Cole Sands Heads Back to Injured List as Twins Recall Jack Anderson

[Cody Christie]

The Minnesota Twins finally welcomed Cole Sands back from the injured list over the weekend, hoping the right-hander could stabilize a bullpen that has searched for reliable late-inning options all season. Instead, his return lasted just one appearance.

Before Tuesday's game, the Twins placed Sands back on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow strain and recalled right-hander Jack Anderson from Triple-A St. Paul to take his place on the active roster. The move comes just days after Sands completed a lengthy rehabilitation process that had already been interrupted once by another setback.

Another Setback for Sands

Sands had been sidelined since early May with a right forearm strain. Minnesota originally believed the injury would keep him out for only a short period, and he was cleared to begin a rehab assignment in early June. Those plans quickly unraveled. Inflammation returned during the rehab process, forcing the Twins to shut him down and restart his recovery from scratch. After weeks of waiting, Sands finally made it back to the major league bullpen this weekend.

His return could not have gone much worse. Sands recorded just one out while allowing five earned runs, finishing with a -0.14 Win Probability Added (WPA). While the Twins had built enough of a lead to survive against the Athletics, it was evident that something wasn't right.

Now, the club has its answer. Instead of building momentum after months of rehab, Sands is back on the injured list with an elbow strain, creating even more uncertainty around his future.

Anderson Gets Another Opportunity

To replace Sands, the Twins recalled Jack Anderson, who has quietly impressed in his first taste of the majors with Minnesota. After being claimed off waivers from the Boston Red Sox, Anderson has appeared in three games for the Twins. Across 3 1/3 scoreless innings, he has allowed just one hit while striking out four and walking one.

His previous major league experience came with Boston earlier this season, where he logged eight innings over three appearances. Anderson allowed three earned runs on eight hits while recording six strikeouts and only two walks. Although the sample size remains small, it was enough for Minnesota to see something worth developing.

His numbers at Triple-A Worcester were less dominant. Anderson posted a 4.57 ERA while striking out 20.0% of opposing hitters and walking 8.1% before the Twins claimed him.

A Tough Blow for Minnesota's Bullpen

Few relievers seemed more likely to impact Minnesota's postseason push than Sands. After establishing himself as one of the Twins' most dependable bullpen arms over the past two seasons, the expectation was that he would eventually return to reclaim a meaningful role in the late innings. Instead, injuries have limited him to just 13 appearances, and his long-awaited return ended almost as quickly as it began.

Now, with an elbow strain sending him back to the injured list, the outlook becomes much more concerning. Depending on the severity of the injury, Sands may have already thrown his final pitch of the 2026 season.

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[tony&rodney]

This is another good opportunity for Jack Anderson. This is how guys emerge from the morass that is the relief pitching shuttle. Good luck to Jack.

[ashbury]

Sands reinstated: "Getting him back is as good as making a trade!"

A couple days later: "Yeah, for Shaun Anderson or Sam Dyson maybe."

(Sorry, Cole, it's not meant to make light of your injury situation, it's about us and getting our hopes up.)

[Parfigliano]

TC has to lead the galaxy in players coming off IL then play 1-2 games and right back on IL.

[Aggies7]

He was literally here for an hourglass worth of time 

[Rosterman]

Of all the relief arms they didn't trade in 2025. Good for Anderson. See if he can stick. Also, want to see Raya back. Let's go forwards instead of giving opportunities to guys we already know how they produce.

[USAFChief]

Sands was pretty clearly not ready to help the Twins based on his one appearance Sunday. No velocity, no command, little movement. 

Sucks, but glad we've got a different arm.

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, Aggies7 said:

He was literally here for an hourglass worth of time 

And it seemed to last forever

[tomcat]

If Jack Anderson had minor league option(s), wasn't it a gigantic waste to lose one with Sands obviously not ready to contribute? Shouldn't someone get fired for a lame brain decision like that?

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, tomcat said:

If Jack Anderson had minor league option(s), wasn't it a gigantic waste to lose one with Sands obviously not ready to contribute? Shouldn't someone get fired for a lame brain decision like that?

There's all kinds of funny little sub-rules regarding minor league options.  Yes, people do risk being fired for not being on top of these and other rules.  And I'm just a layman and could be misunderstanding a detail in the following synopsis.

Each year's option covers the entire season, down and up and down again.  He was already up and then down with the Red Sox, so they must have exercised his option for 2026; the Twins piggybacked off of that.  For any given year, the option can be invoked a limited number of times (5).  But the interesting little exception is that if a player is down for only a few days (at most 20) the option isn't exercised.  It covers cases like this where someone's brought back up due to injury to another player. 

So, either way, I'm pretty sure Anderson has the two remaining options that he arrived in Minnesota with, that can be used for two future years.

One last thing.  I could be wrong but I think all of Cole Sands's time at AAA in 2026 has been on injury rehab.  That does not count as burning an option.  His latest rehab time had run out, and the Twins had to either call him up, option him to AAA, or I guess put him back on the injured list.  If the player is saying he's good to go, you can't just do that third option.  So they put him on the 26-man and let him prove it.  He bombed, and I guess is willing to go on the injured list again as a result.  Bottom line: this maneuver may actually have preserved Sands's one remaining minor league option.  For whatever that's worth.  Go figure - it's possible the FO knew what it was doing with regard to the rules.  (Whether it was wise - they won the game Sands blew up in, so I guess it worked out.)

Fun stuff, I know.  😄  Anyway, even if it was a rhetorical question, you asked.

 

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

Not a tough blow for the BP at all. Sands is massively overrated. Im a glad Anderson is back. I hope he continues to do well. 

This is a tough blow for Sands, though. I hope he recovers from this injury. Luckily for him, it sounds like he'll have all off-season to heal and wont be rushed back. 

[LA Vikes Fan]

4 hours ago, ashbury said:

There's all kinds of funny little sub-rules regarding minor league options.  Yes, people do risk being fired for not being on top of these and other rules.  And I'm just a layman and could be misunderstanding a detail in the following synopsis.

Each year's option covers the entire season, down and up and down again.  He was already up and then down with the Red Sox, so they must have exercised his option for 2026; the Twins piggybacked off of that.  For any given year, the option can be invoked a limited number of times (5).  But the interesting little exception is that if a player is down for only a few days (at most 20) the option isn't exercised.  It covers cases like this where someone's brought back up due to injury to another player. 

So, either way, I'm pretty sure Anderson has the two remaining options that he arrived in Minnesota with, that can be used for two future years.

One last thing.  I could be wrong but I think all of Cole Sands's time at AAA in 2026 has been on injury rehab.  That does not count as burning an option.  His latest rehab time had run out, and the Twins had to either call him up, option him to AAA, or I guess put him back on the injured list.  If the player is saying he's good to go, you can't just do that third option.  So they put him on the 26-man and let him prove it.  He bombed, and I guess is willing to go on the injured list again as a result.  Bottom line: this maneuver may actually have preserved Sands's one remaining minor league option.  For whatever that's worth.  Go figure - it's possible the FO knew what it was doing with regard to the rules.  (Whether it was wise - they won the game Sands blew up in, so I guess it worked out.)

Fun stuff, I know.  😄  Anyway, even if it was a rhetorical question, you asked.

 

Thanks for the explanation. 

[Coach JT]

Time for Sands to get surgery he probably needed the whole time . Also I have been a huge supporter of trading Jeffers for relief help and top prospects. If they offer us crap then keep the guy. Yes he will leave in free agency but crap isn’t going to help us anyways . 

[LA Vikes Fan]

1 hour ago, Coach JT said:

Time for Sands to get surgery he probably needed the whole time . Also I have been a huge supporter of trading Jeffers for relief help and top prospects. If they offer us crap then keep the guy. Yes he will leave in free agency but crap isn’t going to help us anyways . 

Very well put. One of the things that's always struck me at the deadline is the chorus of " Trade (expiring contract guy) for the best you can get rather than risk losing him for nothing".  Life just ain't that simple. On Jeffers, there's at least 3 paths, (1) keep him to help you this year and actually win the off season FA lottery, (2) keep him to help you this year, give him the QO and take the high draft pick, or (3) trade him for what is offered. Number 3 has to be better than numbers 1 and 2 or you don't do it. A lot of the packages I've seen rumored are not as good as numbers 1 and 2 IMHO, especially the packages from the Yankees. We don't have to trade anybody; only do it if it makes sense.