Twins fire head trainer, not planning coaching changes
After a season marred with injuries, the Minnesota Twins have dumped their head athletic trainer.
Twins President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey announced Monday that Michael Salazar has been fired after three seasons with the team. Falvey also said there are no plans to make changes to the coaching staff under manager Rocco Baldelli.
Twins players spent a total of 1,573 days on the injured list this season, highlighted by oft-injured Byron Buxton, top prospects Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach, and nearly every member of the starting rotation: Sonny Gray, Bailey Ober, Josh Winder, Chris Archer, Chris Paddack and Tommy Mahle,
Paddack and Mahle are the most glaring of the bunch because the Twins acquired them despite there being public knowledge about their arm ailments. Paddack blew out his arm just five starts into the season and Mahle made only four starts after the Twins acquired him at the trade deadline to bolster the starting staff for the playoff push.
What's more is that Twins players earned a whopping $19.3 million while on the injured list, which accounts for 13.9% of the team's $138 million payroll, according to Spotrac.
Salazar was hired by the Twins before the start of the 2020 season, having worked previously with San Diego, Cleveland and Atlanta.
Related: 10 numbers that defined the 2022 Minnesota Twins
