Twins scrambling to prop up injury-riddled rotation
· Yahoo Sports
With Bailey Ober unavailable for at least the next month or so, the Twins were scrambling to adjust their starting rotation before and after Monday’s 9-6 victory over the White Sox on Monday.
Ober has a mild flexor strain in his right arm and will be shut down for 10 to 14 days, general manager Jeremy Zoll said Monday evening.
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With Kendry Rojas (triceps) unavailable, and Simeon Woods Richardson about to be traded or placed on waivers, Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll said, “I think everything needs to be on the table.”
That could mean finding a spot starter, it could mean a bullpen game during the Twins’ four-game series against Kansas City starting Thursday. Rookie Connor Prielipp was scheduled to start Tuesday against the White Sox, and Taj Bradley to start the series finale on Wednesday.
“We probably need to see how we get through the next day or two and the state of the bullpen before we finalize any plans,” Zoll said.
Joe Ryan gave the bullpen a needed break by going six innings on Monday.
“I don’t feel like I gave enough length,” said Ryan, who allowed four runs on eight hits, two of those home runs by Miguel Vargas and Andrew Benintendi in the fifth inning. But he didn’t walk a batter and struck out nine.
Ober was placed on the 15-day injured list Sunday with inflammation in his elbow. A magnetic resonance imaging exam performed Monday morning revealed the flexor strain.
Zoll said Ober, who pitched his first complete-game shutout in a 3-0 victory over Miami on May 12, will be evaluated by Dr. Keith Meister for a second opinion.
The decision to shut down Ober, 30, will extend his time away from the rotation considerably past 15 days — perhaps into July. But Zoll said considering Ober’s history — he had Tommy John surgery in 2015 while attending College of Charleston in 2015 — Monday’s news was encouraging because the graft from his surgery was still intact.
“Obviously (we) feel encouraged,” Zoll said. “In a perfect world, you know, none of this happens, but (in the) spectrum of (possible) outcomes, we’re feeling encouraged.”
Zoll said Rojas was scheduled to be evaluated by doctors Monday night and was “already feeling better.” He could begin throwing again as early as Tuesday, the GM said. “It would ultimately be, hopefully, a pretty short ramp-up there, given how short of a time he was down.”
Zebby Matthews should be available to pitch Friday, but he was charged with seven earned runs in 4⅓ innings in a 9-3 loss at Pittsburgh on Sunday. The Twins recalled Travis Adams — he pitched the ninth inning on Monday — and selected the contract of rookie Michael Peredes, a starter thrown into immediate long relief duty in Sunday’s loss at Pittsburgh.
The Twins acquired veteran reliever Justin Lawrence, 31, from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for cash considerations late Monday.
Pitching injury updates—Right-hander Mick Abel, who started the season in the rotation before being sidelined by elbow inflammation, was scheduled to throw a low-intensity bullpen on Tuesday and throw to live hitters on Thursday.
“He’s been feeling good in all of his checkpoints recently,” Zoll said.
—David Festa, penciled into the rotation before spring training began, has finished a three-week shutdown period after receiving a post-cell injection for his injured right shoulder. He started playing catch on Monday with no issues.
Jenkins nearing rehab assignmentOutfielder Walker Jenkins, the fifth overall pick in the 2023 amateur draft, appears to be in the late stages of recovering from a Grade 2 sprain in the AC joint of his left shoulder, suffered while making a catch at the center field wall with the Saints on May 3.
Zoll said Jenkins, 21, has been doing full fielding work and is expected to start taking live batting practice later this week.
“If all goes well, (we’re) hoping to get him into a rehab assignment after that. presumably next week.” Zoll added. “We’ll see how everything progresses with these final few checkmarks.”