After almost three years, Randy Dobnak will return to the Twins; reliever Trevor Richards acquired from Toronto

NEW YORK – Randy Dobnak, who last pitched in the major leagues on Sept. 1, 2021, is back with the Twins.

The veteran righthander was called up from St. Paul on Tuesday on trade deadline day. The Twins made a minor deal, acquiring reliever Trevor Richards from Toronto. They also designated reliever Josh Staumont for assignment or release, and moved Alex Kirilloff to the 60-day injured list to make room for Dobnak on the 40-man roster.

The 29-year-old Dobnak is 9-5 with a 3.61 ERA at Class AAA St. Paul this season and leads the International League in victories, is third in innings pitched (99⅓) and strikeouts (102), and fourth in ERA. In his past 10 starts, he has a 2.26 ERA.

“Lot of adapting to a different kind of pitcher that I used to be, lot of injuries, but it’s good to be back,” Dobnak said before the Twins played the Mets at Citi Field.

He pitched in 42 games from 2019-21 for the Twins, starting 26, and was 11-15 with a 4.94 ERA, signing a five-year, $9.25 million deal in 2021. He is earning $2.25 million this season.

Dobnak also started a playoff loss at Yankee Stadium in 2019.

“He’s been pitching great. He’s made great adjustments on the mound, and has had a great season at Triple-A,” said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli.

Baldelli said Dobnak will pitch out of the bullpen.

Three years ago, Dobnak suffered a rupture of the tiny ligaments in his right middle finger called pulleys, which caused intense pain whenever he squeezed a baseball to throw that sinker. The rare injury healed, then recurred even worse in 2022, and his finger — and best pitch — is permanently damaged. Dobnak remade himself as a slider/changeup pitcher, with a four-seamed fastball mixed in.

The Twins were the last MLB team to make a trade this week when they picked up Richards, a 31-year-old righthander who is 2-1 with a 4.64 ERA this season. He has also pitched in the major leagues for Miami, Tampa Bay and Milwaukee. In 280 big-league games (61 starts) he has a 4.51 ERA and 598 strikeouts in 547 innings.

Richards is in the final year of his contract. The Twins sent minor league infielder Jay Harry to the Jays. Harry, a sixth round pick last year, is hitting .214 with eight home runs at Class A Cedar Rapids.

Staumont did not give up an earned run in his first 19 appearances with the Twins, but over his past six appearances he had given up 10 earned runs on nine hits and six walks over 4⅔ innings. Kirilloff is sidelined because of a back strain.