Minnesota Twins Injuries 2018 Twins Injuries

Injuries to Potentially Affect 2019 Season

Michael Pineda - Michael Pineda missed most of the 2018 season undergoing Tommy John surgery, and then had to have surgery on his knee. Pineda is still a question mark heading into the 2019 season, and the Twins are desperate for starting pitching. He he is limited again, it will be a big problem for Minnesota. Pineda is likely going to be rehabbing into Spring Training, making him a threat to miss some of the earlier parts of the season.

Eddie Rosario - Eddie Rosario struggled down the stretch, and it may have been due to the quad injury that forced him to miss the rest of the season. Rosario is an important part of the Twins lineup, and while we don’t expect any lingering injuries into the season, any aggravation would hurt the Twins in a big way.

Devastating Injuries in History of Franchise

Before David Ortiz made himself known in Boston, he played in Minnesota where he battled a major wrist injury. He ended up missing the entire 2001 season. In that same season, Johan Santana had a tear in his elbow, which was the start of some serious arm injuries for him. A few years later, Joe Mays had to have Tommy John surgery, which cut his career very short after he was never able to regain a job. In 2004, Joe Mauer had torn his meniscus, which was devastating for the Twins as he was the center of the team defensively and offensively.

Minnesota had Francisco Liriano early on in his career, but he missed the 2007 season with Tommy John surgery. He was able to make a full return, but it wasn’t for the Twins. Kevin Slowey was a mid-range arm for Minnesota back in 2009, but had his season cut short due to surgery on his right wrist. In that next season, the Twins star closer Joe Nathan had to have Tommy John in the beginning of the year, which had him miss the entire season.

During the 2012 season, both Scott Baker and Carl Pavano missed the second half of the season. This was two main starters down that derailed their pitching staff. The Twins luck with closers was always short lived as Glen Perkins hit the DL in 2016 and didn’t return with a strained left shoulder. Perkins career was not quite the same due to the arm injuries he had later on in his career.