It's time to reset the 'Days Since We Last Saw Jhoan Duran' counter, because the Minnesota Twins star closer is officially making his return to the bullpen.
Duran started the season on the IL after suffering an injury in Spring Training. He was initially placed on the 15-day IL but he didn't start a rehab assignment at St. Paul until last week, but everything Duran showed seemed to indicate he was fully back.
Now we're going to see whether or not that's true.
The Twins officially activated Duran on Tuesday, meaning we are likley going to see his season debut very soon.
Twins activate Jhoan Duran and DFA a reliever to make room on the roster
As expected, the Twins activated Duran on Tuesday and added him back to the bullpen. It's very possible he could see work in his first game back, both because Minnesota will likely be winning and a soft launch against the White Sox feels like a great way to get him back into the mix.
With Duran coming up, someone needed to get sent down. Some thought that Kody Funderburk could be optioned to make room, but instead Matt Bowman was DFA'd.
Yesterday, the Twins got Carlos Correa back from the injured list. Today, it’s Jhoan Duran.
— Betsy Helfand (@betsyhelfand) April 30, 2024
Duran has been activated and Matt Bowman has been designated for assignment.
Duran made the trip to Chicago, which was everyone's first indication that he'd likely be activated this week. Rocco Baldelli indicated that it could happen on Tuesday, and sure enough that's how things played out.
As far as how he's feeling, Duran indicated that he's more than ready to go.
"I'm in the best spot right now," Duran said, via the Star Tribune. "In spring training, I opened little early. Maybe that's why I lost my velocity a little bit. Now it's back."
Duran is coming back at a perfect time not only for the Twins but for the group he's joining. Minnesota's bullpen has the third-lowest bullpen ERA in the majors, and the second-highest strikeout rate, and boasts some truly fantastic talent that stepped up in Duran's absence. Not for nothing but Twins relievers rank fourth in FIP at 3.40 and second in SIERA at 2.98, which is all the more reason to be excited about Duran returning to help close out what has been surprisingly great offensive performances.