Minnesota Twins reliever Cole Sands will miss the remainder of the baseball season following arthroscopic elbow surgery performed on Tuesday. The procedure was conducted to remove loose bodies and bone spurs from his right elbow and included a platelet-rich plasma injection.
Sands has been managing elbow issues throughout the season. He previously spent time on the injured list due to a right forearm strain before returning to pitch on Sunday against the Athletics. In that appearance, he allowed five runs and recorded only one out before being placed back on the injured list with his elbow injury.
"It’s been obviously kind of a long battle this year with it," Sands told reporters, according to MLB.com. "So yeah, kind of get some answers and hopefully just clean it all up and can come into next year ready to go and not have to worry about any of it."
Prior to his injury, Sands appeared in 13 games for the Twins, recording one save and 11 strikeouts. He had an earned run average of 8.25.
Despite Sands' season-ending surgery, the Twins' strategy regarding pitching acquisitions ahead of Monday's trade deadline is not expected to change. General Manager Jeremy Zoll reiterated earlier in the week that the team's primary focus remains on improving the bullpen. Zoll indicated the club is open to various options as the market continues to take shape.