The Minnesota Twins announced Wednesday morning that closer Glen Perkins was going on the disabled list with a left shoulder strain. It’s unclear how severe the issue is for Perkins, whose velocity was a point of contention all spring. Perkins made just two appearances for the Twins this season, averaging 91.3 mph on his fastball. That’s the lowest he’s averaged on the pitch since averaging 89.7 mph as a full-time starter in 2009.
Nevertheless, the in-house favorite for save opportunities is Kevin Jepsen, who filled in for Perkins down the stretch last season with 10 saves and a 1.61 ERA with 8.0 K/9 in 28 innings after the July 31 trade from the Tampa Bay Rays. Jepsen too is off to a tough start, as he’s allowed five hits and three earned runs in 2.2 innings.
Coming up from Triple-A Rochester to replace Perkins on the active roster will be lefty Taylor Rogers, who will make his MLB debut whenever manager Paul Molitor first summons him. Rogers was added to the 40-man roster over the winter, and has worked primarily as a starter (93 appearances, 85 starts) in his five minor league seasons in the Twins organization. The Twins drafted Rogers out of the University of Kentucky — also the alma mater of Alex Meyer and former Twins lefty Andrew Albers — in the 11th round of the 2012 MLB draft.
Rogers’ role is unclear moving forward, but he neutralized left-handed hitters quite well between Triple-A Rochester and the Arizona Fall League last year. Right-handed hitters beat him up a bit — .326/.374/.457 collective line — but lefties hit just .177/.209/.193 with just three extra-base hits (all doubles) against him last year in 202 plate appearances. He could be used as a left-handed specialist, but using him as a long guy could also free up Molitor to use Ryan Pressly in higher-leverage situations. Pressly has six strikeouts in six innings this season, and has yet to allow an earned run.
Rogers will wear No. 55. Here’s who else has worn that number in club history for the Twins:
Neal Cotts – 2015
Chris Colabello – 2013
Matt Capps – 2010-’12
Mike Redmond – 2005-’09
Mike Fetters – 2003
Mark Redman – 1999-2001
Oscar Munoz – 1995
Paul Sorrento – 1989-’90
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Today’s Lineup
- Dozier 2B
- Mauer 1B
- Sano DH
- Plouffe 3B
- Rosario LF
- Escobar SS
- Kepler RF
- Suzuki C
- Buxton CF
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Starting Pitcher – Phil Hughes
Hughes was solid in his first start of the season, but ultimately took the loss against the Orioles. Hughes was shutting out the O’s through the first 5.2 innings, but allowed a home run to Manny Machado in the sixth. The first two batters reached in the seventh before a rain delay, and Trevor May allowed both to score to put the Twins behind 3-2 in an eventual 4-2 loss.
Hughes’ fastball averaged just 89.9 mph against the Orioles — down from 92.1 mph in 2014 and 90.7 last year — but it’s still far too early to read much into that. PITCHf/x says Hughes threw a lot of cutters and a curve/knuckle curve roughly a quarter of the time. The evolution of his repertoire will be fascinating as the season goes on, especially if his velocity stays down.
The Twins are facing left-hander Carlos Rodon. Rodon, the No. 3 pick in the 2014 draft — the same year the Twins took Nick Gordon fifth — faced the Twins twice in his rookie season last year. He was 0-1, but allowed just two earned runs in nine innings with six strikeouts and four walks. He throws plenty hard (93.4 mph average fastball last year), but the keys for him are establishing his nasty slider — which opponents hit .150/.231/.238 against last season — and working within the strike zone. He walked 4.6 batters per nine innings last year, but walked just one hitter in seven innings in his season debut against the A’s last time out.
Wednesday night marks Max Kepler’s second MLB start, and first of the season. Kepler drawing the start as a left-handed hitter against a tough lefty pitcher suggests Molitor has confidence in his young hitter to stay in there against legit big-league stuff. That hasn’t always been the case for Kepler, who carried just a .365 OPS against left-handed pitchers in 2013 between Cedar Rapids and the Arizona Fall League. Kepler said he re-worked his approach against left-handed pitchers, keeping his shoulder in but also understanding that his passive approach led to some pitchers attacking him with hittable first-pitch fastballs. No matter the alteration, it has worked for Kepler, who mauled lefties to the tune of a .319/.390/.473 line between Double-A — where he won Southern League MVP — and with the Twins in a brief cup of coffee last year.
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Around the League
A couple of former Twins are in the news with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Shortstop Pedro Florimon was outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis after being designated for assignment. He has the right to refuse the assignment, but it is unclear at this point if he’ll chose to do so. Also in the news for the Pirates is Francisco Liriano, who was scratched from his scheduled start on Wednesday with right hamstring discomfort. He’s being replaced by veteran swingman Ryan Vogelsong in that start against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.
MLB reporter Jon Heyman reported Wednesday that Kyle Lohse is being pursued by both the Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles. The 37-year-old Lohse, who pitched for the Twins from 2001-2006, was among the worst pitchers in the league last year, going 5-13 for the Milwaukee Brewers with a 5.85 ERA and 1.46 WHIP.
