Topa was a four-year letter winner at Chenango Valley High School where he led his team to the Section 4 Class-B Championships in 2008 and 2009. He was named to the All-Conference team and third-team All-State squad as a pitcher while also earning All-Division as a second baseman. He also played on the golf,hockey and basketball teams.[1]
Topa attended LIU Brooklyn where he finished his college baseball career with 20 wins,200 strikeouts and 13 complete games. He was named NEC Rookie of the week three times,Louisville Slugger Player of the Week,Northeast Pitcher of the Week,and ECAC Co-Pitcher of the week honors during the 2010 season. He missed the 2012 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.[1][2][3] Despite the injury,the Cincinnati Reds drafted him in the 33rd round of the 2012 MLB draft,but he did not sign with the team.[4]
In May 2017,Topa signed with the Rockland Boulders of the Can-Am League.[7] He pitched in 20 games for Rockland,carrying a 3.50 ERA with 80 strikeouts over 110+2⁄3 innings pitched. He also rediscovered his love of baseball in the independent league.[3] He began the 2018 season with Rockland as well an appeared in 4 games with the club, pitching to a 4.43 ERA with 15 strikeouts over 20.1 innings with the club.[8]
Texas Rangers
On June 17, 2018, Topa signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers.[9] He spent the majority of the season with the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders and also appeared in one game for the High-A Down East Wood Ducks. In 9 games (6 starts) for Frisco, Topa recorded a 5.71 ERA with 34 strikeouts across 41 innings. He elected free agency following the season on November 2.[10]
Milwaukee Brewers
On March 28, 2019, Topa signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. He spent the majority of the season with the Biloxi Shuckers and also played for the Carolina Mudcats. On July 28, 2020, the Brewers added Topa to their 60-man player pool.[11] Topa was called up to the majors for the first time on August 31, 2020[12] and made his debut that night against the Detroit Tigers. Topa pitched two innings allowing two runs on two hits while striking out two. Topa finished the season with the Brewers and pitched two scoreless innings in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series.[13]
On March 29, 2021, it was announced that Topa had suffered a flexor tendon strain and would miss the first half of the 2021 season.[14] On April 6, Topa was placed on the 60-day injured list.[15] On September 4, Topa was activated off of the injured list.[16]
On May 30, 2022, Topa was placed on the 60-day injured list with an elbow injury.[17] He was activated on August 13 and optioned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds.[18] In parts of three seasons with the Brewers, Topa had an 8.35 ERA in 18+1⁄3 innings.[19]
Seattle Mariners
On January 7, 2023, the Brewers traded Topa to the Seattle Mariners for minor league pitcher Joseph Hernandez.[19] The Mariners traded for Topa because he excelled at inducing ground balls.[3] Topa was optioned to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers to begin the 2023 season,[20] but joined the team on April 10. In 75 relief outings, Topa registered a 2.61 ERA with 61 strikeouts, 3 savesm and two blown saves across 69 innings of work.[21]
Minnesota Twins
On January 29, 2024, the Mariners traded Topa, Anthony DeSclafani, Gabriel González, Darren Bowen, and cash to the Minnesota Twins for Jorge Polanco.[22] On May 15, Topa was diagnosed with a partial tear in the patellar tendon in his left knee. He subsequently received a platelet-rich plasma injection and was shut down for six weeks.[23] Topa was activated from the injured list on September 25.[24] He pitched in three of the Twins final five games of the season, allowing no runs and one hit in 2+1⁄3 innings.[25]
Personal life
Topa's wife Trish had their first child in 2023.[5][3]
Topa remains close friends with Jamie Keefe, his manager with the Rockland Boulders.[3]
Topa has collected baseball cards since he was a child, along with his father. In 2024, he appeared on Topps baseball cards for the first time, initially in a Seattle Mariners team card. Topa posted on social media that he wanted to collect different versions of the Mariners card. Topps created a card of Topa in a later 2024 set, which the Topas also collected.[26]
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