RADIO
Cole Sands Pitches in Non-Save Situation on Thursday
Minnesota Twins' right-handed reliever, Cole Sands, appeared in his second game of the 2026 season on Thursday against the Kansas City Royals and allowed his first run of the season, and more concerningly from a fantasy standpoint, was deployed in a non-save situation. He was brought in to start the eighth inning with the Twins up 2-0 in that contest. Justin Topa ended up getting the save for the Twins in the ninth, while Taylor Rogers came in to record the last out of the eighth inning, as Sands was only able to record the first two outs of the inning after allowing two hits and the earned run on 11 pitches, nine of which were strikes. From a fantasy standpoint, this opens up the possibility that the Twins will not deploy this bullpen conventionally, where Sands will be guaranteed to pick up most, if not all, ninth-inning opportunities after recording a save in the Twins' first win in Baltimore, and they will be deployed depending on matchup and where the opponents are in their lineup, which hinders Sands' fantasy value as a true closer. Sands' fantasy managers will want to keep an eye on this situation as the season progresses.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
