Winder was activated from the 15-day injured list Thursday after he gave up three earned runs in 4.1 innings with four strikeouts and two walks during a rehab assignment at Triple-A St. Paul.
Winder looked set to begin the season as Minnesota's long reliever but came down with a right shoulder injury during spring training. Even though there's a spot open in the Minnesota rotation due to the elbow injury to Kenta Maeda, Winder will likely move into the long-relief role, with either Bailey Ober or Louie Varland likely to be called up to join the rotation.