Inside The Twins

Reports: Twins shutting down David Festa (shoulder) for rest of season

Festa will visit with renowned pitching injury specialist Dr. Keith Meister for an examination.
Will Ragatz|
Jul 9, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher David Festa (58) delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs in the first inning at Target Field.
Jul 9, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher David Festa (58) delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs in the first inning at Target Field. | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

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Minnesota Twins

The Twins are shutting down right-handed pitcher David Festa for the rest of the 2025 season due to troubles recovering from his shoulder injury, according to reports from Minnesota beat writers like Dan Hayes and Bobby Nightengale on Tuesday. Festa had a setback last week and will visit with renowned pitching injury specialist Dr. Keith Meister for an examination as he heads into an early offseason.

Festa, 25, made his MLB debut last season after a few promising years rising through the Twins' minor league ranks. The former 13th-round pick out of Seton Hall showed flashes of upside last year when he pitched to a 4.90 ERA with 77 strikeouts and 23 walks in 64.1 innings with Minnesota. He had a 3.13 ERA in five starts in August 2024.

He didn't make the Twins out of spring training this year, but Festa was called up for two weeks in April, sent back down, and then called up again in early June. He had a 5.40 ERA across 53.1 MLB innings, as well as a 2.59 ERA in 31.1 innings with Triple-A St. Paul.

In late July, Festa went on the IL with right shoulder inflammation. He recently began a rehab assignment in St. Paul, throwing 2.2 scoreless innings on August 28, but now his season has come to an end. It seems like the Twins are being cautious and hoping that shutting Festa down now will give him plenty of time to recover and be ready for spring training in 2026.

Dr. Meister is a Texas-based specialist and orthopedic surgeon who has been the team physician for the Rangers for over two decades. He's one of the foremost experts when it comes to arm injuries among pitchers.

Festa has a career 5.12 ERA in 25 MLB appearances, but his upside remains high due to his elite extension and high-end stuff. He pairs a mid-90s fastball with a slider and changeup that both look like strong secondary offerings when he's executing at a high level. Festa has 130 strikeouts and 42 walks in 117.2 career innings. Last year, his strikeout and chase percentages were both in the 82nd percentile. Home runs — he's allowed 19 — have been a significant issue.

Festa is in a bucket of intriguing young Twins starting pitchers — along with Zebby Matthews, Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, and Simeon Woods Richardson — who will compete for rotation spots behind Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez, and Bailey Ober next season (assuming Ryan/Lopez aren't traded and Ober bounces back from this year's struggles).

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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