Twins call up Kendry Rojas for MLB debut after St. Paul breakout

The Twins did not wait long for Kendry Rojas to force the issue. After a scoreless start to his Triple-A season in St. Paul, Minnesota promoted its No. 10 prospect and is set to use the 23-year-old left-hander in relief, a direct answer to a bullpen that had just coughed up leads in consecutive losses.

Rojas’ rise has been swift once he got back on the mound. He missed time early in the 2026 season with a hamstring strain, then returned to make his first Triple-A appearance of the year on April 12. In that outing for the Saints, he worked 2 2/3 shutout innings, gave up one hit, struck out three and threw 30 of 48 pitches for strikes. His fastball sat at 97.8 mph and peaked at 98.8 mph, the kind of velocity that turns a call-up from interesting to necessary.

In all, Rojas has been scoreless in 7 1/3 innings this season, and the Twins clearly saw enough to move him before the St. Paul sample could get any larger. That matters for Minnesota, which needs left-handed help now, but it also matters for the Saints. St. Paul is losing one of its most electric arms just as the season begins to take shape, and the club’s pitching depth will feel the impact immediately.

The move also closes a fast-moving chapter in Rojas’ development. Minnesota acquired him from the Blue Jays in the 2025 trade-deadline deal that sent Louie Varland and Ty France to Toronto, a swap that brought Rojas and outfielder Alan Roden back to the Twins system. He had signed with Toronto out of Cuba for $215,000 in October 2020, made his pro debut in the Florida Complex League in 2021 and kept climbing until he reached Buffalo, then St. Paul.

At 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, Rojas has the build and the arm speed that made scouts pay attention. Baseball America saw starter traits and an above-average changeup. The Twins, though, are choosing the cleaner path for now: a relief role in the majors, where his upper-90s fastball can play immediately and where Minnesota needs answers more than it needs more debate.

For St. Paul, that leaves a short but telling line on Rojas’ Triple-A ledger. For Minnesota, it is a promotion driven less by projection than by performance. When a pitcher misses time, comes back throwing 98.8, and does not give up a run in 7 1/3 innings, the wait gets short very quickly.