Twins designate one-time World Series winner for assignment, reinstate veteran reliever

The Twins have designated relief pitcher Dylan Floro for assignment, the team revealed to reporters, via Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. They have reinstated fellow reliever Brock Stewart from the 60-day injured list to take his spot on the roster.

Floro joined the Twins just before the trade deadline, coming over from the Marlins in a one-for-one swap for Jorge López. Both pitchers were in the midst of disappointing seasons, and perhaps their new teams thought a change of scenery would do them some good. Suffice it to say, that hasn’t been the case for either one. Floro made 19 appearances for Minnesota, pitching to a 5.29 ERA. His underlying numbers were better (3.43 FIP, 3.70 SIERA), but still, he never looked like the shutdown reliever he was over the previous three seasons; from 2020-22, he posted a 2.85 ERA in 142 innings of work.

Meanwhile, López made 12 appearances for the Marlins, giving up 13 runs on 20 hits before his new club placed him on waivers. He was claimed by the Orioles, his former team, and has since pitched to a 6.10 ERA in 11 games. Overall, he has a 6.12 ERA and -1.0 FanGraphs WAR on the season.

The Twins will have to place Floro on waivers, and given how few days remain in the regular season (and his $3.9M salary), it’s likely he goes unclaimed. He has enough service time to reject an outright assignment to the minor leagues, which would give him the chance to start his free agency a month early; after parts of eight MLB seasons, the veteran was set to hit the open market regardless. Considering his long track record of success before this difficult campaign, the 32-year-old righty should have no trouble finding a new club.

Stewart got off to a strong start in 2023, shining out of the bullpen in his first taste of MLB action since 2019. In 25 outings, he gave up just two earned runs, good for a 0.70 ERA. With a 97 mph fastball and four secondary pitches, he struck out more than 35% of the batters he faced, holding his opponents to a .172 batting average and a .230 wOBA.

In his last 10 appearances before he landed on the IL, Stewart pitched 10 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out 18 and walking none. Unfortunately, at the end of June, he began to feel discomfort in his elbow — a particularly worrisome development for a pitcher who recently recovered from Tommy John surgery. He spent the next three months on the IL but thankfully managed to avoid another surgery.

As Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports, the 31-year-old is expected to pitch in Tuesday evening’s contest against the Athletics. The Twins, having already clinched their division, will spend the final six games of the season preparing their players for the postseason.