This reliever is knocking on door of '24 debut

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While the Twins will be in the market for pitching leading up to Tuesday’s 5 p.m. CT Trade Deadline, the normal omnipresent need for relief pitching will perhaps not be as glaring a focus for them this season -- because not only have they found some gems within their existing group, but they’re also reinforcing that group.

First, they got Brock Stewart back on Thursday from a nearly three-month absence with right shoulder issues. And though Justin Topa has largely been out of sight with left patellar tendinitis that has caused knee pain and setbacks throughout the season, he could be next.

Topa returned to the mound with Single-A Fort Myers on Tuesday as part of a combined no-hitter by the Mighty Mussels, after which he returned to the Twin Cities, with his sights set on taking the mound for Triple-A St. Paul on Friday.

“I feel really optimistic after last night,” Topa said. “[The knee] wasn't even in my mind. It was just focused on pitching. … Once you can eliminate that and focus on pitching, it's a good thing.”

The Twins traded Jorge Polanco to the Mariners during the offseason in a deal that has largely been a dud on both sides, with Polanco struggling mightily in Seattle, Topa injured to begin the season, Anthony DeSclafani done for the year after undergoing surgery on the flexor tendon in his pitching arm and No. 6 prospect Gabriel Gonzalez struggling in the Minors.

Topa felt the injury in Spring Training, didn’t break camp with the team and tried to work his way back in May before the knee flared up again in a rehab outing. That led to the diagnosis of the torn patellar tendon and the decision to undergo a platelet-rich plasma injection instead of surgery, with the hope that he could simply salvage some part of the ‘24 season.

He can now feel the difference.

“Definitely completely different, I'd say,” Topa said. “The first game last time, I feel like I felt it every pitch. This one, knock on wood, everything's been feeling really good the last three, four weeks.”

The Twins have already gotten significant internal boosts with the success of Jorge Alcala and Cole Sands, and they could perhaps also bolster their bullpen with Louie Varland down the stretch.

If Topa could factor in as well as the club had once hoped? They’ll certainly take a guy who pitched to a 2.61 ERA in 75 appearances out of Seattle's bullpen last year.