After battling injuries last season, Minnesota Twins closer Glen Perkins is back on the disabled list with a shoulder strain. Rogers will have a chance to make his Major League debut over the course of the next few weeks with Perkins on the DL. However, he has also recorded three strikeouts compared to just one walk over that span, and the Twins don’t have many better options at the moment.
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Perkins appeared in two games this season before landing on the disabled list. His other appearance came in a 7-0 blowout to Kansas City on Saturday. Acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays at the deadline last season in one of the only roster moves the Twins made at the time, Jepsen and has been very reliable.
Rogers has a career minor league record of 37-28 with a 3.27 ERA.
In his first career start, Rogers carried a flawless game into the seventh inning of a win over West Virginia in 2010, earning Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week accolades. Trevor May, who has now struck out ten in 5.2 innings, might slide into the set-up role, although knowing Paul Molitor he could elect to use a bridge-the-gap strategy to get from his starter to his closer, thereby giving himself the freedom to use the best pitcher at his disposal whenever the situation calls for it.
May, Abad, and Ryan Pressly have been the bright spots in Minnesota’s bullpen so far, but they won’t be enough to keep the team afloat if Jepsen can’t regain the form he had after arriving in Minneapolis previous year.
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That’s too bad for Minnesota, because Twins relievers are already 0-3 with a 4.70 ERA in 23 innings this season. He is expected to be in uniform for tonight’s game against the White Sox.
