NEW YORK — This rush-to-Yankee-Stadium thing is becoming an annual ritual for Louie Varland's family.
Twins call up Louie Varland to start in place of Kenta Maeda on Friday at Yankee Stadium
Varland is on his way to New York, called up from the Class AAA Saints. Maeda will not go on the injured list, manager Rocco Baldelli said, but is simply being skipped after reporting some "general fatigue."
April 14, 2023 at 3:24AM
They'll be in the air again on Friday morning, after Rocco Baldelli and pitching coach Pete Maki decided Thursday that Kenta Maeda needs some extra rest before his next start. Varland will be formally summoned from Class AAA St. Paul and will start Friday night's game in the Bronx.
"He did some good work last time," Baldelli said of Varland, whose MLB debut last September before a noisy cheering section of Minnesotans produced seven strikeouts and only two runs in 5 1/3 innings against the Yankees.
Maeda will not go on the injured list, Baldelli said, but is simply being skipped after reporting some "general fatigue" afflicting him in Monday's six innings of work against the White Sox.
"He's not dealing with anything acute. We just think it's prudent and wise and the right thing to do this," Baldelli said. "This is something that we knew would happen one or two or three times this year. This is not an unexpected thing. We made the decision today to do this because we think it's the right thing to do."
The Twins did not announce a roster move to make room for Varland, though the decision appears obvious: Long reliever Cole Sands, who pitched two innings Thursday, was packing up his locker after the game.
Gerrit Cole gave up his opt-out right on Monday and will remain with the New York Yankees under a contract that runs through 2028 rather than become a free agent.
