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Topa signed a minor-league contract with the Royals on Tuesday.
Topa was cut loose by Toronto on Sunday despite allowing just three earned runs in eight innings with its Triple-A affiliate. He'll now get another opportunity to carve out a role for himself with the Royals, and he may have an easier path back to the big leagues given Kansas City's 5.22 bullpen ERA.
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Justin Topa: Let go by Toronto
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The Blue Jays released Topa on Sunday, Aaron Gleeman of AaronGleeman.com reports.
Topa signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays in early June after being let go by the Twins in mid-May. He's pitched to a 3.38 ERA, 1.75 WHIP and 4:3 K:BB across eight innings with Triple-A Buffalo this season, but he'll now hit the open market after being cut by the Blue Jays. Topa will likely look to catch on with a team in needed of right-handed depth out of the bullpen.
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Blue Jays' Justin Topa: Nets minors deal from Blue Jays
Rotowire
The Blue Jays signed Topa to a minor-league contract Saturday.
Topa was released by the Twins on May 23 after posting an 8.05 ERA and 2.00 WHIP across 19 innings. The 35-year-old reliever will look to get back on track at Triple-A Buffalo and earn another chance at the big-league level.
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Justin Topa: Cut by Twins
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The Twins released Topa on Saturday, Aaron Gleeman of AaronGleeman.com reports.
The Twins designated Topa for assignment Tuesday, and rather than keeping him in the organization, the team will instead part ways with him entirely now that he's cleared waivers. The 35-year-old righty has struggled considerably this season, posting an 8.05 ERA and 2.00 WHIP across 19 innings with Minnesota. He will likely have to redeem himself on a minor-league contract before another team inserts him into its big-league bullpen.
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Twins' Justin Topa: Designated for assignment
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The Twins designated Topa for assignment Tuesday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
The transaction clears a spot on the 40-man roster for the addition of Orlando Arcia. Topa is one of eight Twins relievers to notch a save this season, but he's been highly ineffective overall and particularly of late, yielding 12 runs across 5.1 innings in May. Given his $1.225 million salary, Topa is likely to pass through waivers unclaimed.
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Twins' Justin Topa: Hangs on for second save
Rotowire
Topa picked up the save in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Blue Jays despite allowing two runs on four hits in the ninth inning.
It didn't come easy for Topa on Sunday after the right-hander entered with a three-run lead. He gave up four hits in the frame, including a two-run homer to Kazuma Okamoto, though he ultimately coaxed a double play off the bat of Lenyn Sosa to strand the tying and go-ahead runs on base. It's Topa's second save this season and his first since April 7. His ERA sits at 4.70 with a 1.63 WHIP and 9:6 K:BB across 15.1 innings.
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Twins' Justin Topa: Collects first save of 2026
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Topa earned the save in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Tigers, allowing one walk and no hits in a scoreless two-thirds of an inning.
Eric Orze was given the initial save opportunity but was pulled after yielding an RBI double to Kevin McGonigle. With Cole Sands and Taylor Rogers already deployed earlier in the game, the Twins turned to Topa, who proceeded to seal the win for Minnesota after getting two of the next three batters to ground out. Topa is one of three Twins pitchers to record a save this season, but there doesn't appear to be a clear-cut favorite for the closing job in Minnesota as of yet.
Topa allowed one run on two hits with no walks or strikeouts over one inning in Thursday's 2-1 loss against the Orioles.
Topa was used in the seventh inning in a tied game in his first appearance. While he could be used in late-inning save situations at some point, his first usage of the season wouldn't seem to indicate he's at the top of the mix for save opportunities.
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Twins' Justin Topa: Rough start to spring
Rotowire
Topa gave up four earned runs on four hits, including a home run, with two strikeouts Sunday to increase his spring ERA to 30.38. He's given up nine earned runs in 2.2 innings.
Topa does have a 5:3 K:BB in 2.2 innings, so he's at least striking out batters. It's still early in the spring and Topa as a veteran may be focusing on some aspects of his arsenal. However, this isn't inspiring for his chances to earn saves in the unsettled Twins closer competition.
The Twins and Topa avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract Friday, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.
Darren Wolfson of Channel 5 Saint Paul says the deal is worth $1.225 million. Topa had been viewed as a non-tender candidate, but he will stick around and could be a high-leverage reliever again on a Twins team unlikely to make any big offseason bullpen additions. The righty held a 3.90 ERA and 49:18 K:BB over 60 innings in 2025, posting a 46.7 percent groundball rate along the way.
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Twins' Justin Topa: Option declined, but arb eligible
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The Twins declined Topa's $2 million option for 2026 on Thursday, Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.
Topa remains in the organization, as he has another year of team control via arbitration eligibility. The righty reliever collected a 3.90 ERA and 49:18 K:BB over 60 innings out of the Twins' bullpen in 2025, notching four saves along the way. Topa could see high-leverage innings again in 2026 as part of an unsettled Minnesota relief corps.
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Twins' Justin Topa: On IL with oblique injury
Rotowire
The Twins placed Topa on the 15-day injured list Friday due to a left oblique strain.
Topa was removed from Sunday's game with left knee discomfort, but he'll head to the injured list Friday with a different ailment. The 34-year-old has been serving as a high-leverage arm since Jhoan Duran was dealt to the Phillies. He's blown two of his six save chances during that stretch and has allowed seven runs (six earned) across his last nine appearances. Cody Laweryson was brought up from Triple-A St. Paul in a corresponding move. Cole Sands, Kody Funderburk and Michael Tonkin are candidates for save chances.
Topa was removed from his relief appearance in Sunday's 5-1 win over Kansas City in the ninth inning due to left knee discomfort, Matthew Leach of MLB.com reports. "I had the doctor look at it and he said that structurally, everything looks good," said Topa.
Topa was in line for a save chance but exited with two outs in the ninth with the Twins holding a four-run lead, paving the way for Genesis Cabrera to record the game's final out. While Topa said that his knee is fine, he may need a few days off for any soreness to subside. Topa previously missed most of the 2024 season due to patellar tendinitis and a small tear in the patellar tendon in his left knee.
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Twins' Justin Topa: Can't rebound in loss, blown save
Rotowire
Topa (1-5) was charged with the loss and a blown save in a 4-3 defeat to the White Sox on Wednesday, allowing one run on two hits and no walks with one strikeout in two-thirds of an inning.
That's consecutive blown saves for Topa, who has now given up at least one run in four straight outings. Given the right-hander's recent struggles, it wouldn't be surprising to see manager Rocco Baldelli turn to a different high-leverage arm, such as Cole Sands or Kody Funderburk, for Minnesota's next save chance. Topa has a 4.03 ERA and 1.45 WHIP over 58 innings this season.
Topa allowed a run on two hits in one inning of work while earning a save over Toronto on Tuesday. He struck out one batter.
Topa was given a 7-4 lead in the ninth inning and worked around an RBI double by Daulton Varsho to convert the save chance. It was Topa's fourth save of the year, and they've all come since Aug. 5. He's converted all four of his save chances and earned one hold since the trade deadline. During that span, Topa owns a 1.53 ERA across 11.2 innings.
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Twins' Justin Topa: Picks up third save Friday
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Topa notched the save in Friday's 9-7 win over the White Sox, allowing two hits and one walk with no strikeouts in 1.2 scoreless innings.
Topa registered save No. 3 on the year, and each of those have come following the trade deadline. The right-hander appears to have the upper hand over Cole Sands, who worked the seventh inning Friday, in Minnesota's closer committee in the aftermath of the Jhoan Duran trade. Topa has a 0.84 ERA over 10.2 innings in August, whereas Sands owns a 4.50 ERA across his 10 frames this month.
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