Bailey Ober Diagnosed With Flexor Strain

Twins righty Bailey Ober recently hit the injured list with inflammation in his right elbow. A subsequent MRI revealed a mild flexor strain, general manager Jeremy Zoll told the Twins beat (via The Athletic’s Dan Hayes). The imaging did not raise concern regarding Ober’s ulnar collateral ligament, though he’s receiving a second opinion as a precaution. Ober will be shut down from throwing entirely for the next 10 to 14 days. He’s likely to spend the majority or entirety of this month on the shelf.

It’s another notable hit to a Twins rotation that has been decimated by injury this season. Pablo López suffered a UCL tear in his first bullpen session of spring training and underwent internal brace surgery not long after, wiping him out for the entire season. Right-hander David Festa went down with a shoulder impingement during spring training and hasn’t pitched this season. A pair of big young arms Minnesota added at last year’s deadline — righty Mick Abel and lefty Kendry Rojas — are both on the shelf, too. Abel has been out for six weeks now with elbow inflammation, while Rojas recently landed on the 15-day IL due to a triceps injury. Meanwhile, Simeon Woods Richardson has struggled to the extent that the Twins designated the out-of-options righty for assignment.

June was a problematic month for Ober in 2025 as well. After a nice start to his season, he was blown up for 30 runs in 30 innings before heading to the injured list with a hip impingement. He spent a month on the IL and pitched decently in his return. He’s now looking at a second straight season with around a monthlong absence.

Ober, 30, opened the season on an impressive run. He capped off a stretch of nine strong outings (3.46 ERA in 52 innings) with a complete game shutout over the Marlins back on May 12. He’s struggled in three starts since, with worse results each time. Ober was tagged for eight runs (seven earned) over 4 2/3 innings his most recent time out and has yielded a total of 14 earned runs over his past 14 2/3 innings.

This is Ober’s fourth full season in the majors and the sixth overall in which he’s logged some big league time. The towering 6’9″ righty was never an especially touted prospect but has emerged as a capable mid-rotation stalwart in Minnesota. He carries a career 4.13 ERA with a 23.2% strikeout rate and 5.4% walk rate in 684 1/3 frames at the major league level. He’s controlled through 2027 and is earning a reasonable $5.2MM salary this season. If the Twins operate as sellers for a second straight deadline, it stands to reason that Ober would be a natural trade candidate — that is, as long as he’s healthy.

Zoll did provide a bit more positive news for Twins fans in his media session with the beat (via Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune). Rojas is slated to resume throwing today, signaling a potentially short stay on the injured list. Abel will  also take a big step toward returning when he pitches two innings in a simulated game this Thursday.

The Twins’ rotation at the moment includes Joe Ryan, Taj Bradley and current/recent top prospects Connor Prielipp and Zebby Matthews. They’ll go with Prielipp and Bradley in their next two games, but Thursday’s starter is listed as TBD. With five starters on the injured list and a sixth designated for assignment, their in-house options to step into that spot are slim. The same can be said of stopgaps on the waiver wire, though journeyman Austin Voth is currently out there after being DFA by the Blue Jays. A bullpen game is another option, though Minnesota’s bullpen is among the worst in the sport.