The Twins announced that right fielder Justin Lawrence selected for assignment. The move opens up a spot on Minnesota’s 26-man roster Kendry Rojasas the left-hander was placed on the 15-day injured list.
Rojas posted a 1.26 ERA over his first 14 1/3 innings in the majors, though that dream start was marred by a career-high 16.4% walk rate. Triceps inflammation kept Rojas out for about a month, and now he’ll be back to at least a long relief role, with more likely in his future once his arm is ready to go.
The uncertainty surrounding Minnesota continued with yesterday’s news that Mick Abel he will have an MRI on Monday. Abel was supposed to be activated from the 15-day IL today, but felt elbow soreness after Friday’s bullpen session. Abel has already been on the IL for more than two months due to elbow inflammation, so the Twins could move him to the 60-day IL as a matter of procedure if they need a 40-man roster spot, regardless of when Abel returns to action.
Lawrence was charged with five runs in two of three innings in the Twins’ 16-8 win over the Diamondbacks on Saturday, and the veteran righty now has a nasty 18.00 ERA over six innings and seven appearances in a Minnesota uniform. The Twins said Lawrence was fired from the Pirates earlier this month, so Lawrence has been designated for assignment for the second time in less than four weeks.
A 5.32 ERA over 22 innings with Pittsburgh hasn’t kept Lawrence from being sought after, so it’s possible that another team in need of bullpen depth could overlook the right-hander’s recent struggles. If Lawrence clears waivers, he has the ability to decline a direct assignment due to free agency, as Lawrence has more than three years of MLB service time.
Because he has less than five years of service time, however, Lawrence will have to give up all of his guaranteed salary for 2026 if he opts for free agency. Lawrence has a little more than half of his $1.225MM salary remaining, and the Pirates have a share of that money (minus the split portion of the Major League minimum salary that will be paid to the new team). As such, Lawrence may choose to avoid the financial bump and simply accept a direct assignment to Triple-A, while biding his time to be called up to the Twins’ roster.
