The Twins Designate Ex-Reds Reliever for Assignment

Matt Bowman Exits Twins 40-Man Roster

Bowman, 32, made a return to the majors last season following a lengthy injury absence. Between the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals, Bowman threw over 180 innings between 2016-19. He became a solid middle-innings reliever during that tenure, turning in a sub-4.00 ERA in three of his four seasons while keeping the ball on the ground more than 55 percent of the time.

Bowman’s Battle with Injuries

The injuries intervened with Bowman, including an elbow sprain that cost him the shortened 2020 season. After unsuccessfully rehabbing the injury, he required Tommy John surgery that September. He missed another two full seasons after going for surgery. In that span, he had a two-year minor league pact with the New York Yankees. However, Bowman came back to the club on another non-roster deal last winter.

When he finally got healthy, he spent most of the year at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He allowed 3.99 earned runs per nine innings across 58 2/3 innings. He struck out an average of 22.6 percent of opponents with an 11.7 percent walk rate. The walk rate was higher than usual, but it’s not uncommon for pitchers to struggle with some command issues after recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Brief Stay in the Majors

Bowman’s efforts in the minors were enough for Yankees manager Aaron Boone to give him a brief look. He was added to New York’s 40-man roster after the All-Star break to keep him from a free agent. The Yankees didn’t call him up until September, pitching three times with four innings of four-run ball with three strikeouts and a pair of walks. The Yankees outrighted him from the 40-man roster at season’s end, hitting the free agent market once again.