Bailey Ober close to rejoining Twins rotation; David Festa out for weeks

Bailey Ober is on the verge of rejoining the Twins rotation after pitching five innings in a Class AAA rehab assignment Friday, but the Twins will be without fellow righthander David Festa for the next several weeks.

Ober, who has been on the 15-day injured list since June 29 because of a left hip impingement, said he “felt healthy for the first time in a while.” He has struck out nine batters across nine innings during two rehab starts with the Saints while giving up one run.

Manager Rocco Baldelli said the coaching staff hasn’t finalized who will pitch Wednesday against Boston or Friday at Cleveland, but he was encouraged when he heard how Ober felt.

“My hip is finally feeling good for the first time in a long time,” Ober said. “I haven’t had any issues with that. My back is feeling loose. As long as I can keep that section of my body clear — left hip and low back — I think I’ll be all right.”

Ober, who gave up 30 runs and 14 homers across 30 innings in June, is still throwing his fastball a tick slower than he has thrown in previous years, but he said he has had recent bullpen sessions where he felt like he did when he was at his best.

“Everything that I’ve heard so far is very positive and optimistic,” Baldelli said.

Festa, who was placed on the 15-day IL Wednesday because of right shoulder inflammation, underwent a magnetic resonance imaging exam that showed no structural damage, but it revealed an impingement and a lot of inflammation in the front and back of his shoulder.

“I had a little something earlier in the year, similar to this,” said Festa, who missed a couple minor league starts in May because of shoulder inflammation. “I’d say it’s a little worse now. I took care of it. I felt like I came back strong, but maybe it didn’t fully heal. Shoulders can be tricky. It was tricking me as well, because some days I’d feel great and other days I wouldn’t feel good.”

Festa thought he was pitching better in his past few starts — he gave up four hits and four runs in 5 ⅓ innings Monday in a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers — but he spoke up about his shoulder pain when it didn’t feel any better after resting it during the All-Star break.

“I’m pretty bummed right now,” said Festa, who has a 3-4 record and a 5.40 ERA in 11 games. “I know I haven’t been 100 percent, even though I’ve been throwing the ball decently. I know there’s still a little bit holding me back, so I had to speak up — especially with how I came out of the Dodgers outing: stiff, achy, sore, a little bit of pain, all those things.”

Pablo López, who has been out since June 4 because of a shoulder strain, is expected to start pitching off the mound again soon, perhaps in the next few days. It will still take weeks to build up the workload on his arm, putting his timeline to return toward the end of August, but he’s progressing well.

“I think I’ve checked all the boxes pre-mound, and I’m looking forward to throwing off the mound again,” López said. “I’m spinning the breaking ball: Curveball’s curving, sweeper’s sweeping, changeup’s changing. It’s been good.”

It was tabbed as a “Reverse Autograph” event, an idea spearheaded by Brooks Lee after the infielder visited a children’s hospital as part of a Twins charity event last winter. The custom cards featured a kid’s photo and first name on the front, and the back of the card had their hobbies and info on the medical condition they’re battling. The ages of the kids ranged from 2 to 15.

“It’s a good experience for me personally and then the rest of the team,” said Lee, whose agency coordinated the event with the Twins and Gillette Children’s after the Seattle Mariners had a similar event. “It’s late July. We’re in the dog days, I feel like, and it’s hot, so it’s nice to put things in perspective and try to cheer up some kids.”

Baldelli added: “Probably the highlight of our day regardless of what happens in the game today.”

• Luke Keaschall played his first game at second base during his rehab assignment with the Saints. Recovering from a broken forearm, he spent his first six rehab games as the designated hitter. Keaschall went 1-for-4 with a walk, scoring on Edouard Julien’s go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning as the Saints rallied to beat Worcester 9-5 at CHS Field.

• Catcher Ryan Jeffers was placed on the paternity list and Mickey Gasper was called up to fill his roster spot. Gasper caught in the ninth inning Saturday, his second big-league catching appearance this season, and singled in the bottom of the inning.