The Twins sent reliever Ryne Harper, who leads the pitching staff in appearances, to Class AAA Rochester on Saturday and recalled righthander Cody Stashak from the Red Wings.
Harper pitched in 56 games for the Twins and was 3-2 with a 3.65 ERA and one save. He struggled over his past few appearances, giving up 16 runs in his past 21 innings.
Stashak has been with the Twins twice this season, appearing in six games with a 5.40 ERA. He was 5-0 with a 1.44 ERA in Rochester.
Harper was a great story coming out of spring training, as the 30-year-old made a major league roster for the first time. With a big breaking curveball that he could change speeds with, Harper was entertaining at times as he neutralized opponents. And his stats (just nine walks in 45 innings) weren't shabby.
But he has a 6.35 ERA over his last 21 appearances. He has a 7.36 ERA this month. Perhaps the league has figured him out, or he's just not making the pitches he needs to make. So Stashak, who gave up five earned runs over six appearances with the Twins in his first stint with the Twins, is on the way back.
Also, the Twins plan to meet with Jose Berrios today. The righthander left Target Field without speaking to the media following his outing on Friday, which they don't approve of. And there will be discussions about how to get Berrios back on track after a rough month of August. Skipping him in the rotation is not out of the question.
The Twins also announced Byron Buxton will begin a rehab assignment at Class A Cedar Rapids.
The lineup has been posted, and Eddie Rosario (hamstring) is not in it.
