The Minnesota Twins placed closer Glen Perkins on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a left shoulder strain, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.
Continue for updates.
Jepsen Likely to Assume Closer Role
Wednesday, April 13
The team called up Taylor Rogers from its Triple-A affiliate to fill Perkins' place on the 25-man roster. Rogers made 27 starts for the Rochester Red Wings, going 11-12 with a 3.98 ERA.
Baseball writer Aaron Gleeman noted how some were concerned with Perkins' health to start the regular season:
The 33-year-old has appeared in two games this year. He blew a save in his last appearance, allowing two earned runs to the Kansas City Royals in what was a 4-3 loss on April 10.
Granted, it's an extremely small sample size, but Perkins' velocity has dipped in each of the last three years, suffering a significant drop this season, per BrooksBaseball.net:
According to Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press, Perkins' fastball hovered in the high 80s to low 90s in spring training as well.
If Minnesota hopes to climb back up the standings, it will need to have somebody upon whom it can rely on in the ninth inning. Although he has never been a full-time closer, Kevin Jepsen has experience finishing games, recording 10 saves with the Twins last year. It's a far cry from Perkins, who saved 30-plus games and made the All-Star Game in each of the last three years.
Perhaps a short stint on the DL will allow Perkins to get back to 100 percent. If his shoulder strain is part of a bigger problem, though, it could be a major blow to an 0-7 Twins team.
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