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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
Topa's wife Trish had their first child in 2023. [5] [3]
Growing up, Topa was a batboy for the minor league Binghamton Mets. [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]
| Justin Topa | |
|---|---|
| Minnesota Twins – No. 48 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:March 7, 1991 Binghamton, New York, U.S. | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 1, 2020, for the Milwaukee Brewers |