Hughes injury sends May back to Twins rotation

Trevor May is no longer in the bullpen, Phil Hughes is no longer on the active roster, and Tyler Duffey is no longer a one-and-done major league pitcher.

The Twins rotation will definitely have a new look this weekend.

May will make his first start in six weeks Friday vs. Cleveland, Duffey will be recalled from Class AAA Rochester for Saturday's game and Tommy Milone will be activated from the disabled list Sunday for the series finale.

Hughes triggered the sudden shuffle by reporting back pain while throwing in the bullpen Tuesday, a recurrence, he said, of an old injury he suffered with the Yankees. A magnetic resonance imaging test was administered, General Manager Terry Ryan said, and inflammation was found in Hughes' lower back, landing him on the 15-day disabled list.

"I don't think it's something that's been ongoing for a long time. He hasn't said anything to the trainers about it, it's just something that flared up," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. But it comes just days after a subpar, three-inning start for Hughes, which prompted questions about his health.

Hughes had an epidural injection in his back Thursday, the same treatment that provided relief the last time he experienced back pain, and Ryan said the Twins expect he will be healthy enough to return from the DL Aug. 25.

Milone, sidelined by an elbow strain, is healthy now, and he proved it with a full bullpen session Thursday morning. "He's fit and ready to go," Molitor said.

So is Duffey, who was battered at Toronto for six runs and two homers in his major league debut Aug. 5. He bounced back with a one-hit, six-inning performance vs. Buffalo when he returned to Rochester.

"I don't know how much nerves played into how that start went," Molitor said. "For him to bounce back and pitch as well as he did the other day, as far as location and stuff, you want to see him get another shot at it. He's not going to be in the buzz saw of facing the Blue Jays in that difficult environment."

It's only one start, however; Duffey, who will be starting on three days' rest (though after throwing only 69 pitches Monday) will almost certainly be returned to Rochester after the game so the Twins can activate Milone.

That's one reason, Ryan said, the Twins chose not to summon top prospect Jose Berrios.

"He's highly thought of," Ryan said, "but given that it's going to be one [game] and a turnaround, it's not the right time."

May has a 4.37 ERA in 15 starts this year, and a roughly 4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. In 13 relief appearances, his ERA is 2.51, and his K/W ratio is 7-to-1.

All of which makes his future — and his present — a bit of a mystery.

"I'm more than happy to do it," May said. "Routine-wise, you're in a little different shape, so it's an adjustment I'll have to make. I've switched one way, I can switch the other, I guess."

May will get at least two starts, Friday and next week in Baltimore, but even Molitor, who grew to rely on May's eighth-inning effectiveness, sounds uncertain about what role he will ultimately occupy.

"I would have preferred to keep him out there. I brought him in to tell him he was probably going to get a start this weekend, and I told him, 'I don't know what your future is going to be,' " Molitor said.

Ryan, though, was blunt. "I think we all want to see him be a future starter," he said.

Righthander Alex Wimmers, a Twins first-round draft pick in 2010, has been moved to the bullpen at Class AA Chattanooga "in order to get his confidence up. He's been struggling to get outs as a starter," said Mike Radcliff, Twins vice president for player personnel.

A two-time Big Ten Pitcher of the Year at Ohio State who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012, Wimmers had a 4.90 ERA in 18 starts despite a changeup that Radcliff said "is major league quality right now."