The Twins have designated lefthander Adalberto Mejia for release or assignment to make room for righthander Jake Odorizzi to be activated from the injured list.
Mejia was 0-2 with a 8.80 ERA in 13 appearances with the Twins. He season was slowed by a right calf strain that forced him to miss 56 games. When he returned, he had the same trouble throwing strikes and finishing off hitters the times he did get ahead in the count.
The Twins traded Eduardo Nunez to San Francisco in July of 2016 in exchange for Mejia, whom at the time was a starting pitching prospect. In 40 appearances with the Twins, Mejia went 6-9 with a 4.63 ERA. Of those 40 games, 25 were starts.
This means the Twins will move forward, for the moment, with righthander Zack Littell as a reliever.
Odorizzi is coming off the injured list after recovering from a blister suffered a week and a half ago in Oakland.
"I'll feel normal, and I'll be ready to go," Odorizzi said during All-Star Game festivities.
