The Twins' starting rotation takes a nasty blow with Mick Abel going down

The Minnesota Twins' starting rotation received terrible news on Monday, as right-hander Mick Abel will head to the injured list. According to The Athletic’s Dan Hayes, Abel heads to the injured list with right elbow inflammation, which could mean the end of his season. 

Anything in the forearm/elbow area regarding “tightness,” “inflammation,” or “dead arm” usually signals that Tommy John surgery is required. 

Abel, 24, was a bright spot this season for the Twins after struggling in four games (two starts) last season — 1-2 with an 8.36 ERA. In four games (three starts) to begin the year, Abel was 1-2 with a 3.98 ERA. 

The Twins acquired Abel and catcher Eduardo Tait in a trade that sent closer Jhoan Duran to the Philadelphia Phillies. Abel had pitched 13.0 consecutive scoreless innings, walked three, and struck out 16 in his previous two starts. 

The Twins have the depth to hold them over

Despite being a .500 team (11-11), the Twins have one of the better starting rotations in baseball (eighth in ERA, 3.41). The rotation has dealt with one significant arm injury in the rotation. Right-hander Pablo Lopez has and will continue to miss this season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. 

The rotation is seeing solid performances from right-handers Joe Ryan (3.29 ERA) and Taj Bradley (1.63). However, Ryan is a likely candidate to get traded at the deadline, given that he’s in the last season of his contract. There’s a $13 million mutual option for 2027, which is unlikely to get picked up on Ryan’s side. 

With Bradley’s emergence this season and Simeon Woods Richardson struggling (6.10 ERA) he may be asked to step up his role with Abel down too. 

Left-handers Kendry Rojas and Connor Prielipp are available to step in for the Twins, as both were added to the active roster ahead of the Twins series with the New York Mets on Tuesday. Rojas has a 2.45 ERA at Triple-A, while Prielipp has a 2.30 ERA in four games.