The Minnesota Twins (12-15) could consider designating left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers for assignment if the southpaw fails to turn things around soon. Rogers, who returned to the Twins on a one-year, $2 million contract in the offseason, failed to record an out while surrendering three earned runs on two hits and one walk in his appearance against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. On the season, Rogers has an awful 7.27 ERA in 8 2/3 innings across 11 outings.
Rogers' 7.27 ERA is the second-worst on the team among relievers who have made at least 10 appearances. Lefty Anthony Banda has the worst ERA (8.74) in the Twins' bullpen.
Rogers' peripherals this year aren't great, either. He has a 6.24 expected ERA (11th percentile), 19.7% whiff rate (16th percentile), 17.1% strikeout rate (23rd percentile), 12.2% walk rate (26th percentile) and 13.8% ground-ball rate (1st percentile).
The Twins will likely hold onto Rogers for now, but he could quickly find himself being designated for assignment if his struggles continue.
Twins have one of the worst bullpens in MLB
As of 12:59 p.m. CST on Sunday, Rogers is part of a Twins bullpen that ranks 24th in MLB in ERA (5.01), 23rd in strikeouts per nine innings (8.31), 21st in walks per nine innings (4.65) and 25th in ground-ball rate (39.0%).
While the Twins' bullpen ranks in the bottom half of the league in most categories, several Twins relievers have had solid starts to the season. Righties Justin Topa, Cole Sands and Eric Orze have sub-4.00 ERAs, and lefty Kody Funderburk has an outstanding 1.74 ERA.
Rogers and Banda, whom the Twins acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers for international bonus pool space in the offseason, are clearly the Twins' relievers who have struggled the most this year. Even though both have spent 10 years in the big leagues, it may soon be time for Minnesota to cut them loose.
Left-handed pitching prospect Kendry Rojas, who made his MLB debut against the New York Mets last week, could easily replace Rogers or Banda in the bullpen. Rojas has an elite pitch arsenal, including a fastball in the upper 90s, and was viewed as the key return for Minnesota in the Louis Varland trade in July. Additionally, the Twins' top pitching prospect, lefty Connor Prielipp, is currently in the Twins' starting rotation because right-handed starter Mick Abel is on the IL with right elbow inflammation. When Abel is reinstated, the Twins could move a starter to the bullpen, which would likely improve the pitching staff overall.
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