According to Statcast, Detroit had no Barrels against him.
It was just the start you’d hope for after Festa’s rookie season, which saw him produce a 19.5 K-BB% and a 3.76 FIP, and it’s exactly what the Twins needed to give him a second crack at the rotation.
Some may have been surprised to see Festa get the call over Zebby Matthews, who has been the better of the two in a small sample so far in 2025, but the timing just worked out better for Festa.
It was likely that Festa was making a start on Friday, whether it be for the St. Paul Saints or the Twins, whereas Matthews had just thrown 80 pitches across five innings on Tuesday.
Regardless, even after Festa was named Friday’s starter at Target Field, some speculated that he would be demoted back to St. Paul. This would make way for a Matthews promotion to start Monday against the Mets. Even the Twins nodded and winked in that direction, behind the scenes.
Instead, Joe Ryan drew the Monday start.
Bailey Ober gets them on Tuesday, and Festa was named the starter of the series finale on Wednesday’s matinee.
It is possible that the initial plan did look different, as it wasn’t announced until yesterday afternoon that Matthews would start for the Saints on Tuesday.
Festa told our Matt Trueblood he was told mid-morning Saturday that he would get the nod again Wednesday. Regardless of when (or even why) the decision was made to roll with Festa for a second time, though, it’s an outcome the righty earned—even on just four days’ rest.
Not only did he earn it, but procedurally, it might be the most logical move.
Having thrown just 64 pitches on Friday allows him to start after four days’ rest without any restrictions, saving the Twins from optioning Festa—which would mean he couldn’t be promoted for 15 days (barring an injury).
The same goes for Matthews. With López only expected to miss the minimum amount of time (hopefully), it wouldn’t be ideal to lock up your two best “next men up” for two weeks in case injury strikes elsewhere.
It also may make sense strategically, as the Twins are facing the Mets’ top three arms this series.
Instead of putting Matthews in a position where he’s facing a potent lineup while battling rotation ace Clay Holmes, the Twins opted to have two of their top arms go head-to-head with the Mets’ top two on Monday and Tuesday.
This opened the door to roll with Festa for a second time as the Mets will deploy Griffin Canning—a more favorable duel than Matthews v. Holmes.
It could also be that Matthews’s pitch mix isn’t a favorable matchup against the Mets.
The Mets have produced well against horizontal movement dating back to last season (before they had Juan Soto).
While both pitchers have a plus slider, Matthews also throws a cutter that has typically graded out as just below average.
Moreover, last season, the Mets were one of the best fastball-hitting teams in baseball and Festa’s four-seamer has a little less glove-side movement and a little more induced vertical break than his peers’.
At this point, we’re just throwing ideas against the wall and seeing if they stick.
In reality, we don’t know the reasoning behind the decisions that have been made regarding Festa and Matthews.
I do think that procedurally it made the most sense, especially considering the brevity and effectiveness of Festa’s first start. Regardless, it’s really only a matter of time before we see Matthews on a big-league mound.
