John Bonnes

The Minnesota Twins have optioned right-hander Eric Orze to Triple-A St. Paul on Saturday, clearing space on the active roster for Tommy Nance, acquired Friday from the Blue Jays. The Athletic's Dan Hayes first reported the move. Only a handful of Twins relievers have been leaned on more heavily than Orze, who has appeared in 35 games and thrown 41 ⅓ innings. But the results have lagged behind the workload. Orze carries a 5.27 ERA and 1.49 WHIP, with 36 strikeouts against 21 walks. What’s more, he’s been trending in the wrong direction, posting a 9.00 ERA and 1.78 WHIP since June 1st. The 28-year-old came to Minnesota from Tampa Bay in a November trade for minor-league pitcher Jacob Kisting, following a promising 2025 in which he posted a 3.02 ERA over 41.2 innings for the Rays. Because he still has minor-league options, he was the path of least resistance when the front office needed a spot for Nance. Nance, 35, cost the Twins minor-league catcher/third baseman Ryan Sprock, last year's eighth-round pick. The veteran right-hander owns a 3.82 ERA over 33 innings for Toronto this season with a 24.5% strikeout rate, and he comes with three additional years of club control beyond 2026. Orze figures to be a candidate to return quickly whenever the bullpen needs reinforcements. For now, he'll try to rediscover his 2025 form with the Saints. View full rumor

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Image courtesy of © Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images The Athletic’s Dan Hayes reports that the Twins are placing right-handed starting pitcher Taj Bradley on the 15-day injured list with right pectoral muscle inflammation, and recalling right-hander Travis Adams from Triple-A St. Paul to take his roster spot. Bradley had been scheduled to start on Sunday. It's a frustrating setback for a pitcher who has been the bright spot of Minnesota's rotation. Through eight starts, Bradley owns a 2.87 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 47 innings, having gone at least six innings in six of his last seven outings and allowing more than two earned runs just once all year. His fastball has touched 99 mph and averaged better than 96.5, a tick up from where he sat a year ago. On Tuesday in Washington, he carved up the Nationals over six innings while generating 13 swings and misses, the latest in a string of dominant starts that have him pitching like a frontline starter. The injury is also unwelcome history. Bradley missed the start of the 2024 season with a right pec strain as a member of the Rays, costing him two months. The Twins have not yet announced a timetable for his return. Bradley was acquired from Tampa Bay minutes before the end of last summer's trade deadline, with the Twins sending All-Star reliever Griffin Jax to the Rays in exchange. Jax was one of the Twins' best relievers, and under team control through 2027, so the deal was widely criticized. Bradley’s breakout this April and May has completely flipped that narrative. Adams, recently activated from his own triceps injury, could provide bullpen length or could play a part in how the Twins backfill Sunday's start. Zebby Matthews, who pitched for the Twins last year, struggled early this year in AAA-St. Paul, but has recently refound velocity and success there, and could be a longer term replacement as well. But he would not be an option for Sunday, as he pitched Friday night for the Saints. View full article

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Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images FORT MYERS - Bailey Ober made his first spring training start Friday night and looked crisp from the outset, tossing two scoreless innings on just 25 pitches, including 19 strikes. He did not allow a hit or a walk and recorded one strikeout, an efficient first step as he begins building toward the regular season. More than anything, Ober sounded relieved to finally be back in game conditions after progressing through live batting practice. “Felt great,” Ober said of his outing. “Felt really good to be out there during game action instead of being in live BP like I have been. Felt really good to put the uniform on, have the defense behind me and be in a game atmosphere.” Ober said he was especially focused on getting a feel for his changeup early in the outing, wanting to reestablish a pitch that remains central to his arsenal. “It’s my pitch — my highest off speed usage pitch,” Ober said. “Just trying to get a feel of it early so I can progress that and put it in my back pocket.” That process appeared to go well; he threw nine changeups, six for strikes, and got two swings and misses with the pitch. By Ober’s own assessment, the outing checked a lot of boxes. “Definitely taking steps forward to where I want to be,” he said. “I felt like the ball was coming out good. I felt like I had uncomfortable at-bats the whole time. I was throwing strikes. Didn’t seem like anyone really hit anything hard.” He added that while he would still like to sharpen his two-strike execution to turn more of those counts into strikeouts, the overall objective was clear: “That’s kind of what I’m looking for when I’m out there — just being able to locate.” Maybe more important than the results was how Ober felt physically. After pitching through a nagging hip issue last season, he said taking the mound healthy again changed everything. “It’s night and day,” Ober said. “It doesn’t matter what I did out there. I was gonna have a smile on my face, just being able to feel healthy and do what I love, pain free.” Ober said the plan is to continue stretching out over his next few outings, with three innings likely next time, then four, then five, as he ramps up toward being ready for his first turn in the regular-season rotation. Two Wrongs Make A Right Major League Baseball’s new ABS (Automated Ball Strike) system gave fans a jolt of energy in the first inning Saturday night. View full article