The Minnesota Twins picked up relief pitcher Michael Tonkin from the New York Yankees on Tuesday, hoping to strengthen their overworked bullpen by bringing him back for a second time this season.
Tonkin, who was first drafted by the Twins and made his debut with them in 2013, spent five years with the team before moving to the Japan Pacific League in 2018. He was out of the major leagues for five seasons before returning in 2023 and pitching 80 innings for the Atlanta Braves.
In other moves, the Twins have designated right-handed reliever Trevor Richards for release or assignment. Richards had 10 appearances for the Twins after being traded from the Toronto Blue Jays before the trade deadline.
He went 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA and threw seven wild pitches in just 10 innings. He leads the majors with 13 wild pitches this season in 65 1/3 innings.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said, “I do think Trevor has a lot of good days ahead of him pitching in the big leagues and throwing the ball well. He still can do a lot of good things with the baseball.
But he struggled with his command here. It would not be honest to just ignore that point. It’s true. But I think you just sometimes have to make a challenging call.”
Minnesota also added right-handed pitcher Caleb Boushley from Triple-A St. Paul, and moved starter Joe Ryan to the 60-day injured list. Ryan has been out since Aug. 7 with a right shoulder strain. Boushley takes Richards’ spot on the roster while waiting for Tonkin to join the team.
