Duffey was optioned Thursday to Triple-A Rochester, where he'll work out of the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
Duffey was in contention for the final spot in the Twins' Opening Day rotation, but that will now fall to Phil Hughes following the right-hander's demotion. While the Twins probably won't close the door completely on Duffey starting again should more injuries hit the rotation, working in the bullpen will probably represent his quickest path back to the big leagues. After starting 26 games for the Twins in 2016, Duffey worked exclusively as a reliever during the 2017 campaign, delivering a 4.94 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 67:18 K:BB over 71 frames.