Twins infielder Brooks Lee misses spring game with back tightness

FORT MYERS, FLA. – A few days after the Twins lost third baseman Royce Lewis to a strained hamstring, there is at least some concern with another infielder.

Brooks Lee was scratched from the lineup in Thursday’s spring training game because of lower back tightness, and he was replaced by Jose Miranda at third base.

Lee was unavailable for comment as he sought treatment in the trainer’s room, but the Twins announced he was considered day to day.

“I saw him when he was coming in this morning, and he was OK,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Then he mentioned something to the training staff that something was bothering him. We’re going to treat it in a day-to-day fashion. We’ll see how he comes in [Friday]. We’ll see how much it’s improved, if it’s improved, and go from there.

“There is really nothing else to be done because we don’t think this is something more than potentially a muscle spasm. Let it rest and see where he’s at.”

Lee, 24, had a history of back injuries before the Twins drafted him with the No. 8 overall pick in 2022. He was sidelined for the first six weeks of the minor league season last year after he experienced back spasms at the end of spring training.

Chris Paddack is scheduled to make one more start this spring, but it’ll be hard to top how good he looked Thursday in the Twins’ 2-1 win over the Boston Red Sox at Hammond Stadium.

Paddack struck out seven in 4⅔ innings, permitting four hits, one run and two walks. Red Sox batters whiffed on 16 of their 38 swings against him as he reached 97 mph with his fastball and showcased good movement on his curveball and changeup.

“It’s the best I’ve seen him pitch ever,” said Baldelli, noting he’s looked more comfortable and physically ready this year. “I think you’re seeing a guy that’s reaching different peaks right now.”

Paddack has been working on the release points of his pitches. Teammates told him there previously was a gap between his fastball and changeup, so hitters could easily identify a non-fastball was coming.

Twins relievers Cole Sands, Danny Coulombe, Griffin Jax and Anthony Misiewicz combined to strike out nine batters over four scoreless innings. Mickey Gasper produced a pinch-hit single in the eighth inning before DaShawn Keirsey Jr. drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly.

For the past two years, questions about Louie Varland’s role were based on whether the Twins saw him as a starter or reliever.

This season, the questions have a new twist.

Varland is firmly planted in the Twins bullpen, entering his first season as a full-time reliever, but his role remains a mystery. Need a long reliever? Varland has started 22 games in the big leagues, so that’s not an issue. A multi-inning weapon? A guy who could handle late-inning and high-leverage situations? He fits the bill for any of it.

“He can do a lot,” said Twins pitching coach Pete Maki, who called Varland “the Sun King” as a nickname, in reference to Louis XIV. “We’ve asked him to do a lot, and he’s always responded to that with, ‘Yeah, give me the ball. I don’t care.’ I love that.”

Baldelli envisions Varland handling a role like the one Emilio Pagán took on in his last season with the Twins. Pagán had 14 multi-inning outings and finished 15 games, posting a 2.99 ERA over 69 innings.

“A lot of guys mentally might get pigeonholed into a role where they just want to know and need to know, and if they don’t know what’s going on, they don’t perform,” Baldelli said. “But that’s not what major league baseball is about in a bullpen sometimes. The guys that are just ready to pitch — that’s Lou Varland’s mentality, and it’s a huge plus for him.”

Varland, a 27-year-old from North St. Paul, flashed a fastball that peaked at 98.7 mph in his last Grapefruit League outing, and he’s reached 88 mph with his curveball, a 3-mph jump from when he threw it last year. Varland said it was an unintentional velocity increase.

“I did it one time,” Varland said. “And now I try to do it every time because I know I can do it now, but it was not the focus.”

Said Maki: “It’s a very unique pitch, right? It’s 87, 88 mph and has good depth. It’s going to be good.”