Twins reliever Jorge López placed on injured list to address mental health concerns

Twins reliever Jorge López, who hasn't pitched well for the past month, will spend some time away from the team after he was placed on the 15-day injured list for mental health reasons Sunday.

López is the fourth MLB player to spend time on the IL to address mental health this season, along with Colorado reliever Daniel Bard, Oakland outfielder Austin Meadows and Oakland reliever Trevor May.

"I think it's definitely the right move for him," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "I'm actually glad he's open to the idea of doing it and it's something that we are going to take advantage of right now and get him in the best possible place to come back."

López, an 2022 American League All-Star with Baltimore, owns a 5.00 ERA in 29 relief appearances this season. He's yielded 16 hits and 12 runs in his last 6⅓ innings (17.05 ERA), and his velocity was down by about two miles per hour during his two-inning outing Thursday.

He was in the clubhouse as recently as Saturday.

"We are going to respect his space," Baldelli said. "We have a plan for him. If he wants to speak on it, obviously, we'll respect him and allow him to do that at any time. Other than that, I won't have any other comment."

The Twins acquired López from the Orioles at last year's trade deadline. He isn't eligible to become a free agent until after the 2024 season.

It wasn't the easiest road for Jordan Balazovic, but the former top pitching prospect made his major league debut in Sunday's 6-4 loss to the Tigers.

Balazovic, wearing No. 81, permitted two hits and one walk in 3⅔ scoreless innings while recording two strikeouts.

"Still hasn't sunk in, honestly," said Balazovic, who replaced López on the roster. "I mean, it happened so quick, but it's unreal. Still trying to take my time throughout the day, but yeah, it's unreal. It's what you work for, you know? So, couldn't be happier."

Balazovic endured a nightmare 2022 season at Class AAA St. Paul, then missed the start of spring training because of a broken jaw. Transitioning to a reliever, he posted a 4.79 ERA in 35⅔ innings at St. Paul with 50 strikeouts and 21 walks.

"He's had to work his way back into being the pitcher that he's capable of being," Baldelli said, "and he's done a good job with that."

Michael A. Taylor was hit in the back of the head by an errant curveball from Tigers reliever Alex Lange in the eighth inning Sunday. He left the game because of a head contusion, walking to the dugout on his own, and initial examinations did not show concussion-like symptoms, the team announced.

"It didn't really catch the helmet very much," said Baldelli, who ruled out Taylor from starting Monday. "It caught him in the head. That's always going to catch your attention and you're going to worry about it. Nobody complains less than Michael Taylor, but we're going to make sure we are thorough."

• Kenta Maeda was back in the Twins clubhouse after making his fourth rehab start for Class AAA St. Paul on Friday. "There is nothing new as far as anything we've finalized," Twins bench coach Jayce Tingler said. "We feel confident he's going to be back with us, but we have not finalized what the rotation looks like for this upcoming week quite yet."

• In a procedural roster move, the Twins activated outfielder Gilberto Celestino from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to St. Paul. He played nine games on a rehab assignment, including five with the Saints, before he was formally activated. Reliever Jorge Alcalá was transferred to the 60-day IL to make room for Celestino on the 40-man roster.

• The Saints improved to 40-28 on the season with a 12-5 victory at Louisville, with all nine starters getting a hit, including homers from José Miranda and Mark Contreras.