Talented Twins Reliever Starts Up Latest Return Attempt

Yahoo

20-04-2025

Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
To say that the Minnesota Twins have started the season on the wrong foot would be putting it mildly. 17 games in, they have won just five games. The 5-12 record has them fourth in the American League Central Division, and 5.5 games behind the Detroit Tigers.
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Rocco Baldelli's butt has to be on fire with the amount of heat his chair is producing. He needs his players to show up and get the job done. Lackluster pitching that took place during the rotation's first turn has all but subsided. It's now on the lineup to get things going.
Minnesota's bullpen has provided a shuttle service to the last pitcher among the group as they have already designated three relievers for assignment. The hope was that Brock Stewart would be back by now, but at least that process is taking place.
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Brock Stewart kicks off rehab assignment for Minnesota Twins
The MN Twins knew that Brock Stewart was always going to be a bit behind this spring. He was coming off a season-ending shoulder surgery and has struggled to stay healthy. Then he suffered a hamstring injury which removed any possibility of making the Opening Day roster. He recently suffered another setback to the hamstring, but the severity must have been minor because he'll be in the bullpen for Single-A Fort Myers on Tuesday.
It has been exactly one month since Stewart last appeared in a game. He threw for the Twins during Grapefruit League action against the Atlanta Braves on March 15 and recorded just two outs. With just three innings across four games, Stewart will need a significant amount of time to ramp back up.
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Last year Stewart posted a 5.17 ERA for Minnesota across 15 2/3 innings. He recorded 20 strikeouts but allowed eight walks and 15 hits. It's the 2023 version that the Twins are certainly dreaming on. In his first year with Minnesota Stewart compiled a 0.65 ERA across 27 2/3 innings in 28 appearances. He posted a 39/11 K/BB and gave up just two runs.
When right, Stewart has looked like one of the best relievers in baseball. He wasn't completely healthy either of the past two seasons, and has had an injury-plagued career to that point as well. However, Stewart averaged 97.3 mph on his fastball in 2023 and returned with a 97.0 mph average in 2024.
The fact that the injuries haven't resulted in diminished velocity for the Twins reliever is part of the reason why it is so imperative he returns. Stewart provides another high-leverage arm to pair with Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran at the back end of Rocco Baldelli's bullpen.
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It should be expected that Stewart makes a couple of appearances with the Mighty Mussels, then transfers his rehab to Triple-A St. Paul next week. He's not a candidate to go multiple innings, and likely not back-to-back days at any point this season.
Minnesota Twins bullpen would love a boost
Projection systems that considered the MN Twins bullpen to be among the best in baseball definitely included Stewart amongst that group. While his availability will always be a question, his talent has never been much of one.
Despite the Twins record and a couple of blowups from the bullpen, the relief corps currently owns the 10th best ERA in baseball (3.38). Their 2.95 walks per nine innings also rank amongst the top ten in the sport (6th). To do that while having a revolving door of mop-up arms coming in is impressive.
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A return of Stewart would quickly remove the need for arms like Randy Dobnak, Darren McCaughan, Scott Blewett, or Kody Funderburk to be forced into action. He also allows for all of the middle relief types to take a step back from forced leverage spots.
It's going to be an uphill battle for Minnesota to stop taking on water in their sinking ship, but more high-level talent returning isn't going to hurt them.
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