Twins’ Archer pulls into wrong parking lot before facing his old team

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. – Chris Archer played parts of eight seasons for the Tampa Bay Rays. And for the first time Saturday, he'll be on the Tropicana Field mound as a visitor.

The 33-year-old made his MLB debut with the Rays back in 2012 and remained with the team until a 2018 trade to Pittsburgh. He returned for an encore stint in 2021 before the Twins signed him as a free agent this past spring camp. Archer will start for the Twins on Saturday.

Archer spent much of his offseason training in the Tampa Bay area, so he hasn't actually been away for too long. But he said Friday he still enjoyed the luxury of sleeping in his own bed and going to his favorite local coffee shop.

"I actually pulled into the players' lot. And they were like, 'Oh, the visiting team doesn't park in the players' lot.' I was like, 'You can't make an exception at all?' And they were like, 'No,' " Archer said. "So I had to park in some other lot. So it was weird. I really had no clue where I was at."

That confusion aside, Archer said he's enjoyed seeing the stadium from the opponent's perspective, including how nice the visiting clubhouse is. With the Rays, Archer was the Opening Day starter for four consecutive years. He has struggled with injuries in recent seasons, including sitting out of most of 2021 during his return to the Rays.

Despite that, Archer said he still looks upon his time with the team proudly.

"Probably looking up and seeing the joy on my parents' face after any good outing," Archer said of his career highlights with the Rays. "Playing with David Price, someone I always looked up to. … It was cool to be with the team during the transition period and then come back whenever the expectation was it's playoffs or bust — or really World Series or bust."

Ober heading for IL

Bailey Ober exited his start Thursday in the fourth inning with right groin tightness and seems to be destined for some time on the injured list.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Friday the team would make that determination in the next day or so, but he's anticipating the starter sitting out for a bit. In his four starts this year, Ober has a 1-1 record and a 2.75 ERA.

Baldelli said to expect Josh Winder to make an appearance in the starting rotation in the next few days to make up for Ober's absence. Winder is a starter by trade but transitioned to the bullpen for his rookie season this year.

Starter Sonny Gray has been on the IL with a hamstring injury since leaving his second start early about two weeks ago. Gray threw a bullpen session on Friday at Tropicana Field and should make a rehab start Sunday or Tuesday with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.

Alex Kirilloff played Tuesday and Wednesday for Class AAA St. Paul, accruing a hit and three walks in his rehab stint for his right wrist. The injury required season-ending surgery in 2021 and put him on the injured list just five games into this year. The left fielder/first baseman did not join the Twins in Tampa Bay, though, and will instead continue with the Saints.

"We don't have a firm timeline with AK," Baldelli said. "It's more getting him back to a place where he can not just play in the games and get through the games, but also feel good about how he's playing and feel good about the types of swings that he's taking."

Miguel Sano sat out the past three games since his walk-off hit Tuesday against Detroit. The first baseman injured his left knee sometime during that strange game-winning play or the celebration thereafter.

"Miguel's doing pretty good. I think he's getting close to being back to — I don't know if 100 percent's the right word, but pretty close to it," Baldelli said. "He's been getting a bunch of treatment, but he woke up today better, noticeably better than he had been the previous couple days."