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Another New MN Twins Arm As Injury Ends Rookie’ Season
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- Another New MN Twins Arm As Injury Ends Rookie’ Season
Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images
The Minnesota Twins came out of the crazy trade deadline with a renewed sense of scrappiness. They played inspired baseball and won two of the first three series that they played.
Since, things have gone back downhill. The New York Yankees nearly swept Minnesota, and the Detroit Tigers are on the verge of mopping them (a four-game series sweep). Rocco Baldelli has plenty of fresh faces, and he'll get another one on Sunday.
Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
Alan Roden was placed on the injured list with James Outman ( acquired for Brock Stewart ) taking his roster spot Saturday. The thumb injury was something we speculated could be significant, and that's exactly the case.
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Genesis Cabrera promoted to MN Twins
With Roden's thumb injury being a long-term issue, as was the case for Minnesota Twins prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez, his season ends as he moves to the 60-day injured list. That allowed for Minnesota to select the contract of recently signed pitcher Genesis Cabrera.
We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/QQUMb8h9qr
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 17, 2025
The 28-year-old is a big league veteran. Cabrera has pitched in the majors for seven seasons, and this year alone the MN Twins will be his fourth team.
Across 28 major league innings this season, Cabrera owns a 5.79 ERA (5.65 FIP). He has allowed a whopping seven home runs which has been at the crux of his ineffectiveness. Cabrera also has just a 22/7 K/BB.
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Serviceable for the Cardinals and Blue Jays last season, Cabrera posted a 4.04 ERA (4.44 FIP) in 55 2/3 innings. He carried a 9.4 K/9 and allowed just a total of eight home runs in that span. It's possible Minnesota thinks they can catch that sort of production from him out of the bullpen down the stretch.
Related: Injury Forces Twins to Swap Out Traded Outfielders
Travis Adams was moved off the 26-man roster to accommodate Cabrera. He has a 7.71 ERA (5.90 FIP) across 23 1/3 innings. Adams pitched on Saturday and threw 1 1/3 innings allowing one run and four walks against the Tigers.
Roden's rookie season ends after 55 big league games . He posted a .191/.261/.294 line with two home runs and a 37/8 K/BB. He will compete for a corner outfield spot amongst a crowded MN Twins group next spring.
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Where are the top acquired starters?
It's all fine and well that Gensis Cabrera is just the latest arm tasked with giving the Twins length out of the bullpen. It's also possible they may not need to opt for a bullpen game every couple of days if they just used a rotation of capable starters.
Both Simeon Woods Richardson and Pablo Lopez are hurt but working their way back. Neither Taj Bradley or Mick Abel are hurt. The tandem was acquired at the trade deadline, have already pitched at the big league level, and are seemingly a big part of Minnesota's future.
Bradley has not been good at Triple-A. He has coughed up seven runs on 16 hits in just 10 2/3 innings . The same can't be said about Abel.
Mick Abel's three AAA starts since joining the Twins from the Jhoan Duran trade: 15.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 6 BB, 23 K, 1.76 ERA. pic.twitter.com/QazduwBuSr
— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) August 17, 2025
The former Phillies top 100 prospect owns a 1.76 ERA across 15 1/3 innings for the Saints. Abel also has a 23/6 K/BB and has allowed just seven hits.
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There's no reason for Minnesota to be holding Abel down in St. Paul when their rotation could be a proving ground for his future success. It's not service time related with Abel as he has roughly 31 days, and would not hit the 172 necessary to lose a year by the end of the season.
Related: Traded Minnesota Twins Reliever Carted Off Field
Still, as the Twins continue to roll out a depleted starting rotation, they put band-aids on a bullet hole by cycling through dart throws in the bullpen. Abel is showing he's ready. Hopefully someone listens soon.
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