Justin Topa's Injury and Three Other Things That Might Matter from Wednesday's Spring Training Game

[John Bonnes]

Pablo Lopez started, but bullpen news predominated a 5-2 loss to the Orioles.

Image courtesy of © Chris Tilley-Imagn Images

Twins reliever Justin Topa left Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to the Orioles after throwing just seven pitches due to shoulder tightness. Acquired from Seattle in the Jorge Polanco trade last January, Topa was projected to be a setup man in the Twins bullpen but suffered a knee injury last March and faced setbacks throughout the 2024 season. He didn’t return until late September and only made a handful of appearances for the team. 

“We’ll see how he is tomorrow,” said Baldelli. “It doesn’t appear to be anything overly serious the way he’s describing it and talking about it, but he did feel something that he didn’t like.”

Jhoan Duran Returns
Speaking of relievers, Twins reliever Jhoan Duran made his first appearance in over a week. According to Duran the reason was more logistical than anything else. “We played a lot on the road last week,” Duran said after the game. “They wanted me pitching here in live BP and working on my mechanics, getting my pitches where I want it.”

Duran saved 23 games for the Twins last year, posting a 3.64 ERA and a 1.160 WHIP, but that fell short of the lofty expectations his 2022 and 2023 season set; he posted a 2.15 ERA and 1.054 WHIP over those two years. 

The decreased effectiveness correlated with a decrease in his velocity between the two seasons. His four-seam fastball velocity dipped to 100.5 mph in 2024, down from 101.8 mph in 2023. This spring, the velocity is down further. Hs fastest pitch in yesterday’s 16-pitch outing was 99.7 mph. 

Duran says what he said last year, that he isn’t concerned. “I focus on my mechanics and my pitch’s movement,” he said after Wednesday’s game. “I don’t need to throw really hard right now.”

Perhaps not. But Duran gave up a walk, two hits, and a run in his inning. That can happen , but more concerning is that he didn’t get a strikeout or a swing-and-miss in the inning. 

Brock Stewart Also Returns
In better bullpen news, Twins reliever Brock Stewart, who has looked as effective a high-leverage bullpen arm as anyone when healthy, made his first spring training appearance today. Like Duran, he also gave up a run, and his fastest pitch was 97.5 mph, but that was his average fastball velocity last year, and he felt and looked like his old (healthy) self. 

“I thought Brock was the highlight of the day for me watching the game,” said manager Rocco Baldelli after the game. “The stuff looked like vintage Brock Stewart.”

All of this news is against the background that the Twins bullpen is pretty crowded. Last year’s core relievers - Griffin Jax, Jhoan Duran, Coles Sands, and Jorge Alcala - are set to return. Michael Tonkin also signed a $1M guaranteed contract to return to the team.  Left-hander Danny Coulombe was signed to provide left-handed support. Stewart appears to be healthy and throwing hard again, Louis Varland is poised to be converted to relief, and Rule 5 pick Eiberson Castellano is opening eyes at camp. Add in Topa, and those are ten names competing for eight spots in the bullpen.

Austin Martin Shows Off His Glove
Manager Rocco Baldelli has been saying he wants to see how good an outfield defender Austin Martin could be. Wednesday, Martin made a pair of great defensive plays in left field that demonstrate why his manager has such faith in him. “That's the other highlight of the day, right there,” said Baldelli. “We were talking about him pretty much the entire game.”

For that matter, so does the pitcher whose ERA was the recipient of those plays, Pablo Lopez. “I mean, he’s a gamer,” said Lopez after the game. “He can do that at any position. He goes out there and he’s so athletic that he just makes those plays. I do appreciate that as a pitcher.”

How well that skill set fits onto the 26-man roster has yet to be determined. Depending on how the infield situation shakes out, Martin could be the 13th position player or start the season in St. Paul.

But if he does make the team, it was notable that Harrison Bader, who has a Gold Glove, started in right field while Martin played left field. In Target Field, left field is the tougher area to cover, but Bader also has a stronger arm, which might mean he’s a better fit in right field if both Bader and Martin cover the corner outfield spots. Baldelli didn’t commit to that alignment for the regular season but noted that Martin has more experience in left field while Bader has more experience in right field, so that alignment made sense to him. 

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[dberthia]

If this mythical Topa person manages to get on the field for more than a handful of games this year I'd be shocked.

[ToddlerHarmon]

After seeing the boxscore, I was worried that both Topa and Stewart left with injuries. Perhaps there was no intention to have Stewart pitch a full inning?

[bean5302]

Probably worth noting that Matt Canterino got back his MRI results confirming a shoulder strain and he's down indefinitely.

[Doctor Gast]

51 minutes ago, ToddlerHarmon said:

After seeing the boxscore, I was worried that both Topa and Stewart left with injuries. Perhaps there was no intention to have Stewart pitch a full inning?

Topa is day to day, sounds familiar?

[SD happy]

1 hour ago, ToddlerHarmon said:

After seeing the boxscore, I was worried that both Topa and Stewart left with injuries. Perhaps there was no intention to have Stewart pitch a full inning?

Stewart threw 22 pitches. That was probably the max amount they wanted him to throw today.

[h2oface]

Canterino may as well start pitching with his other arm. Definitely drop him from the 40 man. Apparently not meant to be a professional baseball pitcher. 

[PDX Twin]

49 minutes ago, h2oface said:

Canterino may as well start pitching with his other arm. Definitely drop him from the 40 man. Apparently not meant to be a professional baseball pitcher. 

Isn't he another Rice U. casualty?

[mikelink45]

We seem to specialize in injury prone players - is that part of our job descriptions?

[David HK]

4 hours ago, dberthia said:

If this mythical Topa person manages to get on the field for more than a handful of games this year I'd be shocked.

The Myth of Topa will go down in the canon along with the Ghost of Mahle and the Fable of DiSclafani...

[ziggy]

How in the world did Topa get a raise after appearing in less than a handful of games last year? 

[stringer bell]

1 minute ago, ziggy said:

How in the world did Topa get a raise after appearing in less than a handful of games last year? 

That is the way arbitration works. Service time is part of the equation and Topa added a full year of service time. 

[stringer bell]

Good to hear that Martin made some plays in the outfield. The metrics didn't validate the scouting report last year (not even close), but it would be good for him to be an asset in the field. I'm not convinced, but maybe there is hope.

[h2oface]

Lopez's performance and shiny 7.94 spring ERA gets buried with all the relief disappointments. If this keeps up, it may become the most important news.

[Patzky]

53 minutes ago, h2oface said:

Lopez's performance and shiny 7.94 spring ERA gets buried with all the relief disappointments. If this keeps up, it may become the most important news.

The reliever does his job it cuts his era quite a bit 

[USAFChief]

The Polanco trade keeps it's place as one of the worst in team history. 

[h2oface]

19 hours ago, Patzky said:

The reliever does his job it cuts his era quite a bit 

Not that much. He gave up 3 earned with 4 hits and 2 walks in 2 innings his first game (such a small sample, for sure, coming into this game with a 13.50 ERA), and the unknown today only let 1 of his 2 inherited runners in. So sure, a bit. And like they say for the vets, it doesn't matter, just stay healthy. Unfortunately, it seems part of the requirements for being in the best bullpen in MLB, like last year, is to give up a lot of inherited runs for your teammates. 😇

[tony&rodney]

1 minute ago, USAFChief said:

The Polanco trade keeps it's place as one of the worst in team history. 

No question. Very few front office people have been played as badly. Many prayers were answered because Jorge Polanco did not have a good year, but it doesn't change what happened one iota.

[Wizard11]

Ridiculous take.  The Twins shopped Polanco around and that was the best they could get. He had a horrible season for Seattle.  If the Twins wanted Polanco around for this year they could have signed him this winter for less money than Bader.  None of the players involved in this trade on either side amounted to anything.   

[Doctor Gast]

“I mean, he’s a gamer,” said Lopez after the game. “He can do that at any position. He goes out there and he’s so athletic that he just makes those plays. I do appreciate that as a pitcher.”

In my baseball days, 2B was my natural position. But I played very little there because I was needed to play elsewhere. I played all over the field, I was 1st groomed to be a pitcher, I enjoyed playing catcher the most, being able to control the game. I played all over the OF, I wasn't bad in the OF in HS, I was much better than the other options we had. Because I played some OF doesn't mean it was easy for me & I didn't make mistakes, neither did it qualify me to play OF in college or independent ball. 

Martin can get by in the OF but should he play there? Martin played too much CF last season because he was our best 2nd option as Twins Keirsey was stuck in AAA. We have too many better options, which OF is their natural position to waste Martin's time there, just to have an occasional RH platoon bat for Baldelli. IMO Martin is a more natural 2Bman & he can naturally excel there where he can focus on his hitting & raise his OPS to levels he's capable of, where he can get Martin haters off his back. So he can do what he does best which is getting on base, raze havoc on the bases, score runs & starts rallies with his spunkyness. All qualities Twins desperately need. Julien & Lee should be sent down to AAA. We need Martin more at 2B than the OF.

[Bodie]

5 hours ago, USAFChief said:

The Polanco trade keeps it's place as one of the worst in team history. 

M's fans say the same thing...

[Doctor Gast]

37 minutes ago, Bodie said:

M's fans say the same thing...

That's why they brought him back for potentially the same money.

The saddest thing about the Polanco saga is that they kept playing him at SS for years after his ankles said he couldn't & after injuring his knee (it was obvious by his performance, that he shouldn't be playing) they kept sending him out there until he could no longer take the field. That physical abuse has kept Polanco from sustaining any MLB success since. Polanco had the potential to be a MVP when he started his MLB career.

[TwinsDr2021]

8 hours ago, h2oface said:

Lopez's performance and shiny 7.94 spring ERA gets buried with all the relief disappointments. If this keeps up, it may become the most important news.

Lopez had a 7.07 ERA in spring training last year and every starter had an ERA above 3.85, it is ridiculous to worry about your stars stats in spring training, unless of course there is an injury.

My son said to me last night the Twins are hitting terrible just like last year, and I said we are 7 games into spring training can we settle down a bit.

[Major League Ready]

7 hours ago, USAFChief said:

The Polanco trade keeps it's place as one of the worst in team history. 

Trading away a player that produced 0 WAR for $10.5M is one of the worst in team history?  I would say that it was a big nothing burger.  They lost nothing and gained nothing.  I guess if one argued the salary difference was used to sign Santana it was a significant net gain.

[Whitey333]

At the start of last season the Twins were touted as having the best bullpen in baseball.  That didn't work out too well.  The team had by far the worst record in all of baseball for letting inherited runs score.  Part of a bullpen job is to put out fires not fan them.  Plus one of their main closers, Dhuran, was charged with 9 losses last year out of the bullpen.  Let's wait and see.  I hope they turn out to be great.  They will be needed.

  

[LambchoP]

It sure looks as though Canterino and Topa are primed for another lost season, real bummer, especially for the talented Canterino. My guess is both these guys will lose their 40 man spots. Glad to see Martin making plays in the OF. On one hand, an OF of Martin, Buxton and Bader would be elite defensively. Offensively, would make a pretty weak lineup against lefties if this is how Rocco plays it.

[JD-TWINS]

14 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Probably worth noting that Matt Canterino got back his MRI results confirming a shoulder strain and he's down indefinitely.

I’m sure everyone here is shocked that Matt is hurt!! His career seems to be down indefinitely. Too bad but typical.

[NYCTK]

8 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

No question. Very few front office people have been played as badly. Many prayers were answered because Jorge Polanco did not have a good year, but it doesn't change what happened one iota.

That trade was a nothing deal. A player of little value was dealt for a reliever of little value and a lemon of a top 100 prospect. 

It was a fine deal. 

[Jeff K]

8 hours ago, USAFChief said:

The Polanco trade keeps it's place as one of the worst in team history. 

neither team got anything.  

[NYCTK]

46 minutes ago, LambchoP said:

On one hand, an OF of Martin, Buxton and Bader would be elite defensively.

No. Martin is one of the worst OF in the league.

Rocco comments in Spring Training don't change that.