Twins claim righty Zak Kent off waivers, place Pablo López on 60-day IL
The Minnesota Twins have officially placed right-handed starting pitcher Pablo López on the 60-day IL after he underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery yesterday, the team announced. Minnesota replaced López on its 40-man roster by claiming right-handed reliever Zak Kent off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals.
Kent, who made his MLB debut with the Cleveland Guardians last year, joins the long list of Twins relievers who are competing for an Opening Day roster spot. He's had an interesting offseason to say the least; St. Louis claimed him off waivers from the Guardians in December, then the Texas Rangers claimed him off waivers from the Cardinals in January, and the Cardinals re-claimed him off waivers from Texas 10 days ago and designated him for assignment just five days later.
Kent, 28, made 12 appearances with Cleveland last season, posting a 4.58 ERA (3.59 FIP) with 16 strikeouts and eight walks across 17 2/3 innings. In 38 Triple-A innings last season, he pitched to an outstanding 2.84 ERA with 50 strikeouts and 21 walks. He relies on a mid-80s slider, a low-90s four-seamer, a low-80s curveball and a low-90s sinker.
Royce Lewis scratched from Twins' spring training matchup with Pittsburgh Pirates Thursday
The Minnesota Twins scratched Royce Lewis from today's lineup less than an hour before game time due to tightness in his right side, according to The Athletic's Dan Hayes.
#MNTwins scratched Royce Lewis from today’s game. Per media relations: Lewis experienced tightness on right side after running the bases pregame. Scratched “out of abundance of caution.”
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) February 26, 2026
It makes sense why the Twins scratched Lewis, given the third baseman's injury history. Let's just hope the tightness doesn't turn into anything serious.
David Festa suffers another setback
Right-handed pitcher David Festa is expected to start the regular season on the injured list after he felt discomfort in the back of his shoulder after throwing a bullpen session on Tuesday, according to The Minnesota Star Tribune's Bobby Nightengale. An MRI showed impingement around his rotator cuff, which is unrelated to the thoracic outlet syndrome he suffered last year.
Festa was presumably battling for Minnesota's final rotation spot with Zebby Matthews and Mick Abel before the injury news. Even so, many speculated he'd be better suited as a reliever. The odds of him becoming a bullpen arm are now much higher.
Twins reassign two players to minor league camp
The Twins have reassigned right-handed pitchers Cory Lewis and Matt Canterino to minor league camp, the team announced. Last year, Lewis had a 7.27 ERA with 87 strikeouts and 68 walks over 87 innings with Triple-A St. Paul. Canterino, once a highly-regarded prospect, hasn't thrown a professional pitch (besides spring training) since 2022.