Twins fans received rough news regarding Mick Abel on Wednesday. Matthew Leach of MLB.com reported the 24-year-old right-hander will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his throwing elbow. Minnesota will reveal Abel's recovery process after the procedure is complete. On the bright side, Abel's UCL is intact, so he won't miss as much time as if he had needed Tommy John surgery or an internal brace procedure. Still, the news is disappointing, as it had appeared he would return from the IL against the Arizona Diamondbacks last weekend following two strong rehab outings.
With Abel slated to be out longer than expected, the Twins are still left without a true five-man rotation. After Bailey Ober landed on the IL late last month with a right flexor strain in his elbow, the Twins have been leaning on right-hander Mike Paredes in Ober's place. Paredes doesn't throw as many pitches as a typical starter, so Minnesota's bullpen has been taxed more than the club would like. Paredes did, however, throw a season-high five innings on a season-high 75 pitches in his last outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.
While Paredes has done a decent job in Ober's place, recording a 3.55 ERA in 12 2/3 innings over his last three appearances, Minnesota still needs Ober back as soon as possible. Given the Twins' bullpen woes and numerous starting pitching injuries, keeping Paredes as a long reliever when Ober returns seems like the right move. However, even though Paredes had a 3.55 ERA in his last three starts, he had a 4.68 FIP with a below-average strikeout rate of 13.0% in those outings. While Paredes has seemingly earned a bullpen role with the Twins when Ober returns, he's likely due for regression, especially if he continues starting.
Twins' Ober working his way back from injury
Ober has been progressing nicely. Per Dan Hayes of The Athletic, Ober threw a 25-pitch bullpen on Saturday in Phoenix, then was scheduled to throw "upwards of 40 pitches" on Tuesday. There haven't been any reports on the scheduled Tuesday bullpen.
Ober's last start was a disaster. In 4 2/3 innings against the Pirates in Pittsburgh on May 30, Ober allowed eight runs (seven earned) on 12 hits and one walk. But since he landed on the IL the next day, it seems likely he was dealing with the injury during the start. Before the rough outing, Ober had a 3.92 ERA with 43 strikeouts and 17 walks in 62 innings across 11 starts.
Add us as a preferred source on Google