The Minnesota Twins have implemented changes to their starting rotation following a difficult start to their season.
Louie Varland, whose outing on Sunday was the shortest of his career, has been demoted to Class AAA St. Paul. Varland’s ERA stands at 9.18 through four outings, the second-highest among American League pitchers who have pitched at least 15 innings this term.
To compensate for the vacancy in the rotation, the Twins have summoned reliever Ronny Henriquez to provide an extra arm in the bullpen until a replacement is identified. Simeon Woods Richardson, who made a spot start in a doubleheader on April 13, is the potential replacement for Varland.
Additionally, right fielder Max Kepler has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list, while third-string catcher Jair Camargo has been assigned to St. Paul.
Varland’s struggles were evident in his Sunday outing, where he conceded four runs in 2⅔ innings while walking four batters and hitting one. His command was a concern, with only 35 of his 74 pitches finding the strike zone.
“He’s got some work to do, for sure,” said Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli. “He’s not afraid to look at himself in the mirror and acknowledge how things go when they don’t go his way. He’s not afraid to make an adjustment when you talk to him about it. He’s going to have to be open-minded right now, because he’s had a few outings where he’s gotten hit pretty good and then today was just very uncharacteristic of him to go out there and pitch like that.”
Henriquez, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2022, has made seven relief appearances at St. Paul this season, allowing six runs in 13⅓ innings with 14 strikeouts and two walks.
Woods Richardson, 23, has displayed increased velocity this year. In his lone major league start, he allowed two hits and one run across six innings. In his last outing with St. Paul, he gave up two runs in five innings.
The Twins face a shortage of reliable starting depth at AAA. Brent Headrick is currently on the injured list with a forearm strain, while pitching prospect David Festa has walked 11 batters in 12⅓ innings and hasn’t pitched more than four innings in an outing.
