It took shockingly little time for the Minnesota Twins robust pitching depth to get severely tested early in the season.
Four relievers hit the IL before Opening Day even arrived, with Jhoan Duran, Caleb Thielbar, Josh Staumont, and Justin Topa all missing the start of the season. They remain on the IL, although Thielbar is slowly starting to work his way back on a rehab assignment.
Things got even dicier on Monday when it was revealed that Jorge Alcala was dealing with some arm soreness and Brent Headrick was heading to the IL over in St. Paul. That left just a single healthy non-MLB arm on the 40-man roster, which has forced the Twins to make some external moves to address some suddenly dire depth issues.
Twins acquire much-needed bullpen help from Mets, but suffer more bad injury luck
On Tuesday the Twins made a move to try and add some much-needed depth. Minnesota traded cash to the New York Mets for Michael Tonkin, who previously played for the Twins in the 2010s.
Injuries are ravaging not only the bullpen but the lineup as well. Minnesota lost Royce Lewis on Opening Day and have added Max Kepler to the IL due to an injury he suffered in the same game. Kepler hitting the injured list is the corresponding move being made to create room for Tonkin on the 26-man roster.
The #MNTwins have reunited with old friend Michael Tonkin, who last pitched for them from 2013-17. Acquired him in a trade with the Mets after they’d DFA’d him a few years ago.
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) April 9, 2024
Max Kepler to the IL with the right knee contusion after the foul off his knee on Opening Day.
The injury bug is chewing through the Twins roster so badly that it's forcing the Pohlad's to do the one thing they hate doing -- spend money on the team. After an offseason of squeezing every drop out of the few pennies the team tossed into the free agency pool, the Twins have made at least three trades so far that saw cash go the other way and a player's salary enter the equation.
Most of those moves have been at the minor league level, but it's getting to the point where big league moves are needing to be made.
Tonkin is a band-aid for the Twins, who will be more than set with relievers once they start getting healthy. That's always the caveat with Minnesota, though, as injuries have a way of always spoiling a good thing while it's going. The bullpen was by far the most impressive piece of the roster through the first few games of the season, but it's also the group most heavily hit by injuries.
It's just further proof that the Twins simply cannot catch a break.