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Twins looking for some relief for their right-handed relief

john shipley, pioneer press
·4 min read

When the Twins sent longtime infielder Jorge Polanco to Seattle for four players in January, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said it was a deal made for the future.

Two of the players were prospects, outfielder Gabriel Garcia and pitcher Darren Bowen, and two were veterans the Twins were hoping would help Minnesota defend its American League Central title this season.

Garcia, 20, and Bowen, 23, are playing productive innings with high-A Cedar Rapids right now, but the veterans — right-handers Justin Topa and Anthony DeSclafani — have yet to pitch an inning for the Twins, who started Wednesday’s game against the Mariners at Target Field two games behind first-place Cleveland in the Central.

DeSclafani, a starter, had surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his right arm on March 30, ending his season before it started. Topa, the guy the Twins really hoped would find a permanent spot in the bullpen, doesn’t appear as close to returning from tendinitis in his left knee as he did last week.

Topa, who made a pair of two-inning appearances with Class AAA St. Paul last weekend, threw a bullpen session on Wednesday at Target Field. Asked if it went well, the right-hander said, “Not really.”

The issue is pain in his left, planting knee.

“I’m still feeling some stuff, feeling it out. Trying to lock in and see what we can get some feedback on,” Topa said. “It was progressing … then (I) felt it again on this last one. We’re just taking it day by day and seeing what the next step is.”

Topa had a nice season for the Mariners last season, going 5-4 with a 2.61 earned-run average. He pitched 75 innings and struck out 61 against 18 walks. The Twins could use another dependable right-hander in the bullpen right now. After a solid inning from Cole Sands, Jay Jackson and Jorge Alcala surrendered a combined seven earned runs on six hits and three walks in Tuesday night’s 10-6 loss to Seattle.

Veteran Brock Stewart, the Twins’ best right-handed reliever outside of Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax when he was healthy — 0.65 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 27⅔ innings — is on injured reserve with shoulder inflammation and not throwing.

On Wednesday morning, the Twins sent Alcala, who threw 48 pitches in two innings Tuesday, back to Class AAA St. Paul and called up veteran right-hander Josh Staumont, a free-agent addition coming off surgery to repair thoracic outlet syndrome last summer.

“Josh has explosive stuff. That’s what he’s been known for, that’s what we’ve seen from him for a long time in KC, that’s what he’s got now,” manager Rocco Baldelli said.

From 2019-21 in Kansas City, Staumont had a 2.93 ERA with 124 strikeouts in 110⅔ major league innings before being bothered by TOS, compression of nerves and blood vessels that causes pain in the neck and shoulder and numbness in fingers. In his last 57⅔ innings with the Royals (2022-23), his ERA ballooned to 6.09.

Before surgery, Staumot said, he couldn’t raise his right arm above his head.

But Staumont, 30, made eight appearances in St. Paul this spring and struck out 16 in 10⅔ innings before joining the Twins.

“I’ve been feeling really good,” he said. “A lot of baseball is just kind of getting the routine of recovery and stuff like that kind of situated, just understanding what you need — especially after the anatomical change. You’re going to have adaptations, and that’s pretty much what the time was for.”

The Twins are asking Staumont to be ready to pitch more than one inning, something he’s not accustomed to, but something he says he’s ready for.

“He’s been throwing the ball good, so we’re bringing him in when he’s in a good spot,” Baldelli said. “And he’s pitching well. He feels good about himself. I think he can help us right now.”

Topa, meanwhile, is waiting for the results of a second magnetic imaging exam on his left knee. He said he pitched last season in Seattle with pain in the knee but “not to this extent.” Already on injured reserve (left patella tendinitis) since spring training, he’s unsure about when he could finally be activated.

“I don’t know,” he said. “We’re exhausting some different avenues here, so hopefully in the next day or two, we’ll get some clarity and see what happens.”

Briefly

Mariners left-hander Tayler Saucedo, injured Tuesday when he landed awkwardly trying to make a play at first base, was placed on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with a hyperextended right knee.

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