Twins DFA Reliever After Dreadful 7-Game Audition; Rojas Back From IL

One day after he threatened to turn a 14-run lead into a competitive game, veteran reliever Justin Lawrence has been designated for assignment by the Twins. His roster spot is going to young left-hander Kendry Rojas, who is back after nearly a month-long stint on the injured list.

Lawrence entered Saturday's Twins romp in Arizona in the seventh inning of a 16-2 game. He proceeded to walk the bases loaded, walk in a run, and allow a three-run double and an RBI single before being pulled with two outs. He threw 40 pitches, 23 of which were balls, in just 0.2 innings.

This wasn't the first rough outing for Lawrence, either. He entered Thursday's game in Texas with a 7-0 lead and gave up homers to two of the first three batters he faced. Before that, he came into a tie game against the Cardinals on the 13th and allowed back-to-back homers and two straight singles, all with two outs, in what ended up as a decisive five-run seventh inning.

117 MPH OFF THE THIRD DECK!

All-Star worthy https://t.co/H9MeQwAQiy pic.twitter.com/wWkckBI2LO
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 13, 2026

Lawrence didn't allow a run in his first 2.2 innings with the Twins, but he allowed 12 earned runs in his next 3.1 frames. In 6 total innings, he had an 18.00 ERA with 10 hits, 9 walks, and 12 strikeouts. Among all pitchers with at least six innings in Twins history, Lawrence's ERA trails only Gregg Olson, who had an 18.36 mark in 8.1 innings in 1997. Next on the list are Joey Wentz and position player Jonah Bride from last year's team.

The Twins scooped up Lawrence at the start of June after he was cut by the Pirates. He had a very strong 2023 season for the Rockies but has otherwise struggled quite a bit in the big leagues. Although he has swing-and-miss stuff with his low arm angle and sinker-sweeper combination, Lawrence hasn't been able to command his stuff or avoid barrels at an MLB-caliber level. With over $1 million in guaranteed money on his contract, he'll likely go unclaimed on waivers and could end up at Triple-A St. Paul to work on his control.

Rojas returns

Twins No. 9 prospect Kendry Rojas is back. The 23-year-old landed on the IL in late May with left elbow inflammation. Rojas made one rehab appearance for the Saints on Thursday and gave up five earned runs in 1.1 innings, but the Twins were encouraged by his fastball velocity (he averaged 96 MPH) and the fact that he generated four whiffs on nine sliders.

Rojas had a 2.40 ERA in his first 15 innings at Triple-A and has a 1.26 ERA in 14.1 innings for the Twins this season, albeit with a concerning 10 walks to go with 14 strikeouts.

With Mick Abel suffering an injury setback, Mike Paredes will get another start in Sunday's series finale against the Diamondbacks (2:15 p.m. CT on Peacock). Rojas figures to be involved in the pitching plans for Derek Shelton as well.

Kendry Rojas | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

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