This Twin is having fun in a variety of roles

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When the Twins brought José De León to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee, he said the club envisioned him as a long reliever and spot starter -- and when they originally brought him back up to the big leagues on May 16, that’s along the lines of what they had in mind.

But since then, De León has become the ultimate wild card in the bullpen, doing everything from eating innings to pitching late in close ballgames to throwing the ninth inning of a blowout win, as he did when the Twins beat the Astros 8-2 on Wednesday. Manager Rocco Baldelli has said the Twins are fine using De León in whatever situation the day calls for -- and given De León entered the season with only one goal, he’s all for it.

“The one thing that's different in my perspective this year is that in years before, you would ask me what were my goals for the year, and maybe, I would come up with numbers or even say that I wanted to be healthy,” De León said. “But this year is going to be different. I just want to have fun.”

He says that with the perspective of a 30-year-old former top prospect whose career didn’t at all pan out in the way that his prospect pedigree might have once suggested -- particularly once the injuries started to hit.

That encompassed a torn UCL and Tommy John surgery in 2018, when he was supposed to pitch in the Tampa Bay rotation, to a groin strain, to a rotator cuff issue in his shoulder last year, when the onetime Dodgers prospect had already passed through the Rays, Reds and Red Sox organizations and was clinging to his professional career with Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo.

After all that, his fastball has more zip to it than ever -- averaging 94.4 mph this season -- and wherever the Twins have needed him, he has succeeded, with a 3.12 ERA, 11 strikeouts and two walks in 8 2/3 innings.

Can you blame him for just wanting to savor the moments and enjoy every last second of it all?

“I've been through so much that even last year, in the last month of the year with Buffalo, I had a bad game and I was so excited because I was playing and I was in it,” De León said. “Sometimes, we get so caught up in performance and results that you forget to have fun. … I think when you enjoy your failures, it's going to set up for you to really, really enjoy it when things go good and go your way.”

At this point, De León is simply thrilled that he doesn’t need to worry about his health after every successful outing, and as was his goal, he’s certainly having fun with every passing day in the big league clubhouse. Starting with the combined perfect game he primed for team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic this spring, he has once again found his joy.

When the season started, could De León have imagined a start to the season quite like this?

“Of course,” he said with a smile. “If you don't dream it, it's never going to happen. You've got to dream those things and track those things, and they'll become reality.”