Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Fresh off high vibes from a four-game sweep against the Detroit Tigers, and a series victory against the Boston Red Sox, the Minnesota Twins tumbled back down to earth. Swept by the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend, two of the final three games saw an expectedly leaky bullpen blow late leads.
On Sunday manager Derek Shelton turned to rookie Andrew Morris in just his second big league appearance. Rather than use the traditional starting pitcher as a long reliever, he opted to have him work in leverage for a two-inning save.
Andrew Morris looking to finish a second inning.
Pete Maki goes out.
Shelton doesn’t make a move.
Bullpen explodes again.
The Twins manager has very little in relief, but he’s pulling all the wrong levers. pic.twitter.com/DboeTKk25c
— Ted (@tlschwerz) April 19, 2026
Morris threw just 27 of his 47 pitches for strikes, and Shelton didn’t remove him in a bases loaded spot that allowed the Reds to take the lead. Another blow to an already bad bullpen, reinforcements will be necessary in New York. It sounds as though the next man up will be another top prospect, Kendrys Rojas.
Kendry Rojas joining Minnesota Twins
When the Minnesota Twins traded Louie Varland to the Toronto Blue Jays last summer it was because they wanted fringe top-100 prospect Kendry Rojas. The hard-throwing lefty then struggled at Triple-A, and began this season injured. Because the pitching staff is already running out of options, Declan Goff (Skor North) and Darren Wolfson (KSTP) are reporting that he’s the next man up.
It sounds like Kendry Rojas is being called up for his MLB debut, sources tell @DWolfsonKSTP and me. Corresponding move TBD. #MNTwins https://t.co/oNXmz9UuUF
— Declan Goff (@DexsTweets) April 20, 2026
Rojas began the year on the injured list for Triple-A St. Paul after suffering a hamstring strain during Spring Training. He made a single appearance for Single-A Fort Myers (1.1 IP 2 H 2 R 0 ER 2 BB 2 K) before rejoining the Saints.
Through two outings with the Saints, one of which was a start and one where he entered in the 6th inning, Rojas has gone six scoreless. He has allowed four hits while walking two and striking out five.
Two appearances this season isn’t much to lean into, and he struggled at Triple-A last year allowing 31 runs (26 earned) across 32 1/3 innings. However, the Twins have remained internally steadfast on Rojas’ upside and are ready to get a look. While they think the lefty can be a starter, his stuff looks destined for the bullpen.
Kendry Rojas with 2 perfect innings and 3 strikeouts in his @Twins Spring Training debut ⛽️#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/jrlztm0jlN
— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) February 22, 2026
This season Rojas has averaged 97.1 mph on his fastball while throwing it 52.1% of the time. He pairs it with a slider and changeup that both sit in the upper-80’s. Realistically, Shelton trying to see if Morris could handle the leverage spot against the Reds may open a door for Rojas to assume that role either now or later on this season.
A corresponding move still needs to take place, and the Twins don’t need to make that official until pregame on Tuesday. The safe assumption would be a 1-for-1 swap sending Morris back both because of his performance and downtime after throwing nearly 50 pitches on Sunday.
Minnesota is in New York for a three game series against a Mets team losers of 11 straight. They then head to Tampa Bay for a series with the Rays at the recently reconstructed Tropicana Field.
Mentioned in this article: Andrew Morris Kendry Rojas
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