After a breakout season in the Minnesota Twins bullpen in 2024, Cole Sands significantly regressed last year. The cause? According to Sands, it was that he faced nearly an even number of righties and lefties throughout the season.
“I think a lot of it last year, if you really break it down, I handled a lot of righties last year,” Sands said, “but if you really look into the year before, I faced a lot more righties than I did lefties. Really, the only difference between the two years is [that] I faced more lefties last year.”
Cole Sands faced 151 lefties compared to 148 righties in 2025, which was up from 119 lefties in 2024. Sands’ splits between righties and lefties in 2024 were a large contrast. He held right-handed hitters to a .193/.227/.286 slash line, five walks, and 52 strikeouts. Lefties were more effective against him that season. They had a .264/.319/.387 slash line against Sands, but were still limited to seven walks and 33 strikeouts.
However, right- and left-handed hitters were evenly effective against Sands last year. Righties had a .241/.284/.394 slash line against him, and he only gave up eight walks compared to 38 strikeouts. Lefties hit .242/.311/.386 and drew 11 walks, while Sands only had 26 strikeouts against them.
The similarities in splits between righties and lefties brought his ERA up from 3.28 in 2024 to 4.50 in 2025. His usage in 2025 was part of the reason he saw some decline in his performance. However, it’s more likely that the Twins will use Sands more favorably against righties when they put him into games in 2026.
But Cole Sands is going to have to face lefties every so often when he’s on the mound, so that’s why he spent the off-season working on adding a new pitch to be more effective against lefties.
“I’m trying to work on a little gyro slider, which is something I dabbled with at the end of the season last year,” Sands said. “But for the most part, everything is about the same. Just execution and trying to make pitches.”
A gyro slider is different from a normal slider. It has little spin efficiency and breaks at a 90-degree north-south angle, compared to the east-west angle of the regular slider.
Per Baseball Savant, Sands only threw the pitch in game four times last year. Still, it’s something he’s beginning to feel comfortable throwing against left-handed hitters early this upcoming season.
“The addition of the slider is to get the miss on lefties,” said Sands. “That was the number that was down last year was punchouts versus lefties. I know it might not seem as good as the year before, but when you’re facing more righties like I did in 24, well then I’m going to have better numbers. But when you look at last year, I did well against righties; it was mainly the lefties that handled me at that point.”
Cole Sands will likely hold one of the few high-leverage roles in Minnesota’s bullpen to start the 2026 season. Two years ago, he established a track record of being effective in those spots. With so many new and familiar faces returning to the Twins bullpen this season, they’ll need someone from last season’s group to be dependable to get three outs in the seventh, eighth, or ninth inning.
“I mean, it was, there were some glimpses of good and some bad, too,” he said. “I think it’s just one of those things in baseball, there’s going to be ups and downs. Right when you think you have it figured out, you’ve got to readjust.
“I think this year it’s going to be trying to be consistent within those months, and reality says it’s not always going to be perfect. But just try to control what I can and not put too much pressure on myself. Because I know that’s part of it, and I try to do too much. But just try to go out there, have fun, and not try to put too much pressure on myself.”
Cole Sands took the good with the bad from last season to make his adjustments this spring. His overall numbers against left-handed hitters in 2025 were down from 2024. However, the gyro slider is the pitch he hopes will take the next step in bringing those numbers down further while still keeping righties guessing at the plate.
