The Twins can't catch a break with this pitching staff. MLB Trade Rumors confirmed Wednesday that right-hander Cole Sands is headed for elbow surgery, closing the book on a season that never really got going for the 29-year-old reliever.
The surgery itself is arthroscopic, aimed at cleaning out loose bodies and bone spurs in his right elbow, and it's reportedly scheduled to happen this week. Sands is also set to get a PRP injection during the procedure, and while that sounds scary, the expectation is he'll have a normal offseason and be ready to go for 2026 spring camp. Small mercy for a guy who's had a brutal go of it.
Context matters here: Sands had already been out since early May with a right forearm strain. He came back for one appearance against the A's, got shelled for 5 earned runs while recording a single out, and landed right back on the IL — this time with the elbow issue that's now ending his season for good. Across a shortened 12-inning sample this year he posted an 11-5 strikeout-to-walk line, numbers that were never going to move the needle even before the injuries piled up.
The timing stings. Minnesota's bullpen was already relying on Sands as organizational depth after a string of relief arms have cycled through the injury list, and losing another body right as the trade deadline approaches forces the front office to either dig into internal options or get more aggressive on the buy or sell side of things. He's under team control for 2 more arbitration years, so this isn't a longer-term roster hit — just a gap Minnesota has to plug for the stretch run.
For fantasy managers, this one's simple: drop him. For the Twins, it's another data point in a season where the pitching depth chart keeps getting tested. Worth watching how Minnesota reshuffles bullpen roles over the next few days, and whether this pushes them toward adding an arm before the deadline closes.