Twins SP Mick Abel suffers setback
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Mick Abel, who had landed on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation on April 20, received a cortisone shot in his right triceps after feeling soreness following a simulated bullpen session on Saturday, according to The Athletic's Dan Hayes. The Twins will re-evaluate Abel on Tuesday.
Asst GM Alex Hassan on Abel: "They’re going to re-evaluate him on Tuesday & then in terms of timeline, (trainer Nick Paparesta) wants to get him throwing. Once we get him throwing, we’ll know when he’s going to get off the mound & then can build a timeline from there." #MNTwins https://t.co/PhsJcJ84tO
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) May 7, 2026
Twins fans were ecstatic upon hearing the news that Joe Ryan got a clean MRI after he exited his Sunday start against the Blue Jays in the first inning because of right elbow soreness. The Twins' season has been a disappointment thus far, and with Pablo López missing the entire year and Abel on the IL, the unexpectedly positive Ryan news provided a much-needed jolt of optimism among Twins Territory. Unfortunately, Abel's setback put Twins fans right back in their feels.
Why can’t Twins have nice things?
— Timothy Giblette (@glibguy) May 7, 2026
— MagicOriole (@MagicOriole) May 7, 2026
Abel struggled in his first two outings of the year, surrendering nine earned runs across 7 1/3 innings, before hurling 13 scoreless innings with 16 strikeouts across his last two outings. Losing Abel longer than expected would be a major blow to the Twins.
Unfortunately, Abel's setback isn't the only rough injury news that Twins fans have received lately. Right-handed pitcher David Festa felt renewed discomfort after a recent throwing session, and top prospect Walker Jenkins suffered a grade 2 AC joint sprain in his left shoulder while running into the outfield wall making a catch on Sunday. Additionally, Minnesota placed MLB Pipeline's No. 64 overall prospect, outfielder Emmanuel Rodríguez, on the 7-day IL with a left thumb strain on Wednesday evening, marking the seventh IL stint for Rodríguez since he made his professional debut five years ago.
Rodríguez lands on IL for foolish reason
Rodríguez hurt his thumb by sliding headfirst into first base in an attempt to leg out an infield single on Friday. The Twins initially announced Rodríguez was day-to-day before placing him on the IL last night.
Rodríguez has hit .247/.417/.506 with six homers and 18 RBI in 108 plate appearances across 25 games for Triple-A St. Paul this season. The outfielder appears ready to make the jump to the big leagues soon, but he may have to wait a bit longer than originally expected due to his thumb injury. Given outfielder Matt Wallner's recent struggles (although he had a great game on Wednesday), many fans were clamoring for the Twins to demote Wallner to make room for Rodríguez.
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