Inside The Twins

Twins swap out Darren McCaughan for Scott Blewett at back end of bullpen

Roster shuffling with the eighth bullpen spot will likely be an ongoing occurrence this season.

Will Ragatz

Sep 9, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins pitcher Scott Blewett (60) delivers a pitch against the Los Angeles Angels in the ninth inning at Target Field.
Sep 9, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins pitcher Scott Blewett (60) delivers a pitch against the Los Angeles Angels in the ninth inning at Target Field. / Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

The Twins have made a roster move at the back end of their bullpen, designating Darren McCaughan for assignment and selecting the contract of Scott Blewett from Triple-A St. Paul.

Shuffling different relievers between St. Paul and the eighth and final bullpen spot on the big-league roster seems likely to be a regular occurrence this season. Randy Dobnak held that job on the Opening Day roster, but after throwing 79 pitches in mop-up duty in the series finale against the Cardinals, he was DFA'd and replaced by McCaughan.

Now McCaughan is heading down to make way for a fresh arm. He's made three appearances for the Twins in the last six games, allowing just one earned run with six strikeouts over 5.1 innings (and 86 pitches). After pitching quite well in his first two outings, McCaughan gave up a run on two hits and a walk during Sunday's rough loss to the Astros.

Blewett had a 1.77 ERA in 20.1 innings for the Twins late last season, mostly in September. He also had a 2.79 ERA in spring training this year. Blewett had a rough outing for the Saints in game one of a doubleheader on Friday, but he hasn't pitched since then, so he's fairly fresh. He'll be available for Rocco Baldelli on Monday in Kansas City — and could be needed for multiple innings if the score is lopsided.

In addition to McCaughan, six of the Twins' seven regular relievers — Cole Sands, Danny Coulombe, Justin Topa, Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Louis Varland — pitched on Sunday. Jorge Alcala pitched on Saturday, as did Varland, Sands, Topa, and Duran. Neither Bailey Ober nor Chris Paddack could complete five innings over the last two games, putting a lot of strain on the bullpen.

It's a four-game series between the Twins (3-6) and Royals (4-5) in KC this week.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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