Minnesota Twins DFA Pitcher After Impressive Season
Royce Lewis was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul, the second member of Minnesota's Opening Day lineup to be sent down in the past week following Matt Wallner's demotion.
Ryan Jeffers broke his left hamate bone on a foul ball Monday night and will likely require surgery, sidelining their best offensive producer for a significant stretch.
Veterans Orlando Arcia and Alex Jackson were recalled to fill the positional gaps.
And in the middle of all of it, right-hander Justin Topa was designated for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot for Arcia.
Twins Send Topa to the Waiver Wire
The Topa DFA was the least surprising move of the four.
He has been one of the least effective pitchers in the American League in 2026, allowing 18 runs on 27 hits and 11 walks across 19 innings with a 13 percent strikeout rate that is a career low.
His power sinker, which averaged 95 mph during his breakout 2023 season with the Mariners, has dropped to 93.2 mph.
#MNTwins made space on the 40-man roster for Orlando Arcia by DFA'ing reliever Justin Topa.
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) May 19, 2026
The whiff rate has collapsed, and the command has worsened.
He has been yielding hard contact at an alarming rate and has allowed four home runs in a small sample from a pitcher who historically kept the ball on the ground with elite frequency.
In 2025, Topa was one of Minnesota's most reliable late-inning options after the front office traded away Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louie Varland, Brock Stewart, and Danny Coulombe at the deadline, posting a 3.90 ERA with a 49-to-18 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 60 innings and stepping into a closer role in the season's final weeks.
That version of Topa made him a reasonable arbitration candidate worth $1.225 million this season. The 2026 version has made that investment look increasingly untenable with each passing outing.
Justin Topa DFA
— Brandon Warne (@Brandon_Warne) May 19, 2026
Did not see that one coming quite yet https://t.co/Cr6wQX8m9h
The Twins will have five days to explore a trade before placing Topa on outright waivers.
Given his $1.225 million salary and his 2026 results, he is likely to clear unclaimed.
With more than five years of service time, Topa can refuse an outright assignment and elect free agency, giving him the option to search for a new situation with an organization willing to work with a 35-year-old who has shown legit late-inning capability when healthy but has deteriorated sharply in the early going this season.
Photo Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
