Randy Dobnak to join Twins rotation — and Olympian Joe Ryan could be next

DETROIT — By the end of this week, the Twins may finally be able to stop listing "Help Wanted" in their projected starting rotation.

Randy Dobnak, whose last start for the Twins was on June 19, will come off the 60-day injured list Friday and start that night at Tampa Bay. And Rocco Baldelli and Derek Falvey have hinted, but not yet confirmed, that there may be another new addition to the rotation before then. Joe Ryan, the silver medal-winning Olympian acquired from the Rays last month, is a logical choice to make his major league debut against the Chicago Cubs at Target Field on Wednesday.

The Twins have pushed back Andrew Albers' next start to Saturday in St. Petersburg, Fla., leaving a hole in the rotation for the finale of this week's two-game set with the Cubs. Michael Pineda could return from his oblique strain soon, but not this week. Which means the likely starter will come from the minor league ranks — perhaps not by coincidence, on Sept. 1, the first day that major league rosters can be expanded to 28.

"We have some ideas about who is going to start that game, but we have no announcements yet," Baldelli said Monday. But the Twins manager also acknowledged a day earlier that Ryan has pitched very well for Class AAA St. Paul since returning from Tokyo, and "we could see him in September."

Last week Falvey, the team's president of baseball operations, said the Twins were eager to challenge Ryan at the big-league level, "once we let him get his feet under him." The 25-year-old righthander has now pitched twice for the Saints, giving up one run in each start and striking out 17 batters in nine total innings.

"He's going to be a candidate for sure," Falvey said.

The return of Dobnak is notable in itself, given his previous two seasons with the Twins — and the disastrous journey he has been on this season. Dobnak opened the season in the bullpen, didn't make his first start until May 21 after a three-week stay in St. Paul, battled blisters on his pitching hand and eventually went on the injured list because of a strained tendon in his middle finger. His ERA stands at 7.83, but Baldelli is optimistic about salvaging his season in the final month.

"He's a guy who, when he's right, can go out there and pitch as efficiently and roll through the lineup as fast as anyone," Baldelli said. "We want to get him back out there, rack up some innings and just let him go do his thing. Just letting him get out there and re-establish himself is all we really want."

Wednesday's two-player roster expansion is a big change from baseball's longtime tradition of allowing as many as 40 players in uniform in September. Another tradition that may go away: Making sure one of the additions is a third catcher, a relief to managers forever leery of not having a backup in case of a mid-game injury.

That one doesn't apply to the Twins, anyway. They already have three catchers … don't they?

Willians Astudillo has caught 52 games in his four-year career with the Twins, but hasn't been behind the plate since June 1. That might or might not change in September, but "I consider him more than an emergency catcher," Baldelli said. "He's much more geared to go behind the plate than a typical emergency catcher. But while we have two available catchers, most likely [they] will get the vast majority of time."

Astudillo still prepares himself to catch, getting behind the plate for two or three bullpen sessions every week. And while he admits that he misses that duty, "I don't care whether I play third [base] or second or first," he said. "If they need me in the lineup, I'm good. I'm 100 percent happy to play wherever they say."

Detroit pitcher Miguel Del Pozo was struck in the chin by a Max Kepler line drive in the ninth inning Monday. Del Pozo walked off the field holding a towel to his face, his jersey stained by blood, and the grounds crew had to cover a small puddle of blood with dirt.

But the righthander's jaw and teeth were intact, and Del Pozo passed an initial concussion test, the Tigers said after the game. He needed stitches in his jaw, but apparently escaped more serious injury.