The Minnesota Twins could be forced to make a roster move to add another pitcher to the roster with righty Alex Burnett possibly injured.
According to 1500ESPN, after a one inning outing against the Chicago White Sox in the Twins' last series, Burnett complained of soreness in his elbow and was evaluated by White Sox doctors. He will be evaluated by Twins doctors this weekend to see if the injury is serious, but the Twins only have 12 pitchers on the roster which could force them to either put him on the DL to call up another pitcher or send one of their outfielders to AAA.
In an interview with 1500 ESPN on Friday morning, manager Ron Gardenhire said right-handers Deolis Guerra and Lester Oliveros are the two likeliest bullpen candidates to be called up if a move were made.
Guerra owns a 0.92 ERA with 29 strikeouts and six walks in 29 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. Oliveros owns a 1.09 ERA with 25 strikeouts and eight walks in 24 2/3 innings between the two levels.
Anthony Slama also has solid numbers -- a 0.44 ERA with 33 strikeouts and 12 walks in 20 1/3 innings -- but Gardenhire said Guerra and Oliveros have "better stuff."
Burnett will likely not play in any of the games in the series against the Tigers this weekend while the Twins figure out what to do with him.
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