Twins Lose Flamethrower Kendry Rojas to Oblique Strain
MLB Trade Rumors reported the transaction via Twitter on August 23, 2026.
The Minnesota Twins' pitching staff is dropping like flies, and the latest casualty is the one guy who actually throws hard enough to make you look up from your phone. Kendry Rojas is officially heading to the injured list with an oblique strain.
Losing a 23-year-old lefty who touches 97 mph is bad enough, but losing him to an oblique injury is the baseball equivalent of a check-engine light. You never know if it means a quick two-week rest or a three-month nightmare that ruins your summer.
This is not the first time Rojas has been stuck in the trainer's room this season. He already missed time back in May with triceps inflammation shortly after making his highly anticipated big-league debut. The kid has electric stuff, but his rookie year is rapidly turning into a medical punch card.
The timing is objectively brutal for Minnesota. They just dropped a frustrating series to the Atlanta Braves and are currently getting pushed around by the San Diego Padres on a West Coast trip. When your pitching staff is already running on fumes, subtracting a power arm forces a manager to start trusting guys who usually only pitch when the team is down by six runs.
Anyone looking at the Twins' upcoming series against the Oakland Athletics needs to factor in this missing firepower. Minnesota is going to have to patch together innings, which usually means overtaxing the middle relievers and praying the offense wakes up.
Expect a corresponding roster move before the first pitch in Oakland, but replacing 97 from the left side is not happening with a random Triple-A call-up. The Twins just have to survive the week and hope that oblique heals faster than a standard baseball timeline suggests.