The Twins announced Thursday that they’ve placed right-hander Sonny Gray on the 15-day injured list due to a right pectoral strain. The move is retroactive to May 30, so Gray will be eligible to return on June 14. Right-hander Yennier Cano is up from Triple-A St. Paul to take Gray’s spot on the active roster.
It’s the second IL stint of the season for Gray, who also missed time during the first month of the year due to a hamstring strain. He’s been excellent when on the mound, registering a 2.41 ERA with a 29.8% strikeout rate and a 7.5% walk rate — both strong marks that are well better than league average. Gray has thus far managed just 33 2/3 innings, however, which is surely less than the Twins envisioned when acquiring him in a March trade with the Reds that sent prospect Chase Petty to Cincinnati.
Gray joins Joe Ryan, Chris Paddack, Josh Winder, Kenta Maeda and Randy Dobnak on a crowded Twins injured list and leaves the Twins with a current rotation mix of Dylan Bundy, Devin Smeltzer, Bailey Ober and Chris Archer. It’s not a group that’s going to jump off the page at first glance, but the Twins rank sixth in the Majors with a 3.34 ERA and third with a 3.38 FIP their starting staff.
Minnesota has gotten solid performances from Bundy (aside from one disastrous outing), Ober, Archer and Smeltzer in particular as of late. Still, Gray and Ryan are the clear top options on the Twins’ staff, so being without both righties is problematic. Ryan is currently on the Covid-related IL and working toward a return. Manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters today that Ryan is “a tick behind” outfielder Gilberto Celestino, who’s also on the Covid list but has now received two negative tests and is meeting the team in Toronto tomorrow (Twitter link via Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press). The Twins are currently deciding whether he’ll need a rehab start.
Strong as Minnesota’s starters have been to begin the season, it still wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Twins venture out into the trade market to further bolster the staff in the next two months. The Twins, eight games over .500, currently lead their division by five games and sport the fourth-best run differential (+29) in the American League.
why
Pulled Chest Muscle
He’s been using his chest a bit too much to pull things.
Check his box scores. Gets an early hook from his manager.
Best for MN to get on that pitching market. They’re built for regression on that run differential. I’m not buying the White Sox are going to keep being a .500ish team.
Please explain “built for regression on that run differential”…
I view it a lot like BABIP. For sure SOMEONE has to lead the league in run differential. But it’s also a sign of a potential extreme. Especially over a shorter sample size like April-Memorial Day. The longer that holds the more it shows they might be able to sustain it.
But the Twins holding a 5 game lead doesn’t prove anything at this point. It’s an odds play. White Sox have underperformed as well for varying reasons.
But…it could just keep up like this too. I just think it’s precarious is all. They’re playing at the extreme of both peripherals.
White Sox are 26th in run differential. I like the odds that will improve, and I like the odds the Twins will regress. What it’s probably going to allow is atleast an interesting division race. I just don’t think if you’re the Twins maybe you wait and let the Sox get their wheels under them, but that’s easier said than done.
There again…the White Sox schedule is about to get heavy. They’re hurt..and they’ll need to get it going. Every season seems to produce at least ONE team that flames out majorly. Could be their season. Then again we could be talking July 4th and the AL Central is a dead heat.
I have him on the fantasy team, then this keeps happening. It’s like, wow!
Yeah, but he’s golden when you can run him out there
Averaging like 14 PPG in mine
I don’t trust him, so I didn’t draft him, but I picked him up in one league where someone dropped. It’s hard to have pitched any better than Gray has over his past three starts, but it is a pain in the a$$ finding IL room with other normal injuries, plus Covid.
Last time I played fantasy baseball was before Covid. I can’t imagine that now without some added IL room. It was bad enough before. Now it’s random Covid popping.
It’s kind of a pain, especially considering the way I play. I don’t mind investing in injured players. On one team, I drafted both Strasburg and Tatis, and then had what I consider normal injuries like Gray, O’Neill & India, And then Covid knocked out Correa & Donaldson. So I had to drop Donaldson, even though he was hot, and still play with a thin roster.
They should call up the Reds again and get their other good starting pitcher. Should be a good bidding war for Castillo this summer.
I think that Bundy’s bad couple of starts had a lot to do with him being sick.
And him being suck
There again…the White Sox schedule is about to get heavy. They’re hurt..and they’ll need to get it going. Every season seems to produce at least ONE team that flames out majorly. Could be their season. Then again we could be talking July 4th and the AL Central is a dead heat.
Yennier Canó pitch at this level !
Twins are looking rough lately. Will probably be in 3rd place by the all star break