Twins reinstate Abad, option Rogers

Lefty reliever missed 3 games while on bereavement list

April 19th, 2016

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins reinstated lefty reliever Fernando Abad from the bereavement list after Monday's rain-shortened, 7-4 win in six innings over the Brewers. They optioned lefty Taylor Rogers to Triple-A Rochester to make room for him on the roster.
Abad missed three games on the bereavement list after the death of his grandmother. Abad has thrown 4 1/3 scoreless innings this year, and remains the primary lefty out of the bullpen.
The decision to option Rogers comes as a bit of a surprise, as lefty Ryan O'Rourke was the one called up on Saturday when Abad was placed on the bereavement list.
Rogers made a scoreless appearance on Thursday, recording two outs in his Major League debut. But it's his first season as a reliever after starting throughout the Minor Leagues so the Twins want him to get more experience at Rochester.

"Taylor got one appearance here and it was good but my concern when we brought him up here was to be complementary to [Michael] Tonkin by going long in length," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "But with his transition to the bullpen, he's not getting enough to get comfortable in that role. It would be one or two outings a week compared to down there [in the Minors] where he can get four or five and get used to what we're asking him to do."