passable, credible starters.I don’t think Arrighetti has the command to consistently perform like a mid-rotation arm, and it’s a little worrying that his velo’s down a bit. He’s a fourth/fifth starter at best for me, but even consistent fouth starter production would be big for Houston right now
David
- Cade Horton will be out for about 16 months following Tommy John surgery. Will this affect his timeline for becoming arbitration eligible and then a free agent?
Steve Adams
- No, he’ll accrue service time on the major league injured list that whole time.
Boys in Blue
- If they could all get and stay healthy, which TWO are must keepers and which two are likely trade bait? Gavin Stone, Emmet Sheehan, River Ryan, Roki Sasaki, Landon Knack, Justin Wrobleski, Bobby Miller
Steve Adams
- Sheehan and Roki. I know the latter has struggled, but we saw the bullpen upside last October and the raw stuff/talent is the highest of the bunch.You can take your pick of the others … I like Wrobleski well enough but he lacks the ceiling of a Sasaki or Sheehan. I have minimal faith in Stone staying healthy. I don’t think you’re getting much/anything for Miller at this point.
ZacharyA
- What’s a small-ticket item you’d personally like to see in the next CBA?
Steve Adams
- All draft picks eligible to be traded
- Does that count as small-ticket? I suppose relative to the salary cap/floor or an international draft, it feels “small”-ish? Maybe that’s too large, but it’s so silly to me that it’s not allowed.
Orioles Designate Sam Huff For Assignment
The Orioles announced Tuesday that catcher Sam Huff has been designated for assignment. His roster spot will go to catcher Adley Rutschman, who’s returning from a brief stay on the 10-day injured list due to a minor ankle injury.
Huff was just selected to the big league roster last week. He appeared in three games with Baltimore, going 2-for-9 with a double, an RBI and five strikeouts in nine plate appearances. With Rutschman back from the injured list, however, the O’s can turn catching duties back over to their Opening Day tandem of Rutschman and prospect Samuel Basallo.
Huff, 28, signed a minor league deal with the O’s in January. The former Rangers top prospect has now played in parts of six big league seasons and slashed a respectable .246/.299/.427 with a dozen homers in 281 trips to the batter’s box. That’s roughly league-average offense, by measure of wRC+, and more than 10% better than the standard catcher. However, Huff’s output has come in spite of a colossal 36.3% strikeout rate. He’s needed a .354 average on balls in play just to get to league-average with the bat. As such, he’s highly unlikely to sustain his current pace.
On the defensive side of things, Huff has solid framing grades in his limited major league work. He’s struggled with blocking balls in the dirt and controlling the run game. The former seventh-round pick has just an 18.5% caught-stealing rate in his career and has been charged with eight passed balls in 527 innings behind the dish.
Baltimore will have five days to trade Huff or place him on outright waivers. (The latter seems likelier.) Waivers would be another 48-hour process, so the outcome of today’s DFA will be known within a week. If he clears waivers, Huff could be assigned outright to Triple-A Norfolk, where he hit .156/.250/.168 in 36 plate appearances before being summoned to the big leagues. However, since he’s previously been outrighted in the past, he’d have the right to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency.
Twins, Luis García Agree To Minor League Deal
The Twins and veteran right-handed reliever Luis García are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune. He’ll report to their Triple-A club in St. Paul for the time being. García is repped by agents Larry Reynolds, Rosie Lopez-Herrera and Noah Herrera.
García, 39, opened the season with the same Mets team against whom the Twins will open a road series tonight. He signed a one-year, $1.75MM contract in the offseason but was cut loose after only six appearances. In that time, García was knocked around for six runs (five earned) on 11 hits and a pair of walks with four strikeouts. The resulting 7.11 ERA wasn’t pretty, but García posted a hearty 3.42 earned run average just last year between the Dodgers, Nats and Angels. In 55 1/3 frames last season, García fanned 20.9% of his opponents, issued walks at an 11.2% clip and kept 49.7% of batted balls against him on the ground.
While last year’s results were generally solid, García’s early work with the Mets did raise some red flags. His average sinker velocity plummeted from 96.9 mph in 2025 to a flat 94 mph in 2026. His splitter and changeup experienced similar velocity drops. He still induced chases at a massive 46% rate and posted a strong swinging-strike rate, but the Mets were apparently disheartened enough by the nearly three mile-per-hour drop in his sinker to quickly move on.
The Twins can use all the help and experience they can get in the bullpen. Minnesota’s 2025 trade deadline sell-off centered around dismantling what had been one of the game’s best relief corps in order to bring in a host of prospects and controllable young big leaguers. The Twins then did little to address the ‘pen in the offseason, with their primary adds being Taylor Rogers (on a one-year, $2MM deal), Anthony Banda (in a small trade after he’d been designated for assignment by the Dodgers) and Eric Orze (in a trade with the Rays).
Predictably, the Twins have had one of the worst bullpens in baseball this year. Minnesota relievers rank 23rd in the game with a 5.07 earned run average, but there’s reason to think even that might be the product of some good fortune. The Twins’ bullpen has the fourth-worst strikeout rate in MLB. They’re tied for the third-slowest average fastball (93.4 mph) and have the third-worst swinging-strike rate (8.7%) of any relief corps in the game.
Adding a 39-year-old García to the mix isn’t going to fix that collection of issues, but given the righty’s 3.86 ERA from 2021-25, it’s not a stretch to think he could right the ship and help a bullpen that generally lacks experience. García’s velocity is down this year, but there’s little harm in taking a nearly free look at a veteran reliever who, in addition to that 3.86 ERA over the past five seasons, has punched out a solid 22.3% of his opponents against a sharp 7.8% walk rate and a huge 53% ground-ball rate.
Twins Promote Kendry Rojas, Activate Royce Lewis
April 21: The Twins formally announced that Rojas has been recalled for his MLB debut and that Funderburk has been placed on the paternity list. Minnesota also formalized its previously reported placement of righty Mick Abel on the 15-day IL due to elbow inflammation. To take his spot on the active roster, the Twins reinstated third baseman Royce Lewis from the injured list.
At least for now, Prielipp has not been added to the big league roster, so it seems he’ll remain on the taxi squad. Minnesota’s Wednesday starter is still listed as TBD, so perhaps that could go to Prielipp or to Rojas — depending on how tonight’s game plays out.
April 19: The Twins will promote left-hander Kendry Rojas from Triple-A to the active roster prior to Tuesday’s game with the Mets, according to Declan Goff and Darren Wolfson of SKOR North. Rojas was already added to the 40-man roster last November in advance of the Rule 5 Draft, and Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune writes that the corresponding 26-man roster move is Kody Funderburk‘s placement on the paternity list.
In addition, left-hander Connor Prielipp will also be joining the Twins for the start of their series with the Mets, as per The Athletic’s Dan Hayes. It isn’t an official call-up yet, as Prielipp is only part of the taxi squad. Prielipp joined Rojas as two of the six 40-man additions Minnesota made back in November, so the Twins would just have to make another 26-man roster move if Prielipp is officially promoted.
Both Rojas and Prielipp will be making their Major League debuts whenever they appear in a game. In Rojas’ case, this might just be a cup of coffee while Funderburk is absent, though the Twins’ relief corps has struggled enough that adding a raw but talented young arm could help spark the pen. Funderburk, Taylor Rogers, and Anthony Banda are the bullpen’s current trio of left-handers, and Banda in particular has gotten off to a rough start in 2026.
Tuesday’s game in New York begins a stretch of 13 games in 13 days for the Twins, so it is possible Rojas or Prielipp might receive a spot start in order to help preserve the rotation. The club could look to use either southpaw as a traditional starter or as a long reliever, or perhaps Minnesota could deploy a piggyback with Rojas and Prielipp paired with another starter.
Rojas missed time due to a hamstring injury this year and has only pitched 7 1/3 total innings, though the 23-year-old has yet to allow a run in that small sample size. (Six innings were with Triple-A St. Paul, and 1 1/3 IP were with A-ball Fort Myers on a rehab assignment.) In those 7 1/3 frames, Rojas has posted seven strikeouts, but also four walks. Over 38 1/3 career innings at the Triple-A level, Rojas has a 14.06% walk rate, along with a 20.31% strikeout rate and a 6.10 ERA.
How well Rojas can harness his control appears to the chief question facing the lefty’s future as a viable big league arm. Baseball America ranks Rojas as the eighth-best prospect in the Twins’ farm system and MLB Pipeline has him tenth, with both outlets noting that he projects as a back-end rotation arm if he remains a starting pitcher. As per BA, Rojas “has a balanced arsenal with all his pitches projecting as at least average,” though he doesn’t have a true plus pitch. His fastball might be his top offering, as the pitch usually sits around 95mph and Nightengale writes that Rojas hit the 99mph threshold during his time in St. Paul.
The Blue Jays landed Rojas as an international signing in 2020, and his time in Toronto’s farm system was hampered by lat, shoulder, and abdominal injuries. Prior to last summer’s trade deadline, the Jays shipped Rojas and outfielder Alan Roden to the Twins in perhaps the most surprising move of Minnesota’s deadline fire sale, as controllable reliever Louis Varland and Ty France went the other way. Varland immediately became a critical piece of Toronto’s pen, but Rojas and Roden fit the Twins’ trade model of obtaining players that were at or close to big league readiness.
Prielipp is a homegrown product, selected by the Twins in the second round of the 2022 draft. BA ranked him as the 96th-best prospect in baseball prior to the 2026 season and slotted him fourth on their list of Twins prospects, while Pipeline put Prielipp fifth. Both outlets give 60-grades to the southpaw’s changeup and slider, and Prielipp generates a ton of spin on the latter pitch. Prielipp also has a mid-90s fastball that can hit 98mph.
After reaching Triple-A ball for the first time last season, Prielipp had some struggles but has now looked sharper over 15 2/3 innings for St. Paul in 2026. Over 36 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball, Prielipp has a 3.93 ERA, a 30.13% strikeout rate, and a 13.46% walk rate, so control is also a concern on his end. Staying healthy has been Prielipp’s largest issue, as he underwent a Tommy John surgery in college at Alabama and then an internal brace surgery that sidelined him for big chunks of the 2023-24 seasons. Prielipp has thrown only 128 1/3 total innings of minor league ball.