Cody Laweryson Is Always Ready Out Of the Pen

Minneapolis – After a tumultuous journey to the majors, Cody Laweryson is finally settling into a consistent role in the Minnesota Twins’ bullpen.

The 27-year-old righty from central Maine has had a strong start to his 2026 season over the first 10 games for the Twins. He had a bad first outing of the year in Kansas City, where he entered in the fifth inning, allowing two hits, two walks, and four runs through 1 ⅓ innings. Aside from that, Cody Laweryson has been unhittable.

He showcased his best stuff on Monday night in Minnesota’s 7-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers, after he entered in the top of the eighth with runners on first and second and just one out. Laweryson got the last two outs of the inning without any trouble and bailed the Twins out of a situation that could have led to another tie game.

If the lead remained the same, Laweryson was likely done for the night, and Cole Sands would come in to get the save. However, with Victor Caratini getting a two-run RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to make it 7-3, Laweryson remained in for the ninth, faced the minimum, and notched his first career save.

“That was a little bit tough in the cold weather to get everything going, but it feels good,” said Laweryson after the game. “I’m comfortable throwing in any role just to help the team win. It just happened to be in a leverage situation. Anything I can do.”

“He’s throwing the ball well,” said Twins manager Derek Shelton. “He’s funky, he’s got that front shoulder that goes up a little bit. And sometimes, like we’ve talked about, there’s going to be different opportunities depending on who’s up and who’s down. Cody did a really nice job tonight.”

The Twins are still configuring their bullpen. They must establish which reliever will get long relief more often, and which they will use in high-leverage situations. On some nights, a reliever may just face the minimum, or get an opportunity for more work if the offense extends the lead.

Sometimes, even when another reliever is getting ready in the pen, the guy who just finished an inning has to prepare for getting up a second time to face more of the opposing lineup. That was the case for Cody Laweryson on Monday. It’s something he’s preparing for each time, given the Twins expect to use him in long relief early this season.

“I’m just trying to stay locked in until Shelty shakes my hand,” said Lawyerson. “He hadn’t done that. I kind of figured that was the situation. Cole is one of our guys, and he could’ve got the job done if it was a two-run lead. Once we got it to four, I was still locked in regardless, but I knew it was probably my inning again.”

The Twins asked Laweryson to get the last three outs in the ninth, and he didn’t waste any time throwing his best stuff against Jake Rogers, Kevin McGonigle, and Gleyber Torres to get the final outs of the game. The Twins had a four-run lead, and he knew he could end the game quickly if he didn’t work around them.

“Yeah, that’s my mentality,” he said. “Fill up the zone with my best stuff and throw it 100%. I’m only going to see these hitters once, most likely. I’m not going to see hitters a second time through the order. Giving them my best stuff right away, getting early and ahead, and putting them away.”

Getting those last three outs on just eight pitches, while striking out MLB’s No. 2 prospect McGonigle, Laweryson sealed Minnesota’s victory for the night. His performance earned him a beer shower from his teammates, and they’d greatly appreciated how he’s making things work after he made his first Opening Day roster.

“Laweryson getting his first save is awesome to see,” said Joe Ryan, who started Monday’s game. “He's been throwing the ball exceptionally well from spring through the season so far. It was great to see the bullpen have a good outing and keep the game where it's at.”

The performance and first career save earned Laweryson a postgame beer shower from his teammates. He got to keep the ball that recorded the final out of the game and counted for his first career save. He’s sending it back home to Maine to be with his parents, since his dad has built a collection of his career achievements in pro ball.

It’s an incredible testament to Laweryson’s work ethic for making the Opening Day bullpen, because he didn’t start spring training with the Twins. The Los Angeles Angels claimed him off waivers after the Twins did some 40-man roster clean-up in November ahead of Rule 5 Draft protections.

However, the Angels DFA’d him on Feb. 2 after re-signing Yoan Moncada in free agency, sending Cody Laweryson back to the team that drafted and developed him just eight days later. Laweryson’s role may evolve throughout the season. Still, with good results early, he could find himself in more high-leverage situations to help the Twins in clean innings, or to get them out of a late-inning jam, and he’ll be ready no matter what.

“[it’s] pretty much the same as any other time,” he said. “Maybe a little bit extra juices flowing there, but I’m ready at any time. I’ll be ready in the first inning. I’ll be ready in the eighth or ninth if I need to go. When my name is called, I’m ready.”