Right-handed twins Tyler Mahle going to undergo surgery Tommy John, manager Rocco Baldelli announced to reporters on Thursday (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park). Mahle, who is expected to become a free agent at the end of the season, will miss the rest of the 2023 campaign and also the beginning of the 2024 season.
It’s a brutal blow to a group of Twins that traded three prospects for Mahle’s senior year plus refereeing last summer’s trade deadline. Mahle, 28, threw the ball well for the Twins when healthy, scoring an ERA of 3.64 from nine starts, but shoulder troubles left him with just four post-trade appearances last year and he has now completed the season in 2023 after just five starts. With his upcoming free agency, it could mark the complete end of Mahle’s time with the team – hardly something the front office had in mind when sending Directed by Spencer, Christian Encarnacion-Stand And Steven Hajjar to Cincinnati during that swap.
It’s still possible that the Twins could try to figure out some sort of extension that could keep Mahle in Minnesota beyond the current season. They have previously shown a willingness to make that kind of deal with pitchers recovering from Tommy John surgery. Michael PinedaHis initial two-year, $20 million free agency deal with the Twins was signed knowing he would miss most of that first year recovering from his campaign. Tommy John. Minnesota also expands right-handed Chris Paddack — another commercial acquisition that required Tommy John — on a three-year contract this early year. Paddack won’t be back until this summer.
Regardless of how things go with Mahle’s contract status, his injury leaves an unquestionable hole in the Twins’ rotation. Minnesota started playing deeper this season than at any point in recent memory, but Mahle will now join Kenta Maeda on the injured list. right-handed person Bailey Ober And Louie Varland kick off the season with Triple-A St. Paul and may have secured rotations with many other clubs, thanks to their 2022 success. Now the two will probably be locked in the original Twins staffing, after the strong trio Pablo López, Joe Ryan And Gray Sonny.
Further damage to the group could really begin to test the Twins’ depth. Future Simeon Woods Richardson And Brent Headrick had a rough start in St. Paul – although Headrick has excelled in a short-term major – and is a former top prospect Jordan Balazovic is now just starting to return to the starting lineup after his 2022 season was ruined by a knee injury. Future Josh Winder And Cole Sands were the rotation options last year in Minnesota, but both are mostly active outside of the bull cycle in 2023.
As it stands, the Twins’ five starters still seem like a strong group. Ober excelled in 2023 (0.98 ERA and 18 1/3 plays across three starts) and now boasts a career 3.51 ERA in 166 2/3 MLB bracket. Varland has an ERA of 4.32 over three innings and, combined with his meager appearances in his first season last year, carries a 4.01 ERA in 42 2/3 major innings of the league. The previously mentioned Paddack isn’t ready to join the group yet, but he’s about to celebrate a year of his own Tommy John activism. He could be ready to return by mid-summer, and the team also hope that Maeda can avoid sitting on a lengthy injury list — though they haven’t put a tough timetable on his return yet. he.
