March 5, 2023

More injuries for the Twins? You can’t make this stuff up

The Minnesota Twins, who suffered through an inordinate amount of injuries last season and were quick to replace the athletic trainer as soon as the offseason arrived, find themselves already dealing with more injuries eight games into exhibition play.

It’s enough to ask: What exactly is going on? This could hardly be the fault of the new trainer because he hasn’t been around long enough, so one is left asking, why? Why does this continue to happen? Is it just crummy luck?

It turns out pitching prospect Jordan Balazovic broke his jaw because he was reportedly “sucker punched” in an off-the-field altercation.

On the field, utility player Nick Gordon has suffered a high ankle sprain, infielder Jose Miranda has right shoulder pain (and will withdraw from the World Baseball Classic), and outfielder Gilberto Celestino, who appeared in 122 games for the Twins last season, is now out 6-8 weeks following surgery on his left thumb.

Extra innings …

-Meanwhile, the Twins fell to 3-5 in Grapefruit League play on Saturday after they lost 7-5 to the Atlanta Braves. It appeared the Braves were going to blank the Twins because they led 7-0 through seven innings before the Twins made things interesting with a 5-run eighth.

Rookie starter and Minnesota native Louie Varland got knocked around, allowing five runs, all earned, on six hits, over two innings. He did fan three, but two of those six hits left the ballpark.

However, reliever Trevor Megill, who was shelled in his last appearance, redeemed himself by striking out the side with one walk.

-On Friday, the Twins lost 9-4 to the Boston Red Sox. Veteran starter Sonny Gray was tagged with the loss, although it was hardly his fault because despite giving up three runs, none of them were earned. Gray’s line: one-plus innings of work, two hits, three runs, no earned runs and three strikeouts. The Twins committed four errors.

More concerning to Twins fans was the performance of reliever Emilio Pagan, who served up a grand slam. Pagan’s line: one-plus innings of work, four runs, three earned, one walk, one strikeout and one home run.

Sources: MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com

COMMENTS

Hi, I’m Rolf Boone, Twins fan.

I became a fan of the Minnesota Twins after a friendly wager in the early 1980s. I survived Ron Davis, the meltdown in Cleveland, Phil Bradley at the Kingdome and then marveled at a rising generation of stars and two World Series wins in 1987 and 1991. Brad Radke made the 1990s bearable, while Kirby Puckett’s eye injury, exit from the game and eventual death made it almost too much to bear. The new century ushered in more talent — Joe Mauer, Johan Santana, Joe Nathan, Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau — and consecutive seasons of playoff baseball, followed by consecutive seasons of losing baseball. A winning season returned in 2015. So here we are. Go Twins.