Twins place struggling Bailey Ober on 15-day IL, recall Kody Funderburk

Ober had a 9.00 ERA in five June starts. It's unclear who will pitch in his spot on Friday.

Jun 28, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Bailey Ober (17) throws a pitch against the Detroit Tigers in the first inning at Comerica Park. | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Struggling Twins starting pitcher Bailey Ober, who had a 9.00 ERA in five June starts, is headed to the 15-day IL, according to the Star Tribune's Phil Miller. The Twins are calling it "left hip impingement" for Ober and recalling left-handed reliever Kody Funderburk to take his spot on the roster. It's unclear who will start in his rotation spot on Friday afternoon against the Rays.

It felt like something needed to be done with Ober after yet another disastrous outing on Saturday in Detroit. He allowed 30 earned runs and a Twins-record-tying 14 home runs in 30 innings pitched in the month of June, and Minnesota has lost each of his last seven starts. Going on the IL through at least the All-Star break will give Ober some time to reset, get healthy, and hopefully bounce back at some point in the second half of the season.

What this means is that the Twins have three starting pitchers currently on the IL in Ober, Pablo Lopez, and Zebby Matthews. For the time being, their rotation includes Joe Ryan, Chris Paddack, David Festa, Simeon Woods Richardson, and a to-be-determined fifth player. That's far from ideal for a 40-45 team whose offense has gone missing over the last two games.

Calling up Funderburk gives the Twins an extra bullpen arm for the next couple days in Miami, assuming he can get there in time for Wednesday's contest. But they still have to figure out who is going to start Friday's July 4 matinee matchup with Tampa Bay at Target Field. It could be Paddack, who started on Sunday and would be on normal rest due to Monday's off day. Otherwise, it would have to be a pitcher from the minor leagues, with Travis Adams and Randy Dobnak perhaps the two most logical options at Triple-A St. Paul.

Ober's brutal June raised his season ERA to 5.28. He got shelled in his season debut in March this year, then proceeded to record a 2.43 ERA over 11 starts in April and May, looking like the pitcher who has been so solid for the Twins since breaking into the big leagues in 2021. Unfortunately, he didn't look like himself at all over the last month.

Bride clears waivers, goes to St. Paul

Also reported by Miller is that infielder Jonah Bride, who was officially designated for assignment on Tuesday, cleared waivers and was assigned to Triple-A St. Paul. He hit just .208 with a .511 OPS in 80 plate appearances for the Twins but has a career .940 OPS at the AAA level.