In spring training, no news is usually good news. Unfortunately, after a relatively uneventful first five weeks of camp, the Minnesota Twins had a lot to announce on Monday.
Three of the 13 pitchers projected to be on the Opening Day roster — closer Jhoan Duran, setup man Caleb Thielbar and fifth starter Anthony DeSclafani — will instead begin the season on the injured list, putting the staff’s depth to the test right away.
The Twins did not give return timetables for any of the three players. DeSclafani is scheduled to undergo further testing by a specialist, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey told reporters in Florida.
Duran, who managed to avoid the IL for his first two seasons, has been diagnosed with a moderate oblique strain after uncharacteristically struggling in a handful of spring games. While it’s positive news that Duran’s right arm isn’t the issue, oblique strains are unpredictable and can linger. Brock Stewart and Griffin Jax are the leading closer candidates in his place.
Thielbar suffered a strained left hamstring early in camp and, after progressing to throwing live batting practice last week, it was determined that the 37-year-old left-hander won’t be ready by Opening Day, March 28 in Kansas City. His absence likely opens the door for rookie Kody Funderburk to make the team as the bullpen’s second lefty and elevates offseason addition Steven Okert to the No. 1 southpaw role.
DeSclafani’s right forearm and elbow have been a problem since last summer, which is why the Twins are on the hook for just $4 million of the 33-year-old’s $12 million salary as part of the Jorge Polanco trade with the Seattle Mariners. The righty missed most of last season’s second half with a strained elbow and has dealt with soreness throughout camp.
Ownership slashing $30 million in payroll this offseason made it difficult for the Twins’ front office to bring in meaningful rotation reinforcements and now their lone starter pickup may be facing season-ending surgery. Louie Varland is expected to take over as the No. 5 starter and he’s more than capable of handling the job, but the Twins had hoped to avoid dipping into their minor-league depth so soon.
Louie Varland posted a 4.68 ERA over 68 innings last season. (Matt Blewett / USA Today)
That starter depth also took another hit Monday, as prospect Matt Canterino’s comeback from Tommy John surgery was halted by a shoulder stain. Canterino looked great early in camp, showing that his high-octane raw stuff remained intact 18 months after surgery, but now the 26-year-old right-hander is facing another health hurdle and will begin the season on the Triple-A injured list.
It’s unclear how much spending room, if any, the front office has due to ownership’s budget cuts, but there are several unsigned veteran starters on the free-agent market who could at least keep the Twins from needing to rely on prospects David Festa, Simeon Woods Richardson and Brent Headrick as their next-in-line rotation depth behind the 26-year-old Varland.
Front-line lefties Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery are no doubt well out of the Twins’ price range, but mid-rotation right-handers Michael Lorenzen and Mike Clevinger remain available. Other veteran free-agent options likely to be amenable to inexpensive one-year deals include Rich Hill, Noah Syndergaard, Vince Velasquez and Dallas Keuchel.
Whether via trade or free agency, the Twins will almost certainly be in search of some semblance of rotation help if, as feared, DeSclafani is out for the season.
(Top photo of Jhoan Duran: Brace Hemmelgarn / Minnesota Twins / Getty Images)