Twins Option Zak Kent to Triple-A St. Paul After Early Struggles

Zak Kent looked like a late-camp steal in spring training: a 3.52 ERA, a crisp 8:1 K:BB ratio, 7.2 innings of composed work against big-league lineups. Six days into the regular season, that version of Kent has not shown up.

The Minnesota Twins optioned the 28-year-old right-hander to Triple-A St. Paul on April 5, a move driven by a command breakdown that surfaced immediately and did not correct itself. Across two appearances, Kent walked five batters against only two strikeouts over 3.2 innings, a 2:5 K:BB ratio that is the statistical inverse of everything he showed this spring. He also surrendered four hits, two of them home runs, and two earned runs in the process.

The first outing set the tone. In 1 2/3 innings against Kansas City, Kent threw 34 pitches, issued three walks, and left Minnesota down in a 13-9 Royals win. His second appearance showed marginal improvement, one run on one hit over two frames, but the walk problem persisted. Five free passes in 3.2 innings is a walk rate that no bullpen can absorb, especially one that ranks 26th in the majors in strikeout-to-walk ratio entering the week.

The walk-rate warning was not without precedent. In parts of four Triple-A seasons, Kent carries a 12% career walk rate, a chronic vulnerability that has shadowed him across multiple organizations. He came to Minnesota in February after the Twins claimed him off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals, his fourth team since October following stints with the Guardians, Cardinals, Rangers, and Cardinals again. The spring performance earned him a roster spot. The regular season exposed the same fault line that has followed him throughout his career.

In St. Paul, the focus will be on getting ahead in counts. First-pitch strike percentage and walk rate are the two metrics the Saints coaching staff will target, and the path back to Minnesota runs directly through both numbers. When the major-league club needs a fresh arm, pitchers who have cleaned up their command in Triple-A are the first call.

The corresponding roster move is Garrett Acton, whom the Twins acquired from the Miami Marlins on April 2 in exchange for minor-league righty Logan Whitaker. Acton, who turns 28 in June, leans on a mid-90s four-seamer and struck out 29.5 percent of batters faced across 160 minor-league innings. He brings the kind of swing-and-miss potential Minnesota's bullpen has lacked, slotting into the unsettled right-handed portion of a relief corps anchored by Anthony Banda, Taylor Rogers, Kody Funderburk, Eric Orze, Justin Topa and Cole Sands. With the Twins already burning through relievers at an elevated rate this season, Acton's ability to punch out hitters rather than compound the walk problem makes him a direct upgrade on what Kent delivered in his two outings.