ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — As the calendar neared September last year, the Twins started transitioning Louie Varland to a bullpen role they thought could best help them down the stretch and in the postseason. Almost a year later, the Twins are in a similar situation with Varland, once again preparing him to shift roles.

Varland joined the team in Florida on Tuesday and was officially added to the roster on Wednesday morning to give the Twins bulk innings against the Rays.

Mired in a stretch of 13 straight games, the Twins added Varland for what is essentially a spot start to give each of their starters an extra day of rest. Having him come out of the bullpen — with Ronny Henriquez starting the game — allowed them to continue helping him adjust to coming on in relief, which he did in his last Triple-A outing with the Saints.

“Lou’s going to probably be pitching in some different roles as the season goes on,” manager Rocco Baldelli said.

It’s possible that the Twins would have made this transition slightly earlier had Joe Ryan and Chris Paddack remained healthy. Instead, the Twins tapped into their starting pitching depth with rookies David Festa and Zebby Matthews.

They’ve kept Varland stretched out in case anyone anyone in the current rotation — Pablo López, Bailey Ober, Simeon Woods Richardson, Matthews and Festa — gets hurt or is unable to go.

“You know that you have to hold onto good arms, guys that can start for you and go out there and give you five or six innings in a ballgame,” Baldelli said. “You have to have those guys and you can’t deplete your organizational staff, your depth, of those guys to move guys to the ‘pen early on.

“Is it possible that if things went a little bit smoother that he could have found his way into different roles earlier? I do think it’s possible.”

The Twins liked what they saw from Varland down the stretch last year with his stuff playing up out of the bullpen — in seven regular games, he gave up two runs in 12 innings pitched (1.50 earned-run average), striking out 17 — and could utilize him similarly this year.

While the Twins have not said what they expect his role to look like beyond Wednesday, it seems likely he will stick in the big leagues because optioning him will require them to wait 15 days before bringing him back.

Lewis starts at second

Royce Lewis made his first career start at second base on Wednesday, days after he shifted over there late in a game for the first time.

Lewis has expressed some apprehension about making the move midseason, but the Twins speak often about their desire for their players to be versatile, and challenging them by putting them into different spots. Baldelli said he doesn’t expect to see Lewis over there most games, but this is a next step after all the early work he’s put in over there.

“We’re not asking him to go out there and be the Gold Glove Award-winning second baseman this year,” Baldelli said. “We’re just asking him to go out there, work hard, pay attention, improve and make the plays that he’s expecting himself and we’re expecting him to make. I think that would be a great start for him.”

Briefly

Max Kepler remained out of the starting lineup on Wednesday as he deals with left knee soreness. He was scratched from Monday’s lineup and has not appeared in the series in Tampa Bay. The Twins held their annual fantasy football draft on Tuesday night at their team hotel. Starter Bailey Ober grabbed San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey with the first overall pick. Vikings superstar receiver Justin Jefferson went to Lewis with the No. 4 pick. … Pablo López will start the series finale for the Twins against Tampa Bay.