After being swept by the Cincinnati Reds largely due to their leaky bullpen, the Minnesota Twins are promoting two left-handed pitching prospects ahead of their series with the New York Mets.
Twins to recall Kendry Rojas, add Connor Prielipp to taxi squad
The Twins are planning to recall Kendry Rojas and add Connor Prielipp to the team's taxi squad ahead of the series opener against the Mets in New York on Tuesday. SKOR North's Declan Goff first reported the Rojas news, and The Athletic's Dan Hayes broke the Prielipp news.
MLB Pipeline has Rojas, 23, ranked as the Twins' No. 10 overall prospect and Prielipp as the No. 5 overall prospect. Prielipp is widely viewed as Minnesota's top pitching prospect.
Twins left-handed reliever Kody Funderburk is expected to be on the paternity list for the Mets series, according to Twins.TV's Audra Martin. Therefore, Rojas, whom the Twins acquired along with outfielder Alan Roden from the Toronto Blue Jays for right-handed reliever Louis Varland and first baseman Ty France last summer, will more than likely take Funderburk's roster spot. If Minnesota decides to add Prielipp to the big-league squad, it will have to make a corresponding move.
Minnesota's bullpen clearly needed reinforcements after it blew a two-run lead in back-to-back games against Cincinnati. Rojas and Prielipp could be exactly what the team needs to address its biggest weakness.
Twins' bullpen ranks out of 30 teams:
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) April 20, 2026
ERA — #23
xERA — #24
xFIP — #28
WPA — #25
SO rate — #27
SO/BB ratio — #25
AVG against — #30
Twins blew up the bullpen at the trade deadline and did nothing to address it all offseason, so now they're turning to starter prospects for help.
Rojas, who suffered a hamstring injury in spring training, has thrown six scoreless innings across two outings with the Saints after a rehab appearance with Low-A Fort Myers. Before promoting him, the Twins had the southpaw on a plan where he pitched every four days on a limited pitch count with Triple-A St. Paul, suggesting the lefty will be a reliever in the majors.
As for Prielipp, it's unknown whether he will join Minnesota's big-league roster in New York. It seems likely that the Twins plan to use a reliever early in the Mets series, then demote that reliever before adding Prielipp, 25, to the 26-man roster.
After allowing one run on four hits and one walk with a professional career-high eight strikeouts across five innings in his last outing on April 16, Prielipp has a 2.30 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings across four appearances with St. Paul this season.
The Twins will likely use Prielipp as a reliever, but they could also consider having him make a spot start to give the starting rotation extra rest, as the team is scheduled to play 13 games in 13 days starting on Tuesday.
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