The Twins spent much of August with just three starters on the roster, piecing together bullpen games twice every turn through the rotation. Now, they’re dealing with the opposite — though this one is a good problem to have.

The Twins currently have six starters at the major-league level and they expect to get two more — Pablo López and David Festa — back from injuries in the coming days. The end result is rotation management that “could change a little bit here and a little bit there week to week,” manager Rocco Baldelli said.

“There’s not a grand plan,” he said. “It’s probably a series-to-series decision. … I think we could see piggybacks. I think we could see a lot of different things to make it all work and to get these guys the work that they need.”

Last weekend in Chicago, the Twins called up both Mick Abel and Taj Bradley, a pair of pitchers whom they received in trade deadline deals. Days later, Simeon Woods Richardson returned from the injured list, joining Abel, Bradley, Zebby Matthews, Bailey Ober and all-star Joe Ryan on the roster.

This time around, the Twins have opted to use Abel, a rookie who debuted earlier this season for the Philadelphia Phillies and is among their top pitching prospects, out of the bullpen in a piggyback situation. They chose that over the alternative, which would have been optioning him to Triple-A, where he could start.

“I think the main part of it is his development, and seeing what he can do at the major league level, and seeing the adjustments that he makes at this level and, I’ll be honest, I don’t think it matters that much if he’s starting or relieving,” Baldelli said. “As long as he’s getting the opportunities to go out there and face major league hitters, I think he’s going to continue to pick up a lot, make good adjustments and be OK.”

Things will get even more complicated when López and Festa return.

López has made two rehab starts already for the Triple-A Saints and is scheduled to pitch in Toledo, Ohio, for the Saints once again on Sunday night as he comes back from a teres major strain that has kept him out since early June. Should everything go well with that, it’s possible that he returns next weekend.

Festa, who has been out for more than a month with shoulder inflammation, also made a rehab start with the Saints and is moving closer towards his own return. When that happens, the Twins could potentially have eight different starters on the roster.

“It’s good to have all these guys getting healthy, and all being here and ready to pitch at the same time,” Baldelli said. “That’s a good thing for us, but we’ll have to make it work.”

Briefly

The Twins will send Ryan to the mound for the third game of the series against the San Diego Padres on Sunday. It will begin at 12:05 p.m. because it is a Roku game. … López is expected to pitch around five innings and 75 to 80 pitches on Sunday with the Saints.

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Let’s take a trip down memory lane for a second.

It was October 2010 and I was an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Minnesota. I remember sitting in my dorm room at Sanford Hall when news started to break that superstar receiver Randy Moss had been traded back to the Vikings. I couldn’t believe it.

I idolized Moss as a little kid growing up in the suburbs of Chicago and now I was going to get to witness his return as a college student living in the heart of the Twin Cities. I immediately called my mom and asked her to mail my No. 84 jersey. It arrived in time for me to rock it proudly when the Vikings played the New York Jets on Monday Night Football.

The euphoria lasted less than a month.

As excited as everybody was in the immediate aftermath, Moss quickly wore out his welcome both on and off the field. He was ultimately placed on waivers by the Vikings and claimed off waivers by the Tennessee Titans.

The memories of that homecoming came flooding back last week when the Vikings reacquired veteran receiver Adam Thielen in a trade with the Carolina Panthers.

Not that there’s any reason to think history will repeat itself. Though there are some similarities on the surface, namely that Thielen was a former fan favorite like Moss was in his prime, everything is set up for it to work much better this time around.

The starting point is obvious when considering that Thielen is a proud Minnesotan at heart. How badly did he want to play for the Vikings? He reportedly took a $2 million pay cut to make it happen.

This isn’t just a former player returning to where he it all started. This is a local boy from Detroit Lakes coming home.

The raw emotion of that reality was on display last week at TCO Performance Center as Thielen smiled from ear to ear while chopping it up with reporters less than 24 hours after the trade was official.

His joy was apparent as he gushed about getting to finish his career with the Vikings. He vowed not to let it fade at any point moving forward.

The biggest reason this homecoming should go smoothly in the long run, however, is that Thielen can still contribute at a high level.

It’s why the Vikings had to pay such a premium to pry him away from the Panthers.

It’s pretty clear that head coach Kevin O’Connell believes Thielen will play a big role for the Vikings from the onset. The familiarity that Thielen has with O’Connell, having worked with him in the past, should help him hit the ground running.

Whether he’s lining up in the slot or playing on the outside, Thielen is still a savvy route runner with a very good hands, which should help make life easier young quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the early stages of his career.

That part of it matters more than anything else. This is much more than a heartwarming story. That shouldn’t be lost in the shuffle.

As I sat down to write this column, it was hard not to think about about the 18-year-old freshmen at the University of Minnesota, many of which were moving into their dorms last week when news started to break that Thielen had been traded back to the Vikings.

Maybe they idolized Thielen wherever they were growing up. Maybe they immediately called their mom and asked her to mail their No. 19 jersey. Maybe they are planning to rock it proudly when the Vikings play the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football.

Here’s to hoping they get to wear theirs a little longer than I got to wear mine.

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By DAVE COLLINS

Lying in an intensive care unit hospital bed, 11-year-old Genevieve Bisek is comforted by the many handmade cards she has received from fellow classmates after Wednesday’s shooting at a Minneapolis church.

Some are decorated with beads, some with sparkling stars. All of them are taped to the walls of her room at the Hennepin County Medical Center, where she has been recovering. Her condition has been upgraded from critical to satisfactory.

“All of these handmade cards are just absolutely adorable and heartfelt,” Genevieve’s aunt, Wanda Stipek, told The Associated Press in a phone interview Saturday. “This is coming from other kids who also have their own trauma and yet are still reaching out and showing their love for her. She has these cards taped up on the walls in her room so that she can see this and be surrounded by that love.”

Genevieve was one of the 20 people who were shot during the attack at the Church of Annunciation, as hundreds of students from the nearby Annunciation Catholic School and others gathered for a Mass. The shooter fired 116 rifle rounds through the church’s stained-glass windows, leaving two students dead and 18 people wounded, nearly all of them children. The shooter, 23-year-old Robin Westman, died by suicide.

At least seven people were still in the hospital on Saturday. A spokesperson for Hennepin County Medical Center said five children were being treated there, including four in satisfactory condition and one in critical condition, as well as one adult who was in serious condition. A spokesperson for Children’s Minnesota – Minneapolis Hospital said doctors there were treating one patient.

Genevieve, a sixth grader at the Catholic school who loves animals and playing outside, was conscious after the shooting, Stipek said. After authorities cleared the church from danger, she was gathered with other children to assess their injuries and was brought to the hospital in an ambulance with another wounded student, she said.

Medical staff sedated Genevieve until Thursday.

“Genevieve is a very sensitive and compassionate little girl,” Stipek said. “When she did wake up from her sedation after the event, the first thing that she wanted to talk about, she asked about the other children.”

Stipek said Genevieve told her mother, “I can’t say that I wish this wouldn’t have happened to me because I don’t want it to have happened to anyone else either.”

Stipek said Genevieve has not been told yet who died. She said one of the students killed, Fletcher Merkel, 8, was a neighbor and friend of the family.

The handmade cards and other outpourings of support from the community, including ribbons tied around trees in the neighborhood and donations made online, have helped the family cope with their trauma, Stipek said.

“I think sometimes that when something terrible like this happens, you think of the world as a scary and dangerous place full of bad people. But we are very moved by the goodness,” she said. “All of those things show the love and support, and all of it helps us know that there’s goodness out there. I think that’s part of the healing process. It’s important for us to remember that the world is still full of good people.”

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