This story was excerpted from Matthew Leach’s Twins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
MINNEAPOLIS -- If someone had told you that four different pitchers would get the Twins’ first four saves of 2026, that probably wouldn’t have shocked you. But if someone had told you that one of those four would be Cody Laweryson?
You might not have seen that one coming.
Laweryson, 27, has had quite the baseball journey. He was a 14th-round Draft pick out of the University of Maine back in 2019. After the 2020 Minor League season was canceled, he scuffled as a starter in ’21 and saw some success upon pitching more in relief in ’22. But it wasn’t until 2025 that he made his Major League debut, one of the parade of pitchers to get a chance after Minnesota’s Trade Deadline selloff.
After that, he was promptly waived and claimed by the Angels -- then released by Los Angeles. He re-signed a Minor League deal with the Twins and came into camp as a long shot to make the bullpen. A strong spring allowed him to crack an Opening Day roster for the first time.
And even then, if you were laying out candidates to close out wins, Laweryson probably would’ve been low on the list. But Monday night, he came in to a two-on, one-out jam against the Tigers with a two-run lead in the eighth. He got out of it, Minnesota extended its lead in the bottom of the inning, and Laweryson got to finish it out, which he did quite efficiently.
Save No. 1 in the books. Not bad for a 14th-rounder.
“It feels pretty good,” said Laweryson. “A little extra juices flowing out there. That was a little bit tough in the cold weather to get everything going, but it feels good. 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.”
Laweryson is an understated sort, about what you’d expect from a Mainer, so it may not sound like he was all that enthused. Have no doubt, the milestone was meaningful.
“Yeah, I got the save ball,” he said. “It’s probably going home to my parents. My dad is going to want it. He’ll gladly take it from me. He has all my memorabilia and stuff. He makes sure that nobody else is getting it. It’s just as much theirs as it is mine.”
Laweryson got the save in relief of Joe Ryan, who had an up-and-down outing but secured his first win of the season.
“Laweryson getting his first save is awesome to see,” said Ryan. “He's been throwing the ball exceptionally well from spring through the season so far.”