Twins add to their 40 man roster
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL, MN – The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have added right-handed pitchers John Klein and Andrew Morris, left-handed pitchers Connor Prielipp and Kendry Rojas, and outfielders Gabriel Gonzalez and Hendry Mendez to their major league 40-man roster.
Klein, 23, split the 2025 season between Double-A Wichita and Triple-A St. Paul, combining to go 7-10 with a 3.98 ERA (106.1 IP, 47 ER), 37 walks, 128 strikeouts, a 1.25 WHIP and a .234 opponent batting average in 31 games (15 starts). The 6-foot-5, 225-pound right-hander was named a Twins minor league Pitcher of the Week on three occasions in 2025: May 18, June 22 and June 29. Over four minor league seasons in the Twins system, he has struck out 281 batters in 267.0 innings pitched for a 24.0 percent strikeout rate. The Brooklyn Park, Minnesota native was signed by the Twins as an undrafted free agent in August of 2022 out of Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
Morris, 24, spent 2025 at Triple-A St. Paul, appearing in 21 games (19 starts), going 4-6 with a 4.09 ERA (94.2 IP, 43 ER), 28 walks, 89 strikeouts and a 1.33 WHIP. He was named Twins minor league Pitcher of the Week twice (May 25 and August 31) and Pitcher of the Month for August. The right-hander led the Saints’ staff in starts, and was third in innings pitched and strikeouts. Over four minor league seasons, Morris has gone 22-13 with a 3.02 ERA (313.0 IP, 105 ER), a 6.1 percent walk rate and a 23.2 percent strikeout rate in 66 games (60 starts). The New York, New York native was selected by the Twins in the fourth round of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft out of Texas Tech University and is ranked as the club’s 19th-best prospect by MLB.com.
Prielipp, 24, pitched at both Double-A Wichita and Triple-A St. Paul in 2025, combining to post a 4.03 ERA (82.2 IP, 37 ER) with 31 walks and 98 strikeouts in 24 games (23 starts) and won the Jim Rantz Award as Twins minor league Pitcher of the Year. The southpaw ranked second among all Twins minor leaguers in starts and was tied for seventh in strikeouts, despite missing time on the 7-day Injured List in June with a blister on his pitching hand. He began the season with the Wind Surge, where he was named Twins minor league Pitcher of the Week on May 11. After posting a 3.65 ERA (61.2 IP, 25 ER) with 18 walks, 73 strikeouts and a 1.49 WHIP in 19 starts for Wichita, Prielipp was promoted to St. Paul on August 16, where he finished the season appearing in five games (4 starts) for the Saints. The Tomah, Wisconsin native was selected by the Twins in the second round (48th overall) of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Alabama and is ranked as the ninth-best prospect in the Twins organization and third-best pitcher, per MLB.com.
Rojas, who turns 23 next week, split the 2025 season between Triple-A St. Paul (8 games), Triple-A Buffalo (1 game), Double-A New Hampshire (4 games), Low-A Dunedin (4 games) and the Florida Complex League Blue Jays (2 games). The lefty started eight games for the Saints to finish the season, striking out 28 batters in 27.1 innings pitched. Over five minor league seasons, Rojas has struck out 326 batters in 280.0 innings pitched, posting a 27.6 percent strikeout rate. The Ciego de Avila, Cuba native was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays along with outfielder Alan Roden at the 2025 July trade deadline, in exchange for Ty France and Louis Varland, and is ranked as the fifth-best prospect in the Twins system by MLB.com, and top pitcher.
Gonzalez, 21, played at three levels of the Twins organization in 2025, hitting .329 (159-for-483) with 38 doubles, three triples, 15 home runs, 66 RBI, 75 runs scored, 48 walks, a .395 on-base percentage, a .513 slugging percentage and a .909 OPS in 123 games combined between High-A Cedar Rapids, Double-A Wichita and Triple-A St. Paul. He ranked second in all of Minor League Baseball in doubles, sixth in hits, and seventh in batting average and total bases (248). He was named Twins minor league Player of the Week four times on the season, matching a club record for most ever in a single season. The Carupano, Venezuela native was one of the players acquired from the Seattle Mariners in the Jorge Polanco trade in January of 2024 and is ranked as the club’s eighth-best prospect by MLB.com.
Mendez, 22, split last season between Double-A Wichita and Double-A Reading (Philadelphia), combining to hit .299 (122-for-408) with 16 doubles, four triples, 11 home runs, 62 RBI, 68 runs scored, 67 walks, 10 stolen bases, a .399 on-base percentage, an .838 OPS and just 65 strikeouts in 118 games. He ranked third in all of Double-A in on-base percentage, fifth in batting average and ninth in OPS and was named an Eastern League post-season All-Star for his time at Reading. Mendez recently played five games in the Arizona Fall League for Peoria, hitting .300 (6-for-20) with one double, one home run, three RBI and one stolen base. The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native was acquired from the Phillies along with minor league pitcher Geremy Villoria at the 2025 July trade deadline, in exchange for Harrison Bader and is ranked as the 25th-best prospect in the Twins system (4th among outfielders), per MLB.com.
Additionally, the Twins have acquired right-handed pitcher Eric Orze from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Jacob Kisting.
Orze (OAR-zee), 28, went 1-1 with a 3.02 ERA (41.2 IP, 14 ER), three saves, one hold, 19 walks, 40 strikeouts, a .244 opponent batting average and a 1.37 WHIP in 33 relief appearances for the Rays in 2025. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound right-hander also posted a 4-0 record, 2.20 ERA (28.2 IP, 7 ER) and 37 strikeouts in 24 appearances for Triple-A Durham last season. A native of Elk Grove, IL, Orze was originally selected by New York-NL in the fifth round of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of New Orleans and made his major league debut on July 8, 2024 for the Mets. He has gone 1-2, 3.74 ERA (43.1 IP, 18 ER) with 21 walks, 41 strikeouts, a 1.43 WHIP, three saves and in 35 career major league games.
Kisting, 22, was selected by the Twins in the 14th round of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of Bradley University. He went 5-5 with a 3.79 ERA (73.2 IP, 31 ER), 23 walks and 77 strikeouts in 30 games (5 starts) between Low-A Fort Myers and High-A Cedar Rapids in 2025, his first professional season.
The Twins now have 40 players on their major league roster: 19 pitchers, two catchers, five infielders, 10 outfielders and four utility players.
Press Release Courtesy Minnsota Twins
