Twins’ rotation suddenly full — and about to be even fuller

The Twins spent much of August with just three starters on the roster piecing together bullpen games twice every turn through the rotation Now they re dealing with the opposite though this one is a good dilemma to have The Twins in the present have six starters at the major-league level and they expect to get two more Pablo L pez and David Festa back from injuries in the coming days The end consequence is rotation management that could change a little bit here and a little bit there week to week manager Rocco Baldelli commented There s not a grand plan he stated It s supposedly a series-to-series decision I think we could see piggybacks I think we could see a lot of different things to make it all work and to get these guys the work that they need Last weekend in Chicago the Twins called up both Mick Abel and Taj Bradley a pair of pitchers whom they received in agreement deadline deals Days later Simeon Woods Richardson returned from the injured list joining Abel Bradley Zebby Matthews Bailey Ober and all-star Joe Ryan on the roster This time around the Twins have opted to use Abel a rookie who debuted earlier this season for the Philadelphia Phillies and is among their top pitching prospects out of the bullpen in a piggyback situation They chose that over the alternative which would have been optioning him to Triple-A where he could start I think the main part of it is his advance and seeing what he can do at the major league level and seeing the adjustments that he makes at this level and I ll be honest I don t think it matters that much if he s starting or relieving Baldelli revealed As long as he s getting the opportunities to go out there and face major league hitters I think he s going to continue to pick up a lot make good adjustments and be OK Things will get even more complicated when L pez and Festa return L pez has made two rehab starts already for the Triple-A Saints and is scheduled to pitch in Toledo Ohio for the Saints once again on Sunday night as he comes back from a teres major strain that has kept him out since early June Should everything go well with that it s viable that he returns next weekend Festa who has been out for more than a month with shoulder inflammation also made a rehab start with the Saints and is moving closer towards his own return When that happens the Twins could potentially have eight different starters on the roster It s good to have all these guys getting healthy and all being here and ready to pitch at the same time Baldelli mentioned That s a good thing for us but we ll have to make it work Briefly The Twins will send Ryan to the mound for the third tournament of the series against the San Diego Padres on Sunday It will begin at p m because it is a Roku battle L pez is expected to pitch around five innings and to pitches on Sunday with the Saints Related Articles Byron Buxton slides his way into club in Twins win Former Twin Luis Arraez receives warm welcome back He did great things for us In first rehab start David Festa sets tone for Saints pitchers Twins leaning into more aggressive base running approach Addison Barger hits go-ahead double in th as Blue Jays rally to beat Twins -