Louie Varland rejoins Twins, with an adjustable role for rest of the season

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. – The Twins didn’t announce a roster move Tuesday, but Louie Varland’s presence in the clubhouse offered a big hint about their pitching plans Wednesday.

Varland will rejoin the Twins on Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays, though it won’t be in a late-inning bullpen role. Ronny Henriquez is scheduled to start Wednesday as an opener with Varland likely pitching multiple innings afterward. Varland pitched five scoreless innings behind a two-inning opener in his last appearance with the St. Paul Saints, striking out a season-high nine batters.

“We can’t put ourselves ever in a spot where we run out of capable starters,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said last month. “That is always going to be the first thing that I have to bring up when we talk about Lou and his ultimate landing spot.”

The Twins created an opening in their starting rotation Wednesday because they’re scheduled to play games for 13 consecutive days, and they wanted to give all their starters an extra day between starts.

Varland appears unlikely to be optioned to the minor leagues following Wednesday’s expected outing because he would be ineligible to return for 15 days unless he replaced an injured pitcher on the roster. So, the two logical options are moving him into a full-time bullpen role or keeping him stretched out to pitch starter-level innings until at least the next off day.

As a reliever last season, Varland had a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings with 17 strikeouts.

Simeon Woods Richardson hasn’t pitched more than five innings in his past four starts, and another number worth monitoring is his fastball velocity. His velocity has dipped in his past two outings, averaging 92.5 mph with the pitch in his start Monday compared to his 93.2-mph season average.

Woods Richardson, a 23-year-old rookie righthander, has thrown a career-high 134 innings this year between the majors and Class AAA.

“It could also be just ups and downs of the season that he’s going through, but it’s noted,” Baldelli said. “He’s a young pitcher. He’s throwing a bunch of innings. He’s had some starts where he’s gone long for us. He’s really handled this pretty well.

“Is the stuff maybe a little down right now? Yes. But am I pleased with what he’s given us over the course of this year? Absolutely. We’ll keep him going. We’ll see how he is and, really, the monitoring is the in-between start [routine] as much as it is when he’s out there on the mound.”

Michael Helman became the sixth Twins player to make his major league debut this season, starting in right field Tuesday and collecting his first career hit with an infield single in the fifth inning.

“Honestly, I felt pretty even-keeled for the most part,” said Helman, a righthanded hitter from Lincoln, Neb. “The first fly ball that I got out there, it felt like it was in the air forever. But after I got that one, I kind of felt settled in.”

Helman learned he was starting when Baldelli texted the lineup around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.

“I just had dozed off and my phone was on the little nightstand right next to me,” Helman said. “I heard it buzz, and I was like, ‘I’d better check just in case.’ I checked and I saw my name in there, and I was like, ‘Ah, I’ve got to go to sleep.’

“It was everything I could have dreamed of. I’ve been blessed with an amazing support system with my family and friends and teammates. It was something special.”

* Byron Buxton is scheduled to continue his rehab assignment Wednesday with the St. Paul Saints. He’s expected to play nine innings in center field and he could rejoin the Twins for their series in Kansas City this weekend.

* Royce Lewis played in his 59th game with the Twins on Tuesday, his highest regular-season total since he played 127 minor league games in 2019. He’s been trying to find a daily routine to combat fatigue. “It starts with about 2,000 people trying to tell you, ‘Oh, do this! Try this! What’s wrong with you? What are you doing?’” he said. “Just because I hit singles now means I’m a different person, I guess. Just trying everything out and filter which one works, which one doesn’t. I’ve tried sauna, cold tub before the game, postgame. I’ve been trying different things.”

* Pitchers Caleb Boushley and Trevor Richards accepted assignments to Class AAA after they were removed from the Twins’ 40-man roster and cleared waivers.