Jorge López returns to Twins bullpen after mental health break

Standing outside the Twins clubhouse Tuesday morning, Jorge López broke into a smile as he started to explain what it meant to return to the bullpen.

López spent 17 days on the injured list for a mental health break. He was activated from the IL Tuesday, a collective decision made by López, the medical staff and front office staff, and pitched in the ninth inning in the team's 9-3 win.

During the past two weeks, López worked with a therapist, which he said he will continue to do. When he struggled before the mental break, he had trouble controlling his emotions and felt like things snowballed on him. He punched a water cooler after an outing in Houston when he didn't record an out.

"Just something out of whack," López said. "I got off the line a little bit. I recognized that. Good thing I got some help. I really appreciate what the team's been doing, what the staff's been doing. I couldn't be more thankful for it. They just want me to be there and be good. That's all I want to do, and that's what I'm trying to pay back to them."

The Twins never committed to a timetable for López's return, but he continued to throw regular bullpen sessions when he was on the IL. He advanced to live batting practice sessions last weekend. The way he was throwing gave team officials confidence he didn't need a minor league rehab assignment.

López, who allowed 16 hits and 12 runs in his last 6 1/3 innings, owns a 5.14 ERA in 30 appearances this season with three saves.

"He used this time to his advantage in a lot of ways," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "There is no blueprint for when to bring someone back from this type of scenario, so we just put our heads together and had to spend some real time thinking about it and talking about it. We deemed today to be the best day. We could make up boxes to check and think about it in other ways, but there was nothing else we felt we absolutely needed to see."

The Twins plan to use López in a lower-leverage role with the hope he earns his way back to setup man. Lefthander Brent Headrick was optioned to Class AAA to make room for López in the bullpen.

López remained around his teammates while he was on the IL, except for road trips, which he thought was helpful. One of his happiest places, he says, is the clubhouse.

After a chance to reset mentally, López expects to see improved results on the mound.

"The big thing was I lost, kind of, my release point," said López, a 2022 All-Star with Baltimore. "Good thing we have technology to help us to understand better. Just try to be consistent with it. I heard so many times, 'you've got great stuff.' I'm tired of hearing that already. I need to prove it like I did last year."

Cole Sands, sidelined since June 4 with a right shoulder impingement, is moving closer to making himself an option for the Twins' bullpen.

Sands is two outings into a rehab assignment at St. Paul. He struck out five batters across two scoreless innings on Saturday, throwing 37 pitches in the relief appearance.

"Very, very close," Sands said. "The cutter, recently, figured out how to throw it really well. The splitter has been really good for put-away [pitches]. As long as I was getting ahead, it was in a good spot."

• Twins prospect Austin Martin, acquired in the José Berríos trade in 2021, played his first game at Class AAA on Monday. Martin, 24, has missed most of the season with an elbow injury and then he was injured in a collision during a Class A rehab assignment. Martin, who started at second base, was hitless in three at-bats with a walk and a strikeout.

• Trevor Larnach homered for the third straight game but it wasn't enough as the St. Paul Saints saw their six-game winning streak end with a 3-2 loss to the Iowa Cubs in Des Moines.