Minneapolis – Travis Adams knows what to expect when the Minnesota Twins call him up from Triple-A. They called him up to the majors in early June before a weeknight game at CHS Field, and he showed up at Target Field the next day.
The Twins didn’t end up using him in a weekend series against the Toronto Blue Jays, despite warming up in the bullpen during the later innings of their 6-3 win on Sunday, June 8. Despite the disappointment of his MLB debut being put on hold, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli knew this would not be his only major-league stint this season.
“We had him throw a bullpen at the very end of the game to make sure that he was still sharp because it had been a little while since he’s thrown,” Baldelli said on June 10. “With all that, I expect to see him back in the big leagues again.”
With Bailey Ober going on the IL earlier in the week with a left hip impingement, the stage was all but set for Adams to return to the Twins clubhouse as a starter or reliever. Adams has split between the roles frequently with the St. Paul Saints this season, starting in five of his 19 appearances.
On Saturday, the Twins used him as a reliever and went with a bullpen game Saturday, giving reliever Cole Sands his first start in the big leagues since June 12, 2022, also against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Sands threw a scoreless first and struck out two on just 19 pitches. Lefty reliever Danny Coulombe came in to face Tampa’s big hitters and retired the minimum on only 14 pitches, setting the stage for Adams to pitch the bulk innings starting in the third.
“I had a blast,” said Adams. “I thought I was going to be more nervous, more adrenaline, but I felt like I was pretty calm for what I was expecting. I had a blast out there.”
Calm may not be the adjective Twins fans use when they look at the box score for his MLB debut. Adams allowed five runs on nine hits through four innings of work. However, he got his first MLB strikeout. Adams had a 3.40 FIP and .302 BABIP in Triple-A this season while striking out 21.8% of hitters and walking 7.5%. He’s as close to pitch-to-contact as any pitcher these days.
“It’s the big leagues, so you’re going to make good pitches, and they’re going to hit good pitches, he said. “I was definitely shocked (when Rays DH Jonathan Aranda hit a 1-2 slider in the dirt off him for a double in the fourth).
“I threw it, and I was like, ‘wow!’ That was definitely a welcome moment. Threw a ball almost in the dirt, and he still hit it to the wall. Definitely just learn from it and keep executing pitches and do what I can control.”
Adams always has a smile on his face, even after mixed results in his MLB debut. He achieved a lifelong dream, and nobody can take that away from him. He still went four full innings as he often has done in Triple-A this season and did his part to keep the team within the game.
“That’s exactly what we thought we were going to get out of Travis,” said Baldelli. “That’s what he’s been doing. It just made sense to keep him doing some version of what he’s been doing in St. Paul.”
“The bullpen likes to take pride in helping out wherever we can,” said Sands. “Maybe that’s some stuff that, it’s later in the season now, we really want to start winning some games, but it kind of shows how much we care and how much we want to win.”
One of the best things Adams can take away from his debut is that he’ll always be able to brag about how he got the first batter he faced in the majors out on just two pitches. Rays shortstop Taylor Walls led off the third and hit an 0-1 slider to first baseman Kody Clemens, who tossed the ball over to Adams to get the out at first.
“It was basically a dream come true getting that first out, especially the first batter,” said Adams. “All the hard work I’ve done throughout my life, all the practices, late-night drives back home, definitely felt like it paid off.”
Adams will work on getting more swings and misses against batters after this game. Still, he can keep on smiling, knowing all the years of work paid off to help get his team the win, with many more to come along the way.
