The Twins' starting rotation has dealt with injuries all season, but it finally appears that it will be fully healthy soon. Amid Pablo López's rehab assignment and Simeon Woods Richardson's return, another starting pitcher who has been sidelined for a while made a step toward returning from the injured list.
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher David Festa to begin rehab assignment
Twins right-handed starting pitcher David Festa will make a rehab start for Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday, according to the Athletic's Dan Hayes.
Festa, 25, has been sidelined since late July with right shoulder inflammation. He threw live batting practice on Saturday and felt good while doing so, allowing the Twins to initiate his rehab assignment. He will likely make several rehab outings before returning to the Twins sometime before the season ends.
Festa has made 11 appearances (10 starts) for the Twins this year, posting a 5.40 ERA (4.87 FIP) with a 23.1% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 35.1% ground-ball rate across 53 1/3 innings. He relies on four pitches: a mid-90s fastball (37.1%), high-80s changeup (29%), high-80s slider (26.8%) and mid-90s sinker (12.5%).
With Woods Richardson's return on Wednesday and López nearing a return as well, the starting rotation will soon be crowded, as Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Mick Abel, Taj Bradley and Zebby Matthews are all currently on the 26-man roster. However, rosters will expand to 28 players in September, so the Twins will have an easier time fitting a large number of starting pitchers on the team than they would have during the other months of the season. Given that the Twins would need to embark on a historic run to make the postseason this year, the organization will likely want to utilize a good number of starting pitchers in September to get their feet wet and allow each other to have more rest.
With the abundance of starting pitchers in the Twins' organization, Festa will have to improve his overall numbers in the big leagues if he wants to remain in Minnesota's consideration for its starting rotation next season. If he doesn't perform to his potential upon returning, Festa may find himself back in Triple-A St. Paul or converted to a bullpen role next season.