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Minnesota Twins Lose Starting Pitcher to Tommy John Surgery

Minnesota Twins pitcher Tyler Mahle, acquired last year in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds, is going to miss the rest of the season and a good chuck of 2024 with Tommy John Surgery.
Brady Farkas|
Minnesota Twins Lose Starting Pitcher to Tommy John Surgery
Minnesota Twins Lose Starting Pitcher to Tommy John Surgery

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Minnesota TwinsCincinnati RedsChicago White SoxDetroit TigersKansas City RoyalsCleveland Guardians

The Minnesota Twins, in first place in the lackluster American League Central, got brutal news on Thursday as it was announced that starting pitcher Tyler Mahle is going to undergo Tommy John Surgery.

The Twins acquired him in 2022 in a deal with the Cincinnati Reds. The injury will cause him to miss the rest of this season and a good chunk of the 2024 season as well.

The 28-year-old righthander made five starts this year, going 1-2 with a 3.16 ERA. He struck out 28 batters in 25.2 innings.

He debuted in 2017 with the Reds and has posted a 33-41 career record with a 4.30 ERA.

The Twins acquired him last August for three of their top-30 prospects: infielder Spencer Steer, pitcher Steve Hajjar and infielder Christian Encarnacion-Strand.

Mahle is a free agent at the end of this season so this news certainly derails his earning potential. Just a prediction, but I could see Mahle signing a two-year deal with a team in the offseason, spending most of the first year rehabbing and then the second year pitching before hitting free agency again.

That's what we saw the Mariners do with Ken Giles, who was signed after the 2020 season, missed all of 2021 and then made it back for part of 2022.

Mahle is the second pitcher that the Twins acquired who has needed Tommy John Surgery. They had previously traded for Chris Paddack of the Padres, who will return later this summer. He made just five starts in 2022 before getting hurt.

The Twins are currently 20-17 and 2.5 games up on the Tigers in the AL Central.

They'll play the Padres today at 1:10 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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