MINNESOTA TWINS GET MAJOR ROTATION BOOST AS TAJ BRADLEY RETURNS — VETERAN RELIEVER LUIS GARCIA DFA’D AGAIN

The Minnesota Twins received an important boost to their pitching staff ahead of today’s matchup against the Boston Red Sox, officially activating right-hander Taj Bradley from the 15-day injured list.

Bradley is expected to take the mound immediately in his return, giving Minnesota a desperately needed reinforcement for a rotation that has spent much of the 2026 season battling injuries and inconsistency.

To make room on the active roster, the Twins designated veteran reliever Luis García for assignment — marking the second time this season the 39-year-old pitcher has entered DFA limbo.

For Minnesota, however, the headline is clearly the return of Taj Bradley.

The talented right-hander had been sidelined since early May due to right pectoral inflammation in what the organization described as a largely precautionary move. Fortunately for the Twins, the injury appears to have been relatively minor, as Bradley missed only slightly more than the minimum 15-day stint after making one rehab appearance with Triple-A St. Paul.

Now he returns to a Twins rotation that badly needs stability.

Before the injury, Bradley was quietly putting together one of the strongest stretches of his young career. Across his first eight starts and 47 innings this season, the right-hander posted an impressive 2.87 ERA while striking out hitters at a dominant 26.1% rate.

Those numbers quickly established him as one of the most reliable arms in Minnesota’s rotation early in the season.

While his 8.5% walk rate remains slightly above league average and some advanced metrics suggest a bit of good fortune — including an elevated 84.3% strand rate — analysts still view Bradley’s overall performance as extremely encouraging.

His 3.66 SIERA indicates there may be some regression ahead, but it also confirms that his success has been backed by legitimate swing-and-miss stuff and strong overall pitching quality.

For a Twins team fighting to stay competitive despite constant injury setbacks, Bradley’s return could not come at a better time.

The organization has spent much of the year trying to patch together its pitching staff while navigating health issues across multiple areas of the roster. Bradley’s emergence as a dependable starter had become one of the most important developments of the season before the injury temporarily interrupted his momentum.

Now Minnesota hopes he can immediately stabilize the rotation once again.

Meanwhile, the corresponding roster move involving Luis Garcia highlights just how difficult the veteran’s 2026 season has become.

Garcia originally signed a one-year, $1.75 million deal with the New York Mets during the offseason, but his struggles in New York quickly led to his first designation for assignment back in April.

Shortly afterward, the Twins signed Garcia to a minor league contract and eventually selected him to the major league roster in late April in hopes that the experienced reliever could provide bullpen depth.

Instead, the results were disastrous.

In nine appearances for Minnesota, Garcia struggled to a brutal 10.38 ERA across just 8 2/3 innings. Combined with his time in New York, the veteran now owns a 9.00 ERA over 15 innings this season while recording an identical number of walks and strikeouts — six each.

For a pitcher long known for inconsistency but also durability, the sudden collapse has raised serious questions about whether his long MLB career may finally be nearing its conclusion.

Garcia is currently in his 14th Major League season and approaching his 40th birthday, making him one of the oldest active pitchers in baseball. Throughout his career, he has built a reputation as a journeyman reliever capable of helping teams in short stretches, even if consistency often remained elusive.

Over nearly 600 career innings in the majors, Garcia has still managed respectable lifetime numbers, including a 4.20 ERA and a solid 21% strikeout rate.

In fact, it was only last season that Garcia posted a strong 3.42 ERA while pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals, and Los Angeles Angels across 55 1/3 innings.

That recent success is likely the only reason another team may still consider taking a chance on him.

However, because any claiming team would inherit the remainder of Garcia’s salary, many around baseball expect him to clear waivers before potentially electing free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A.

At this point, uncertainty surrounds his future.

Some evaluators believe Garcia still possesses enough veteran experience and bullpen versatility to contribute somewhere later this season. Others wonder whether the physical demands of another long MLB campaign have finally caught up to the veteran right-hander.

For now, though, Minnesota’s focus remains on Taj Bradley.

The Twins desperately need healthy, reliable pitching if they hope to remain competitive in a tightly contested American League race. Bradley’s return immediately strengthens a rotation that has struggled to maintain consistency due to injuries and roster turnover.

And if the young right-hander can continue pitching anywhere near the level he showed before landing on the injured list, the Twins may have just regained one of the most important pieces of their season.

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