MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins made a pair of roster moves after their 5-4 loss to the Tigers on Saturday, optioning left-hander Adalberto Mejia to Triple-A Rochester and placing Rule 5 right-hander Justin Haley on the 10-day disabled list with right biceps tendinitis. Two corresponding roster moves will be made on Sunday.
Both Mejia and Haley pitched Saturday, as Mejia went 2 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks with six strikeouts. It caused Mejia's ERA to rise to 5.79 in three starts. Haley relieved Mejia and threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings, but he also hit Tigers center fielder JaCoby Jones in the face with a 90-mph fastball in the third.
The Twins will stick with a four-man rotation in the short-term, as they don't need another starter until May 6 because of off-days.
"He hasn't been the same guy so far," Twins manager Paul Molitor said of Mejia. "We've seen some glimpses. He throws it over, but he hasn't been doing that consistently. He's probably trying too hard. Classic case of a guy thinking he needs to be a little better, throwing a little harder and trying to spin it harder."
Haley, meanwhile, has posted a 4.15 ERA in 14 innings after being selected from the Red Sox organization in the Rule 5 Draft.
"He's battling a little bit of biceps tendinitis," Molitor said. "With the 10-day and it being early in the season, I'm not going to push that kid. It gives us some flexibility in terms of how we want to use those two spots."
The Twins are expected to bring up a position player and a reliever on Sunday; first baseman Kennys Vargas is a top candidate to get called up to provide some power.