With the Twins carrying seven relievers, stretches like the one they are on — the relievers have given up 15 earned runs over the past five games — can be taxing.
So the Twins sent righthander Zack Littell back to Class AAA Rochester after Sunday's 7-6 victory over Oakland to get a fresh arm in the bullpen. Littell was called up on July 3 and threw seven scoreless innings before giving up back-to-back home runs Saturday.
He struck out Matt Chapman on Sunday in his third appearance in a row.
The Twins will call up righthander Cody Stashak, 25. He began 2019 at Class AA Pensacola, where he was 2-3 with a 4.76 ERA in 19 appearances. He was promoted to Rochester, where he has a 1.61 ERA in 12 appearances, including two starts. Stashak was drafted in the 13th round in 2015 out of St. John's.
In 50 2/3 innings for the two minor-league teams, Stashak has struck out 71 batters and walked only nine.
Stashak will be added to the 40-man roster, but the Twins still have four open spots, which allows them to be flexible in case trades or other roster moves are made.
