Minnesota is the team in actual freefall. The Twins went into Chicago and somehow lost 3 of 4 to the White Sox, including a 15-2 demolition on Wednesday. That is the White Sox. You don't lose a game 15-2 to the White Sox unless something is genuinely off. The 27-30 record is bad enough — getting steamrolled by the worst franchise in baseball is the kind of thing that ends up in a clubhouse meeting.
The injury list isn't doing the Twins any favors either. Pablo Lopez is on the 60-day, David Festa likely isn't back before the All-Star break, Ryan Jeffers is out 6-to-8 weeks with a hamate fracture, and the bullpen is missing Cole Sands and Kendry Rojas. Pittsburgh has its own catching mess with Joey Bart on the 10-day and Nick Gonzales got pulled Thursday with left knee discomfort, so the lineup card is worth checking before puck — sorry, before first pitch.
- Day-To-DayKendry Rojas (RP) — Rojas will not start against the White Sox on Thursday due to posterior elbow soreness, reports Dan Hayes of The Athletic.05/28
- Day-To-DayWalker Jenkins (CF) — Twins manager Jeremy Zoll said Saturday that Jenkins (shoulder) is "reporting improvements daily" and could begin light baseball activity in about a week, Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.05/18
- Day-To-DayJulian Merryweather (RP) — Merryweather (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment with the Twins' rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate Tuesday, Theodore Tollefson of ZoneCoverage.com reports.05/08
- Day-To-DayMatt Canterino (SP) — Canterino (shoulder) will be with the Twins in big-league spring training but isn't expected to pitch during camp as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.05/08
- 10-Day-ILRyan Jeffers (C) — Jeffers needs surgery to remove a fractured left hamate bone and is expected to be sidelined 6-to-8 weeks, Aaron Gleeman of AaronGleeman.com reports.05/19
- 15-Day-ILCole Sands (RP) — Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll said that Sands (forearm) played catch on consecutive days last week and is expected to spend about a month on the injured list, Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.05/18
- 15-Day-ILMick Abel (SP) — Abel (elbow/triceps) resumed playing light catch Wednesday, Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.05/18
- 15-Day-ILCody Laweryson (RP) — Laweryson (forearm) worked around a walk to deliver a scoreless inning in his rehab appearance Saturday with Triple-A St. Paul.05/18
- 60-Day-ILGarrett Acton (RP) — no05/19
- 60-Day-ILDavid Festa (SP) — Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll said Saturday that Festa is unlikely to return before the All-Star break after experiencing a setback in his recovery from a right shoulder impingement earlier this month, Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.05/18
- 60-Day-ILPablo Lopez (SP) — The Twins placed Lopez (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Thursday.05/08
- Day-To-DayNick Gonzales (3B) — Gonzales was removed from Thursday's contest against the Cubs due to left knee discomfort.05/29
- Day-To-DayKonnor Griffin (SS) — Griffin went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Wednesday against the Cubs.05/28
- Day-To-DayAnthony Solometo (SP) — Solometo is sidelined at Double-A Altoona with recurring left shoulder discomfort, Jose Negron of DK Pittsburgh Sports reports.05/08
- Day-To-DayOddanier Mosqueda (RP) — Mosqueda will not throw for a couple weeks due to left forearm inflammation, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.05/08
- Day-To-DayMike Clevinger (RP) — Clevinger is expected to be sidelined for around six weeks after being diagnosed with an MCL sprain in his right knee, Jason Mackey of MLB.com reports.05/08
- Day-To-DaySean Sullivan (SP) — Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Sullivan is battling right elbow soreness, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.05/08
- 10-Day-ILRyan O'Hearn (RF) — O'Hearn (quadriceps) worked out in the outfield ahead of Monday's game against the Cubs, MLB.com reports.05/26
- 10-Day-ILJoey Bart (C) — Manager Don Kelly said Bart, who is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Rockies, is "banged up," Chris Halicke of DK Pittsburgh Sports reports.05/12
- 15-Day-ILChris Devenski (RP) — Devenski (illness) was cleared to resume all baseball activities last week and began throwing bullpen sessions May 13, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.05/21
- 60-Day-ILJared Jones (SP) — Pirates manager Don Kelly said Thursday that Jones (elbow) will make his season debut Friday at home against the Twins, Jason Mackey of MLB.com reports.05/28
Pinnacle has the Pirates at -135 with a total of 8.5, which feels about right. You're paying for the Jones debut narrative and the Bradley counter, and if Jones is anything close to the guy who was striking out a batter per inning in 2024, this is a low-scoring grind. The Twins can hit when they want to. Right now they don't seem to want to.