It was somewhat curious to see a lineup void of the Twins leading candidate for the backup catcher job today. Josmil Pinto‘s name was nowhere to be seen after having the night off against the Boston Red Sox to start the spring. Now we are finding out that the Twins backstop is in fact already on the shelf.
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Against the Red Sox, the Twins went with Kurt Suzuki for the start, and Chris Herrmann replaced him later in the game. Expecting Pinto to make the start today, it came as a surprise to see him missing from the lineup. We now know that he is dealing with an injury.
Terry Ryan just clarified that Josmil Pinto has a right quad strain.
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) March 6, 2015
The news has to be somewhat concerning on a couple of different fronts for the Twins. First off, Josmil Pinto absolutely needs to be behind the plate. He is the leading candidate to be the backup catcher, but missing reps early and often could loosen his grip on the role. On top of that, it’s catching where Pinto has struggled to show his ability. While he brandishes an impressive bat, he has shown little ability to control a game, especially concerning runners on the basepaths.
Early in the spring, you definitely don’t want to see guys trying to push through injuries and make things worse. That being said, you also have to hope that everyone has done enough to take care of their bodies and make sure they are ready to go. Unfortunately for Pinto, the setback is something that he will need to get over.
As he works towards regaining full health, Josmil Pinto will need to focus on putting some distance between himself, Herrmann, and Eric Fryer. Neither Fryer nor Herrmann are ideal fits at the major league level, and should Pinto find himself looking up to both of them, the Twins would absolutely feel a letdown due to lack of development.
Here’s to hoping Pinto is back in action sooner rather than later, and can find himself taking strides forward the rest of the spring.
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