Just when the Minnesota Twins seemed to have eradicated the injury bug back… with some vengeance. This time, it went after this team’s brightest and most consistent spot.
Starting pitching.
The Twins lost Pablo López to a shoulder injury for a few months last Tuesday against the Athletics. Then, they lost Zebby Matthews to a shoulder injury he suffered during the week. After an MRI on Saturday, they scratched Matthews and placed him on the IL before Sunday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Matthews was dealing with a sore shoulder before the Tampa Bay series. Still, he made his two starts before the MRI shut him down for at least 15 days, retroactive to last Thursday. Danny Coulombe returned from injury and took Zebby’s roster spot. He was electric before his injury sidelined him for a few weeks.
Coulombe made his first appearance back on Tuesday against the Texas Rangers. He only needed two pitches to clean up after a Jorge Alcala appearance where he gave up five runs, showcasing both sides of his 2025 season.
With all the injuries to Minnesota’s starters now, where do they go for depth and continued stability?
Minnesota has a few internal options
The Twins have made a couple of moves to help in both departments.
They first recalled Simeon Woods Richardson from Triple-A earlier in the week for needed starting help, sending Travis Adams back to St. Paul. Although he gave up six earned runs on Tuesday against Texas, he has starting experience.
The Twins also just added left-hander Joey Wentz off the waiver wire from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wentz has some starting experience with the Detroit Tigers. However, after a tough season in 2023, where he went 3-13 with a 6.90 ERA, Detroit and Pittsburgh relegated him to the bullpen.
Most of them are in St. Paul
If the Twins feel they could use more pitching help, they could look for it in St. Paul.
They could call Adams up again, who didn’t throw a single pitch when he was with the team last week. Still, he should be able to eat up innings.
They could also turn to Darren McCaughan, who was in the majors earlier this season. McCaughan also has starting experience and an increased role for the Saints. His current 2025 stat line includes five and a third innings of work over those three games, a 1.69 ERA, one walk, and six strikeouts.
Andrew Morris is another pitcher they could consider.
Minnesota’s fourth-round draft pick in 2022 has been a consistent starter at every level in the minors. He has started in 52 of 56 minor-league games. Morris has had his first full season for the Saints with decent success this year. He has a 3-2 record with 53.2 innings of work and a 3.86 ERA.
What about a trade?
The Twins could also look at the trade market.
With the 2025 trade deadline a month and a half away, teams are dividing into buyers and sellers.
Although the Twins have typically been quiet at the deadline, they could try to take a stab at one of the many big names expected to hit the market on clear sellers like the Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Angels, and the Colorado Rockies.
They could buy low on Sandy Alcantara
The caveat is that the price must be right to pull off a trade in all these situations.
These are just a couple of targets to monitor.
The Marlins could look to part ways with former Cy Young Winner Sandy Alcantara. This season, he has career worsts in ERA and WAR with a 7.14 ERA and a -1.2 WAR. While he is struggling so far, Alcantara’s struggles seem like an outlier. Before this season, his worst in both statistical marks in a season where he started were a WAR of 0.5 in 2018 and an ERA of 4.14 last season.
He’s coming off Tommy John surgery that he had in 2023, but the Twins have gambled on previously injured players throughout Derek Falvey’s regime.
Tyler Anderson is another option
They could also target Los Angeles Angels veteran Tyler Anderson.
The two-time All-star starter has yet another good season starting for him with an ERA just under 4.00, a strikeout-to-walk ratio that has been very consistent over the last two and a half seasons, around 2.0, and ESPN Jeff Passan’s “best player available” for the team in his trade deadline preview earlier this month.
Anderson could slot into that third to fourth spot in the Twins’ rotation while Lopez is out, and really round out a solid rotation when López returns.
German Marquez is probably their best Rockies option
Finally, the Twins could look at German Marquez.
For a team that just won its tenth game on June 2, it’s pretty easy to become downtrodden. A change of pace might be just the thing to get Marquez out of Colorado and hopefully save him from having his worst season in his career.
In ten MLB seasons, Marquez has won a Silver Slugger award in 2018 (remember when pitchers could get plate appearances) and an All-Star appearance in 2021. This season, he became the first Rockies pitcher to reach 1,000 strikeouts.
With all those accolades, the last two seasons have ended early for the former ace.
Marquez had Tommy John surgery in 2023. In 2024, Colorado shut him down with an elbow injury after making only one start.
With his experience, Marquez could become another revival project for the 2025 Twins. He has shown in the past that he has what it takes to be a team’s Opening Day starter.
There’s always the waiver wire
The Twins could also keep their eyes peeled for other waiver wire additions like they did with Wentz.
With different players coming up to the majors and returning to the minors daily, the Twins could use this avenue to find other prospects and starting potential when starters are on the move.
Minnesota’s starting rotation has been consistent all year. However, the Twins are now scrambling for more of the same after losing two valuable arms in the last week and a half.
Getting more depth should be a top priority for a team in the third wild-card spot.
Whether it’s in-house, finding a trade partner, or stealing depth from the waiver wire, the Twins must cobble together an adequate starting rotation to keep from falling out of playoff contention.
