Twins Closer Jhoan Durán Activated From Injured List, Matt Bowman Designated For Assignment

The Twins are activating Jhoan Durán from the injured list, which should improve the back end of an already solid bullpen picture. To make room on the active roster, the club is designating righty Matt Bowman for release or assignment, per their announcement.

Durán has been one of the premier arms in the American League since making his debut in 2022, and there’s a case to be made for him being the most electric arm in club history. In his first two seasons of action at the major-league level, the righty has dazzled with a combined 2.15 ERA and a stellar 33.2% strikeout rate. His fastball has touched 104 MPH, and his high-90s splinker and hard curveball have proven to be excellent complements to that heat. He’ll join Griffin Jax and Blake Stewart as high-leverage arms in the club’s relief corps.

Durán’s return is pretty much right on schedule, based on the club’s comments at the onset of his injury diagnosis. The speculation was that it would be a four- to six-week recovery period, making early May a target for his return. But after two rehab outings in St. Paul last week, the club decided to send him straight to Chicago to join the major-league unit.

The team is taking a risk by designating Bowman for assignment, as it will expose him to other teams who could be interested in submitting a waiver claim. The veteran hurler was surprisingly effective in his five games with the Twins, pitching to a 2.35 ERA across 7 2/3 innings, with six strikeouts against four walks. His underlying metrics left much to be desired, though, as he had trouble missing bats (20% whiff rate) and gave up plenty of hard contact (47.4% hard-hit rate). In the unlikely event that every other team passes on their opportunity to claim the 32-year-old, he could theoretically remain in the Twins' organization, albeit off the 40-man roster. 

Other speculated candidates who could have been removed from the major-league roster to make room for Durán include lefty Kody Funderburk (2.38 ERA) or righty Cole Sands (1.35 ERA). Both have minor-league options remaining, and could therefore avoid being exposed to the waiver wire.

The club will likely have to make another roster decision shortly, as righty Justin Topa has started a rehab stint with the Saints, and assuming all goes as planned, he should be ready for activation in the coming week. For now, though, they'll keep the impressive Funderburk and Sands around and risk losing Bowman.

What do you think? Can Durán reclaim his throne as the hardest-thrower in baseball? Was designating Bowman for assignment the right call? What should the club do when Topa returns? Let us know what you think in the comment section, and as always, keep it sweet.