Twins pitcher Michael Pineda to make rehab start Thursday

CHICAGO – Righthander Michael Pineda, who has not pitched for the Twins since June 13 because of elbow inflammation, is set to make a rehabilitation start on Thursday for Class AAA St. Paul.

That puts Pineda, 3-4 with a 3.70 ERA, in line to return to the Twins rotation early next week when they play host to the White Sox in a three-game series.

"It's an important outing for Mike," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "We're very pleased with where he's at physically. This will be a great time for him to go out there and throw some pitches, log some innings and get himself ready so he can get that good, full outing that we're always looking for and that Mike usually gives us."

It's a significant development for the Twins, whose rotation has taken hits with injuries to Pineda, Kenta Maeda, Randy Dobnak and Matt Shoemaker being demoted to the bullpen.

Pineda was largely effective for the Twins until his past three starts, during which he posted a 7.94 ERA. But the Twins need his veteran savvy in the rotation.

Catcher Mitch Garver is starting to move around as he recovers from groin surgery, but don't expect him to return to the lineup and start hammering pitches into the seats anytime soon.

Baldelli said the club will continue to move deliberately slowly with Garver, and suggested his season won't resume until after the All-Star break.

"Some of what Garv is dealing with right now does go beyond baseball and being a baseball injury," Baldelli said. "Some of this is stuff that we do need to make sure for his quality of life going forward and his general health, we do need to make sure that he is completely healed up before we start any strenuous baseball activity and that was just re-emphasized when he saw the doctor this week."

Garver has been out since June 1.

While everyone was monitoring their weather apps on Monday, the Twins promoted a couple of interesting prospects to Class AAA St. Paul.

One is righthander Josh Winder, who was 3-0 with an 1.97 ERA in 10 starts at Class AA Wichita. Winder has made plenty of progress since being drafted in the seventh round in 2018 out of VMI. His fastball can reach the 96-97 mph range, which has helped his changeup and breaking pitches. In 54⅔ innings at Wichita, Winder had 65 strikeouts and 10 walks, so his command is a good sign.

He will play in the Futures Game in Denver on July 18.

In 2019, Winder was 7-2 with a league-low 2.65 ERA for Class A Cedar Rapids. With the 2020 season wiped out because of the pandemic, Winder applied himself during workouts, added some mph to his fastball and impressed Twins officials during instructional workouts. They now have a pitcher who could crack their top 10 prospect list next season — as well as the Twins' rotation.

"Josh is one of the most diligent workers that we have in the entire organization, said Alex Hassan, the Twins' director of player development. "He fully took advantage of the time off last season by working his tail off in the weight room and staying consistent with his throwing schedule. He's worked hard on his delivery during instructional league and we're seeing the fruits of the labor this season."

Infielder Jose Miranda also has been promoted to St. Paul. In 47 games for the Wind Surge, Miranda batted .335 with 13 homers and 38 RBI. What the Twins are encouraged about is that Miranda's contact skills were on display, as he struck out just 25 times while drawing 17 walks. The power has come along this season, as he is two homers away from matching his career high. Miranda hit a leadoff homer in his first at-bat as a Saint on Tuesday night.

Miranda likely is a third baseman, but he played first, second and even two games at short while at Wichita.