FORT MYERS, Fla. — In the days after agreeing to a deal with reliever Taylor Rogers late last month, Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll vowed to continue strengthening a bullpen that was broken apart at last year’s trade deadline.

Thursday, the Twins did just that, officially adding a two-time World Series champion and a three-time all-star to the bullpen mix as they traded for Anthony Banda and signed Liam Hendriks to a minor league deal. They also agreed to a minor league deal with Julian Merryweather as another bullpen option.

Chicago White Sox’s Liam Hendriks smiles as he talks to reporters before a baseball game between the White Sox and the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

“What I love that JZ has continued to do, and will continue to do, is we’re going to add pieces and then we’re going to find how the dominos fall,” manager Derek Shelton said.

With a stacked bullpen, the Dodgers designated Banda, 32, for assignment last week. The Twins picked him up on Thursday in exchange for international bonus pool money.

The left-hander has bounced around over the past nine seasons, playing for eight different teams including Pittsburgh while Shelton was managing there. Banda had a 3.18 earned-run average in 65 innings last season with the Dodgers, appearing primarily in the sixth and seventh innings.

“He’s got really good stuff. I’m excited to be able to add him in,” Shelton said. “He’s a bulldog and he’s not afraid of taking the ball.”

Banda joins a group that includes fellow southpaws Rogers and Kody Funderburk, who had a strong finish to last season. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Twins designated reliever Jackson Kowar, whom they added earlier this month off waivers, for assignment.

Hendriks, 37, began his journey with the Twins in 2007 when he signed as an international free agent out of Australia. He debuted in Minnesota in 2011, working as a starter before the Twins ultimately designated him for assignment. Hendriks is now a 14-year major league veteran who was once among the best closers in the game, but in recent years has dealt with a cancer diagnosis and hip and elbow injuries.

“Everything’s been positive. He’s healthy and he’s in a situation where he’s coming into camp to compete. I’m excited,” Shelton said. “When you’re able to add a guy of his pedigree — and he’s pitched at the back half of the game — I’m excited to get him in camp and get a look at him.”

Hendriks adds a veteran presence with late-inning experience but has thrown fewer than 20 combined major league innings over the past three seasons.

The Australian pitched in just 14 games last season, posting a 6.59 earned-run average. He dealt with a hip injury and then required right elbow ulnar nerve transposition surgery in late September. That surgery came nearly two years after he underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, which forced him to miss the entire 2024 season.

“(He’s a) veteran guy that people speak so highly of in the game in terms of who he is as a human being,” Shelton said. “Obviously, he’s had some challenges in his life over the last couple years. Just talking about the person, (we’re) excited to add him into that group.”

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Australian rock band Tame Impala will play their first Twin Cities show in more than seven years when they headline Minneapolis’ Target Center on Aug. 28.

Tickets go on sale at noon Feb. 20 through Axs. Rapper/actor Dominic Fike (“3 Nights,” “Mona Lisa,” “Mama’s Boy”) will open.

The brainchild of singer/songwriter Kevin Parker, Tame Impala emerged in 2010 with a psychedelic rock sound that started turning heads abroad from their very first single. Parker wrote and performed most of the band’s debut album “Innerspeaker,” earning widespread praise from Australian fans and press, and landing some fans around the world in the process.

“Lonerism,” Tame Impala’s sophomore disc, arrived two years later to almost worldwide acclaim. That led to a deal with Interscope Records, which released “Currents” in 2015. That record saw Parker exploring electronic sounds, which he continued to do with 2020’s “The Slow Rush,” which earned the band their third best alternative music album Grammy nomination.

In the years since, Parker has collaborated with a number of artists including Diana Ross, Gorillaz, Thundercat and Dua Lipa. Last year, Parker won his first Grammy for best dance/electronic recording for “Neverender,” which he made with French duo Justice.

Parker moved to a new label, Columbia Records, for Tame Impala’s fifth album, “Deadbeat.” He has said he drew influences from the Australian rave scene while making the record, which has earned mixed reviews. But the single “End of Summer” did win him his second Grammy.

Tame Impala headlined First Avenue in 2013 and 2015 and sold out two shows at Surly Brewing Festival Field in 2019. The band was set to make their local arena debut at the former Xcel Energy Center in July 2020, but the show was ultimately canceled due to the pandemic.

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By BERNARD CONDON, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The top antitrust official in the Trump administration is leaving her post amid tension about greenlighting big mergers in recent months.

Gail Slater, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for antitrust, posted on X Thursday that it was with “great sadness” that she was leaving after just a year in the role. The move comes after a back-and-forth decisions about whether to allow Hewlett Packard Enterprises to buy a rival in the telecommunications networking gear business last year.

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The Justice Department initially tried to block the $14 billion deal with Juniper Networks, arguing in a lawsuit the two would control 70% of the market in the industry, a dominance that “threatens higher prices and less innovation.” But the suit was soon settled, and the merger allowed to go through.

Slater’s role reviewing deals was thrown into the spotlight again recently when President Donald Trump announced he would personally examine Netflix’s proposed purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery. Trump later backed away from inserting himself into a process normally handled by Justice, promising not to get involved.

Slater, formerly a lawyer at Fox Corporation and Roku, worked as a policy adviser to vice presidential candidate JD Vance in the months before the election.

It is Black History Month, lest we forget. The month of February is a short, but intentionally dedicated time to appreciate the impact and legacy African Americans and the Black Diaspora have left on the U.S.

Here are events happening in St. Paul this month in honor.

Being Black and Betty Crocker

From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, the Minnesota History Center, 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., hosts a free screening of TPT’s “Being Black and Betty Crocker,” a moderated conversation with Barbara Jo Davis, who in 1968 began what would be her 20-year career with General Mills. She is “a culinary visionary who helped bring Hamburger Helper Hotdish and Ken Davis BBQ to grocery store shelves, while also opening doors for new generations of women,” the Historical Society writes.

A Q&A session with light refreshments will follow the screening. Registration is recommended, but not required, at mnhs.org/events.

Black Market

From 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, at the Case building, 767 N. Eustis St., multiple vendors will sell items including food, art and “unique” shopping goods at the Black Market. The event will also feature live music, games and other opportunities for fun, according to the advertisement.

The marketplace is free and open to the public, and takes place every second Saturday of each month. The mission of the Black Market is to “assist in increasing the visibility of Black-owned businesses in MN.”

Hands-On Hip Hop

In a partnership between the Minnesota Children’s Museum and TruArtSpeaks, a series of hip-hop-focused programming will be led by multiple teaching artists. The series will feature drop-in workshops and a finale performance. All events are free with the price of the museum’s admission, $17.95-19.95.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb 14, at the Children’s Museum in the Atrium, 10 Seventh St. W., artist Herb Johnson will teach the hip-hop dance style breaking. This event is free with the price of the museum’s admission.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 21 in the Atrium, artist Jordan Hamilton will teach attendees to make graffiti-inspired art using markers, paper and collage. They will learn “basic techniques and approaches to creative graffiti lettering while developing your own unique style,” according to the museum.

From 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Children’s Museum in Flex Rooms 1 and 2, attendees can “participate in drop-in workshops that dive deep into the Hip Hop element of your choice.” A finale performance will follow at 4 p.m. in the Atrium.

Black To The Future! Kid’s Black History Exploration

From 4 to 7 p.m. Feb. 20, at 825 Arts, 825 University Ave. W., families and kids can learn about Black inventors, scientist and artists in celebration of Black History Month. Attendees will learn things like who invented the Supersoaker, fire extinguisher and more.

The event is free, and spots can be reserved at eventbrite.com.

Booked on Thursdays: “A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing from Soil to Stars”

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From 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26, the Minnesota History Center, 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., hosts a free informal event for people to discuss the book, “A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing from Soil to Stars” by Minnesota author Erin Sharkey.

The book is “a vibrant collection of personal and lyric essays in conversation with archival objects of Black history and memory,” according to Milkweed Editions.

The Historical Society states that “whether you read a few pages, a few chapters, or finish the book, all are invited to participate.” Register for free at mnhs.org/events. Limited quantities of free copies of the book can be requested via email at engagement@mnhs.org.

Sounds of Blackness’ “Music for Martin”

From 7:30 to 9 p.m. Feb. 20 at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, 345 Washington St., Grammy Award-winning Twin Cities-based musical group Sounds of Blackness will perform “a celebratory tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”

The showcase will “draw from the music that fueled the Civil Rights Movement,” featuring arrangements of gospel, spirituals, soul and jazz, including excerpts from Dr. King’s most well-known speeches.

Tickets for the show range from $30-$70 and can be purchased on ordway.org/events.

Black History Month Bookfair

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 21 at the HarMar Mall, 2100 Snelling Ave. N., Roseville, readers can shop books from Black authors. Featured authors include: Dr. Artika Tyner of “The Inclusive Leader and Justice Makes a Difference,” Lanell Lightfoot of “Sing” and Nasra Noor of “My Mommy is a Schoolteacher.”

OMG Studios Presents Soul Sista Unplugged

From 6 to 10 p.m. Feb. 21 at OMG Studios, 550 Vandalia St., Suite 220, singer Jamela Pettiford will perform soulful songs, featuring original work along with classic tunes. The evening will also include poetry and storytelling. Wine and appetizers will be served.

The concert is 21+. Tickets cost $49.87 and can be purchased on eventbrite.com.

Black History Month: Black Girl Magic!

From 2 to 5 p.m. Feb. 22 at 825 Arts, 825 University Ave. W., Black beauticians will show off Black hairstyles and celebrate Black girl magic with candle making, karaoke and double Dutch. “It’s a space for Black women to shine,” according to the event advertisement. The event is free, and spots can be reserved on eventbrite.com.

Coffee Chat: 25th Infantry

From 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Feb. 26 and Feb 28 at Historic Fort Snelling, 200 Tower Ave., the Minnesota Historical Society hosts Coffee Chat: 25th Infantry, a lecture discussion event about the Twenty-Fifth Infantry Regiment (“Buffalo Soldiers”) who were assigned to Fort Snelling from 1882 to 1888. “The soldiers and musicians contributed to the rich social and cultural life of the Black communities in the Twin Cities and beyond,” the Historical Society states.

Rooted: A Southern Tasting Experience

From 1 to 2:30 p.m. Feb. 28 at Mississippi Market, 740 E. Seventh St., Black Roots Sauces & Seasonings hosts a guided tasting demonstration of soul food staples and innovations like mustard greens, black-eyed pea hummus, roasted chicken and garlic aioli.

Tickets are $27.47 and can be purchased through eventbrite.com.

Bryant Alexander and Chivo Presents: Black Comedy Excellence

Looking for a laugh? From 8 to 9:30 p.m. Feb 28 at TWG Comedy, 282 Sixth St. E., Suite 102, Bryant Alexander and Chivo bring St. Paul the “best in Black comedy excellence,” according to their advertisement.

Tickets are $17.85 and can be purchased on eventbrite.com.

Artist and Archives: Community Collaging Event

From 1 to 4 p.m. Feb 28 at the Minnesota History Center, 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., participants are invited to bring copies of photos, letters, flyers or stories “that reflect their lived experiences, families, and neighborhoods,” and create collages.

The event is free, and no art experience is needed as materials will be provided. Light refreshments will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information and to register, visit mnhs.org/events.

Want to celebrate with your stomach?

Here’s a listing of Black-owned restaurants we compiled in 2020 after George Floyd’s murder.

Some others include:

Bole, 1341 Pascal St.
West Indies Soul Food, 839 University Ave.
La Boulangerie Marguerite, 1279 Randolph Ave.
Cookie Cart, 946 Payne Ave.
Burnt Chicken, 858 Payne Ave.
Golden Thyme Restaurant & Bar, 934 Selby Ave.
Demera Ethiopian Restaurant, 823 University Ave. W.
Erta Ale Ethiopian Restaurant, 308 E. Prince St., Suite 140
Hyacinth, 790 Grand Ave.
La Fusion Café, 360 Sherman St., Suite 165
Kitchen Concepts Comfort Food, Rayette Lofts, 261 Fifth St. E.

For coffee: Flava Café, 623 University Ave. W.; Storehouse Grocers and Coffee, 781 E. Seventh St.

For a drink: MetroNOME Brewery and Dark Horse Bar & Eatery, both in Lowertown.

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