Twins announce roster move after sending David Festa back to Triple-A

While the Minnesota Twins are currently in the midst of another youth movement, not everything is going smoothly. 

Brooks Lee was called up earlier this week to make his MLB debut, and so far it seems like he’s here to stay. Much like Edouard Julien last season, Lee arrived at the Twins due to an injury but is using the opportunity to earn his keep for the long haul. 

The same isn’t exactly true for David Festa. 

Minnesota’s top pitching prospect was called up in late June to replace Chris Paddack, who went to the IL, but the returns weren’t nearly as great as they’ve been with Lee. Festa got out to a decent start against the Diamondbacks but has tumbled into a slump ever since. He allowed a combined 12 runs over ten innings, owning a brutal 10.80 ERA. While the Twins won his first start, the team has split the difference on the scoreboard 15-15 in Festa’s starts.

That’s a big reason why he’s already been optioned back to St. Paul, a move the Twins made official on Friday.

Twins send David Festa back to Triple-A, call up Josh Winder to replace him

Minnesota sent Festa back to Triple-A, calling up Josh Winder to presumably start in his place when that turn in the rotation comes up again.

It’s a bummer to see Festa hit a wall, but it’s not entirely surprising nor is it the end of the road for him. He’s still a Top 100 prospect and has gotten some great big league experience to help him figure out which parts of his game to develop and refine. This is hardly the last we’re going to see of Festa on the MLB roster, and if anything this test run sputtering the way it did could be beneficial in the long run for him.

As for who is replacing him, the return of Winder to the Twins provides another young pitcher a chance to prove himself. Winder is coming back from an injury that had him on the 60-day IL to start the season. Winder has mostly worked out of the bullpen, and the move to get him on the MLB roster seems to align with the Twins testing the waters on how to help that unit out.

The season started with the bullpen being the strongest part of the Twins' roster, but has now become a bit of a liability. Winder might not fix everything, but he has a chance to prove he deserves to be in the mix as a potential solution.

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