The Minnesota Twins are receiving upgrades in multiple areas ahead of their series with the Chicago White Sox. One of these areas is the bullpen. The Twins are expected to activate fireballer reliever Jhoan Durán on Tuesday following a rehab stint. His first appearance with Minnesota will mark his 2024 debut. Manager Rocco Baldelli gave the expected timetable to Twins beat writer Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Rocco Baldelli says Jhoan Duran will likely be activated Tuesday.
— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) April 29, 2024
The addition of Durán continues a spate of good news for Minnesota. On Monday, the team also activated star shortstop Carlos Correa from the 10-day IL following an oblique injury 11 games into the season. Durán is on his way back from the same ailment, having strained his oblique during spring training.
Twins to Activate Jhoan Durán from IL
Durán has made his mark in his first two seasons with the Twins. Making his MLB debut in 2022, he spent most of that season in middle relief work. In 67 2/3 innings, he pitched to a 1.86 ERA and a 0.975 WHIP, striking out 89 while converting all eight of his save opportunities. In 2023, Durán became the full-time closer. Pitching 62 1/3 innings, he had a slightly higher ERA (2.45) and WHIP (1.139) but struck out 84 hitters while picking up 27 saves in 32 opportunities.
In two rehab appearances for the Triple-A St. Paul Saints, Durán showed off his usual formidable velocity. With his fastball averaging triple digits, he appears ready to close games again in no time for the Twins.
All #MNTwins fans can come in off the ledge. Jhoan Duran throws 15 pitches, 9 strikes. His fastball AVERAGED 101.8 and his hardest was 102.9, the last pitch he threw in which he got a groundout. He got 3 swings and misses on 4 splitters. Retires side in order with two punchies pic.twitter.com/hLoE9HYrn7
— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) April 27, 2024
According to Rotowire, Durán led the American League in 2023 with 473 pitches thrown at 100 mph or faster. At only 26 years old, the Dominican flamethrower has the potential to be a top-tier closer for years to come. The two main caveats are whether he can maintain his speed consistently and keep his arm healthy. Facing the bottom-feeding White Sox should present the Twins a good opportunity to see if Durán is fully healthy.
Photo Credit: © Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
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