The Minnesota Twins had an open roster spot from the Fernando Rodney trade on Thursday, and added another by placing left-handed starter Adalberto Mejia on the 10-day disabled list with a left wrist strain.
READ: Brandon Warne’s breakdown of the Rodney trade
Mejia suffered the strain during his start in Cleveland on Tuesday.
To fill those spots, the Twins recalled right-handed reliever Tyler Duffey and first baseman/outfielder Tyler Austin from Triple-A Rochester.
Duffey has really struggled in limited big-league exposure this season — 6.35 ERA/6.59 FIP in 11.1 innings — but has been terrific at Triple-A Rochester, posting a 2.72 ERA over 27 appearances/53 innings with a 55-20 K/BB ratio and 1.15 WHIP.
Austin, who was acquired in the Lance Lynn trade last month from the New York Yankees, has hit the ground running with Rochester, homering three times in nine games while hitting .263/.300/.605. For the season, Austin has played 35 games at Triple-A between Rochester and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, hitting .255/.311/.547.
Austin has also played 34 games in the big leagues with the Yankees, hitting .223/.280/.471 with eight homers and a 53-8 K/BB ratio. He’s a career .230/.287/.459 hitter in the big leagues, with 51 career starts at first base and three in right field.
Austin will likely get some looks at DH and first base — most likely at the expense of Logan Morrison — and despite his modest big-league numbers has hit a robust .292/.365/.596 against left-handed pitching.
Duffey will most likely work in middle relief, with the closer position completely up in the air after Rodney’s departure. Addison Reed has the most experience in the role with 125 career saves, but he’s in the midst of a tough season (4.74 ERA/4.89 FIP in 43.2 innings). Trevor Hildenberger has been the team’s most consistently good reliever, but he’s hit the skids of late with an 11.45 ERA over his last 12 appearances dating back to mid-July.
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