The Twins list Smeltzer as their starting pitcher for Friday's game against the Royals, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
Though manager Rocco Baldelli hasn't confirmed as much, Smeltzer looks like he'll be joining the rotation as a replacement for Lewis Thorpe, who may be headed to the bullpen after givng up three runs and putting 10 runners on base over four innings in his start Monday against the Pirates. Smeltzer made six starts for Minnesota in 2019, but he's appeared in long relief for his first two outings of this season, ceding six runs but striking out seven over 4.2 total innings.