As of Wednesday afternoon, the Twins still hadn’t announced who would be pitching for them a day later in their series finale against the Athletics of Sacramento, but they had made their pitching plans clear for Triple-A St. Paul, where Saints fans will be treated to a double dose of rehabbing major leaguers Thursday.
Pablo López will make his long-awaited first rehab start for the Saints on Thursday and will be followed to the mound by Simeon Woods Richardson, who will make his second rehab appearance.
The plan for López, who has been out since suffering a Grade 2 teres major strain on June 3, is to throw three innings or 45 pitches, whichever comes first, head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta said. Should that go well, he would likely progress to another rehab start in which he throws around four innings or 60 pitches.
“It’s just a matter of building him up, building the workload, get the work capacity … up and really just making sure his pitches are where they need to be and that he’s comfortable with them and that he’s happy with what it looks like,” Paparesta said.
After him, Woods Richardson, who has said he’s feeling much better after dealing with a parasite earlier this month, is scheduled to throw around four innings. Woods Richardson previously made a rehab start last Friday, throwing two scoreless innings while striking out four.
After that, “it’s more of a baseball decision than a health decision at that point in time, so we’ll kind of see where we are and if they want to send him back for some more or if they’re ready to activate him,” Paparesta said.
And in some more good news on the starting pitching front, David Festa is scheduled to throw live batting practice in St. Paul on Saturday. Festa has been out for nearly a month dealing with right shoulder inflammation.
Vázquez update
Christian Vázquez is currently at his home in Miami recuperating after having a surgical procedure to clear out an infection in his left shoulder earlier this month.
He is getting IV antibiotics and will continue to do so for three weeks, four total. In early September, he will fly back to Minnesota. He will have his PICC catheter line removed and start moving shortly after, Paparesta said.
The catcher is currently doing physical therapy for his shoulder and is working out. And while he might run out of time for a return, the Twins haven’t ruled that out.
“You always thinking long-term for these guys, and he is an (impending) free agent, so I’d love for him to get on the field and show everybody … that he’s able to play and he’s back and he’s good to go,” Paparesta said. “So when we get him back here, the plan is to get that thing out and start cranking him up and see how quickly we can get him back into playing again.”
Surgery for Roden
Alan Roden, out for the season, will have surgery on Friday to repair his ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb.
Roden first injured his finger making a catch in a game against the Kansas City Royals on Aug. 10. He further aggravated it with a headfirst slide at home plate last Thursday.
Acquired as part of the trade that sent Louie Varland and Ty France to Toronto, Roden played in just 12 games for the Twins and hit .158 before his season-ending injury.
Minnesota Twins’ Christian Vazquez (8) celebrates after hitting a three-run home run during the fourth inning in the first baseball game of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
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