The Minnesota Twins made a trade on Monday night, acquiring reliever Justin Lawrence from the Pittsburgh Pirates after a 9-6 win over the Chicago White Sox. The compensation in the deal, which involved cash considerations, means Twins fans shouldn’t expect much from Lawrence other than a fresh arm to relieve a taxed bullpen. But it’s also a dart throw that doesn’t solve the Twins’ biggest problem.
Minnesota’s starting rotation is in a bind at the moment as injuries have depleted their depth. After rookie Kendry Rojas went on the IL with a triceps injury over the weekend, Bailey Ober followed him in short order after Saturday’s start against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The good news is that The Athletic’s Dan Hayes reported that Ober did not have damage to his UCL. But the bad news is that he’ll be shut down for the next 10-14 days, leaving the Twins in need of a starter for Thursday’s game against the Kansas City Royals and may not be a solution to a growing problem as the calendar turns to June.
Twins starting rotation is still in shambles after Justin Lawrence trade
As mentioned before, Twins fans shouldn’t expect big things from Lawrence. The six-year veteran has posted a 5.05 ERA in 222 major league appearances between the Pirates and the Rockies and outside of a 2025 campaign where he posted a 0.51 ERA in 17 appearances, he’s been largely ineffective at the major league level.
Of course, the Twins may not be looking for effectiveness as much as they are looking for innings. The starting rotation has been a pleasant surprise overall, but they now rank 19th with a 4.41 ERA thanks to numerous injuries. Pablo López, Mick Abel, Taj Bradley, David Festa, Rojas and Ober have all spent significant time on the injured list this season and the injuries have finally stacked up to the point they may not have anyone to run out there when Ober’s turn in the rotation comes up on Thursday.
“Everything needs to be on the table,” Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll told Hayes when asked who could be the mystery starter on Thursday. “When you go through true bullpen games, that can be challenging. But we probably need to see how we get through the next day or two and the state of the bullpen before we finalize any plans.”
Those plans could become more difficult as Thursday’s game approaches. Connor Prielipp is scheduled to start Tuesday’s game against the White Sox, but the Twins are monitoring his innings as he already approaches his career high of 82.2 innings thrown last year. Bradley is slated to start on Wednesday but the Twins are also monitoring his workload as he returns from a pectoral injury.
Either pitcher could be in line for a short start, especially if they struggle against a White Sox lineup that ranks third in the majors with 83 homers entering Tuesday. Should that happen, things could get really interesting.
FanGraphs’s depth chart currently has Marco Raya listed as Thursday’s starter, but he’s been used as a reliever with a 6.97 ERA in 31.0 innings at Triple-A St. Paul. Using Andrew Morris as a starter could also be on the table, but he’s unlikely to deliver the length needed after spending the first two months of his major league career as a reliever.
It’s also puzzling that the Twins designated Simeon Woods Richardson for assignment last weekend, even though he leads the majors with seven losses in 12 games (10 starts) this season. But even with the troubles, he could have held the fort down and taken one for the team to help the bullpen with their logjam.
Instead, Lawrence feels like another patch of Flex Seal on a leaking aquarium. While he could be part of the solution, he doesn’t solve the Twins’ biggest problem, which could come home to roost not only in Thursday’s opener against the Royals but as Minnesota gets deeper into the summer.
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