DETROIT – With Royce Lewis waiting in the wings, the Twins designated infielder Jonah Bride for assignment following Sunday’s 3-0 loss to the Tigers.
No corresponding transaction was announced, but the most likely next move will be to activate Lewis from the 10-day injured list in time for Tuesday’s series opener in Miami. Lewis has been out since June 14 due to a strained left hamstring.
Minnesota now has seven days to trade Bride or put him on outright or unconditional release waivers. Bride, 29, was acquired from Miami in April in exchange for cash considerations. Though he had a strong 2024 at the plate, he could not find that form with the Twins, posting a .214/.282/.243 line in 78 plate appearances.
Lewis made his third rehabilitation assignment for Triple-A St. Paul on Sunday, playing third base and going 0-for-3. It was his first appearance on defense since he was sent to St. Paul. In his two previous appearances, Lewis only served as designated hitter.
He missed the season’s first 35 games due to a more serious strain of the same hamstring, then struggled upon his return. But over his last several games, Lewis was coming on strong, with 11 hits in his last 28 at-bats before the recurrence.
Lewis’ absence was spotlighted in Sunday night’s loss, when lefty Tarik Skubal held the Twins to a single hit over seven dominant innings. When right, he’s one of the team’s most dangerous threats against left-handed pitching.
Additional injury updates
Right-hander Zebby Matthews, who is recuperating from a right shoulder strain, threw off a mound Sunday for the first time since suffering the injury. According to a club representative, “everything went well,” and further evaluation will be made based on how he feels the day after throwing. Matthews will likely need to throw at least a couple more times before beginning a Minor League rehabilitation assignment.
Rookie Luke Keaschall still has not been cleared to take batting practice but is otherwise active. He can hit off a tee and participate in all other baseball activities as he recovers from a broken bone in his right forearm. Keaschall will receive another X-ray on or about Friday of the coming week, which will determine whether he is able to begin taking batting practice.
Searching for answers
A day after another rough start for the usually reliable Bailey Ober, the Twins did not yet have any answers as to how to get the right-hander sorted out. Ober allowed 14 homers in June, the highest total by any pitcher in any month in Twins history, and pitched to a 9.00 ERA for the month.
“It’s been tough,” said pitching coach Pete Maki. “But you look around the league, there’s other really good guys who go through periods of suckiness. Guys like [Walker] Buehler and Charlie Morton, those are good Major League pitchers, have been for a long time. There’s other guys in the league that go through periods of not being awesome, but yeah, it’s been tough for him.”
Maki acknowledged that one issue for Ober is diminished velocity, even though Ober has had some success at lower velocities this year. Even if he has shown an ability to pitch at closer to 90 mph than 92 or 93, which he has at times this year, it increases the pressure to hit spots and makes mistakes more costly when Ober pitches at lower velocity.
The Twins have at least a few days to figure out next steps with Ober, whose next turn in the rotation would fall Friday. They have not announced starting pitchers beyond their next series in Miami, which ends Thursday.
“I think it’s going to be probably a handful of people putting their heads together to come up with the best answer to that question,” said manager Rocco Baldelli. “Sometimes a lot of discussion, you end up coming up with one good point, one good thing that you want to take into your bullpen or your next start. So that’s what we’ll be doing right now.”