Twins' Taylor Rogers hopes for All-Star trip, in one way or another

KANSAS CITY, MO. – Taylor Rogers finds out on Sunday if he is going to the All-Star Game. He's pretty excited about the prospect.

"If my brother makes it, I'll be down front, watching," said the Twins lefthander, the opposite-handed twin of Giants reliever Tyler Rogers. "That would be incredible."

Sure, but wouldn't being in uniform, watching from the American League bullpen, be even better? Especially since the game will be played in his hometown of Denver, where Rogers used to attend dozens of Rockies games each year? For Rogers, that's where the notion jumps from dream to fantasy. The All-Star Game? That's for closers.

"The last couple of years, I've kind of just thrown that [idea] to the wayside," he said. "As a reliever, it's hard to get there without all the saves."

And it's hard to get saves without opportunities. Rogers has been the Twins' most reliable reliever this season (and arguably for the last four seasons as well), having failed to convert only two save chances. But his role has evolved this season, with manager Rocco Baldelli frequently using him before the ninth inning to face lefthanded hitters.

Consequently, Rogers owns only seven saves, or one-third the total of AL leader Liam Hendriks of Chicago, and doesn't rank among the American League's top 10 in saves.

"If I was sitting here with 15 saves, it might be a different story," Rogers said. He is proud of the season he has had — 42 strikeouts in 32 innings, with only five walks and an ERA of 2.53 — but "playing in Minnesota, not having a lot of saves, it's hard to draw the attention you need" to be selected as an All-Star.

He has earned the attention of his manager, anyway. "Taylor Rogers is having an exceptional season," Rocco Baldelli said. "He's one of our guys who are deserving and have had good, good years."

As a last-place team, though, the Twins figure to have only one or two players selected when the full teams are announced on ESPN at 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Center fielder Byron Buxton just missed out on being elected a starter, but he's injured. Designated hitter Nelson Cruz, a six-time All-Star, and righthander Jose Berrios, who has played in the last two such games, in 2018 and 2019, are the most likely Twins to go.

Two years ago, Rogers entered the All-Star break with a dozen saves and a 1.82 ERA, and "I thought I had a decent shot that year," he said. "but it didn't happen. I don't think much about [All-Star Games] now."

Except in terms of his brother, who owns a 1.40 ERA and nine saves as he splits the closer role in the first-place Giants bullpen with Jake McGee.

"He deserves it more than me," Rogers said of his side-arming brother. "I'm really hoping for good news."

Michael Pineda's five-runs-in-four-innings rehab start for the Class AAA St. Paul Saints wasn't impressive from a baseball standpoint. But it was a success from a health standpoint, Baldelli said.

"He built himself up to about 75 pitches," the manager said of Pineda, who has been on the injured list since June 14 with tightness in his forearm, which is often a prelude to elbow troubles. "Mike's perspective on his start and how he feels will be important."

The Twins haven't decided whether another rehab start will be necessary, Baldelli said.

Other pitchers in the system have suffered setbacks, too. Lefthander Devin Smeltzer, recovering from elbow inflammation, has been shut down after experiencing severe back pain while preparing for a rehab start in Fort Myers, Fla.

Luke Farrell's oblique strain "is going to need a little more time than we initially believed," Baldelli said. "He is not throwing yet." Nor is fellow righthander Randy Dobnak, who is still experiencing nagging pain in his middle finger.

The Twins have signed former Rockies and Yankees reliever Joe Harvey and assigned him to St. Paul.

Harvey, 29, owned a 2.63 ERA for Class AAA Albuquerque before being designated for assignment by Colorado on June 22.