MLB Player News

Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll said that Sands (forearm) played catch on consecutive days last week and is expected to spend about a month on the injured list, Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.

Minnesota placed Sands on the IL on May 2 due to a right forearm strain, so the Twins appear to be viewing early June as a rough target date for the 28-year-old reliever's return. Before landing on the shelf, Sands had collected one win, one save and three holds while posting a 4.63 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 11:4 K:BB in 11.2 innings across 12 appearances.

Laweryson (forearm) worked around a walk to deliver a scoreless inning in his rehab appearance Saturday with Triple-A St. Paul.

Laweryson is working his way back from a right forearm strain, which sent him to the 15-day injured list back on April 11. Since he's been shelved for five weeks with the injury, Laweryson may need at least a couple more tune-up appearances in the minors before slotting back into the Minnesota bullpen.

Woods Richardson is expected to be available in relief for Monday's game against the Astros while Kendry Rojas makes his first MLB start, Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.

While Twins manager Derek Shelton hasn't provided word on what exactly Woods Richardson's role will look like moving forward, the right-hander may have lost his spot in the rotation after going 0-6 with a 7.71 ERA and 1.86 WHIP in 42 innings through his first nine starts of the season. Monday would have been Woods Richardson's turn in the rotation, but the Twins will instead give Rojas a look in a starting role. Since Rojas will be pitching on three days' rest and hasn't covered more than 3.1 innings between his nine appearances in the big leagues and minors this season, he'll likely be in line for a limited workload in his start. As such, Woods Richardson could be needed to eat some innings out of the bullpen.

Sterner threw a perfect inning with no strikeouts in Sunday's 10-1 loss to the Giants.

Sterner entered in the seventh inning and retired the bottom of the Giants' lineup to keep the Athletics within one run before an eight-run, eighth-inning implosion turned the contest into a blowout. Over his past seven appearances (5.2 innings), the right-hander has allowed one run on three hits and a walk while striking out four. Overall, Sterner owns a 4.03 ERA and 1.34 WHIP with a 23:7 K:BB across 22.1 frames in 2026.

Lambert (2-4) took the loss Sunday against the Rangers, allowing five runs on three hits and two walks while striking out six over six innings.

Lambert was dominant early, keeping Texas hitless through the first four innings before taking damage in the fifth. After allowing his first hit of the game, he immediately surrendered a two-run homer to Jake Burger to open the scoring. Following a clean sixth inning, Houston allowed the right-hander back out for the seventh, but he allowed three straight baserunners to load the bases before exiting, and all three eventually came around to score. The five runs allowed marked a season high for Lambert, though he has still done an admirable job providing length for Houston's injury-riddled rotation, completing six innings in four of his last five starts. He now owns a 3.57 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 35:14 K:BB across 35.1 innings and is slated to face the Cubs next.

Bednar blew the save Sunday against the Mets, allowing three runs on three hits and one walk in the ninth inning. He struck out one.

Called upon to protect a 6-3 lead in the ninth inning, Bednar was taken deep by Tyrone Taylor for a three-run home run for his second blown save of the campaign. The right-hander has been shaky for most of the season as the Yankees' closer, logging a 4.95 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 23:7 K:BB with 10 saves over 20 frames. Bednar figures to remain the club's top choice for ninth-inning work going forward, but it's worth noting Camilo Doval is a possible alternative with plenty of closing experience from his time with the Giants.

Armstrong (groin) allowed one hit and struck out one over a scoreless inning for Double-A Akron on Friday, MLB.com reports.

This was the second rehab outing for Armstrong, who also threw an inning Wednesday. The Guardians are determining the next step for the right-hander.

Rogers secured the save Sunday against the Tigers, allowing no runs on no hits and one walk in the ninth inning. He struck out one.

Closer Louis Varland was presumably not available after throwing two innings in Saturday's extra-inning victory over Detroit, so it was Rogers who got the call to lock down the save for Toronto on Sunday. Rogers, who picked up his first save since 2024 on Sunday, has been a reliable high-leverage arm for the Blue Jays in 2026. The soft-throwing right-hander has logged seven holds over 21.1 frames, sporting a 1.69 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 14:7 K:BB.

Garcia allowed a run on two hits and a walk and struck out one over one inning to earn the save in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Brewers.

Garcia made things interesting, but he was able to maintain a lead. He's picked up two saves and a hold over his last four outings, though he's allowed two runs on five hits and two walks in that span as well. That usage suggests he's in the mix for ancillary save chances -- that was the case Sunday, as Justin Topa worked in a high-leverage spot in the eighth inning while Eric Orze was presumably unavailable after a 26-pitch outing Saturday. Through 15 innings this season, Garcia has a 9.00 ERA, 1.93 WHIP and 6:6 K:BB over 15 appearances. He's on his seventh team in the last four years, having joined the Twins in April after he was released by the Mets.

Erceg walked one and struck out none in a scoreless and hitless inning to earn the save in Sunday's 2-0 win over the Cardinals.

Erceg was charged with a blown save Friday, allowing an unearned run on two hits in the 10th inning against the Cardinals. He did better Sunday, throwing 14 of 22 pitches for strikes to pick up his first save since May 5. The right-hander is up to 11-for-14 in save conversions this year while adding one hold. He's pitched to a 3.26 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 17:13 K:BB through 19.1 innings. While he hasn't been dominant, Erceg has done a decent job of holding down the closing job while Carlos Estevez (foot/shoulder) has been out of action.