Injured List Decisions

[stringer bell]

I guess I've felt the Twins were very prone to place players on the IL when they were unable to play for a day or two. I've also thought they were inclined to keep players on the IL perhaps longer than needed, such as with Sonny Gray, who was supposed to be on the Injured List for the minimum amount of time, and then he was out for an additional week plus. 

Now I am starting to really not know what is going on. Case in point--Byron Buxton. After the knee injury scare, he didn't play for over a week and then DHed and then sat out a game. So basically all Buxton did in a 10-day period was DH one game. Now Buxton was removed from a game and out of today's game with an off day to follow. It would be speculation to determine what is going on, but Tingler indicated his current injury is a hip problem (same as last year at this time?). Bremer and Morneau were speculating that Buxton's knee was still bothering him. We all know Buxton's extensive injury history and his immense value to the team when healthy, but is carrying him on the active roster with frequent DH days and days off better than placing him on the IL to get as right as he can be? I know it's not an easy decision, but I have to believe going in to every day with "will he or won't he" be in the lineup (and center field) really the way to go?

Next case--Carlos Correa. I guess it was understood he wouldn't play at all in the series with the Athletics, but will he sit out more games after Monday? If he misses two series, wouldn't it make sense that he be put on the Injured List? If he can play against the Astros (and I'm sure he really wants to), it probably is a good move to avoid the IL for him and they got a look at Royce Lewis as a fringe benefit.

Sonny Gray (and maybe Bailey Ober)--Both guys were originally diagnosed with minor injuries that would require no more than the minimum time on the IL. Gray spent 19 days on the IL and would have taken even more (scheduled rehab start in St. Paul) which changed to starting for the Twins. I haven't seen anything about Ober being activated and his 10 days are up before Tuesday's game against Houston. 

Alex Kirilloff--AK went from being in the preliminary lineup to the IL. He didn't stay on the list too long (three weeks) and he was sent on rehab to St. Paul and apparently recalled mostly because there wasn't anyone else on the 40-man roster. 

To me, this is a crazy quilt of decisions. There really isn't consistency in the decision-making process. One decision seems to prioritize long-term health of the player, another seems to prioritize winning today's game and a third seems to be about expediency. I don't have first-hand knowledge of any of these situations, but it's puzzling to me. Please comment and discuss. 

[jorgenswest]

I don’t see it the same way. It just doesn’t seem reasonable that the Twins should know how these minor (less than a month) injuries are going to play out. 

[lecroy24fan]

Just because an injury is minor doesn't mean an IL stint will be the minimum days.

[stringer bell]

39 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

I don’t see it the same way. It just doesn’t seem reasonable that the Twins should know how these minor (less than a month) injuries are going to play out. 

Well, there doesn’t seem to be consistency. Correa and Buxton (particularly) have been carried although it was certain that they’d be out for some time, while Garlick, Larnach, Gray and Ober hit the IL when their unavailability looked to be less than 10 days. The larger question remains about Buxton—if he going to be out of the lineup frequently plus serving as a DH fairly frequently, perhaps shutting him down for 10 days to two weeks might be a better idea. 

[tony&rodney]

2 hours ago, stringer bell said:

shutting him down for 10 days to two weeks might be a better idea. 

I think the Twins pay someone to make those decisions so we don't have to worry about that. Especially, early in May the team will not keep a guy on the roster just .... because.

[FlyingFinn]

With the hitters, this is all about the 40 man roster. Unless you are DFA'ing a Strotman or Vallimont, there aren't any hitters to bring up.

[Squirrel]

6 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

With the hitters, this is all about the 40 man roster. Unless you are DFA'ing a Strotman or Vallimont, there aren't any hitters to bring up.

This ... @stringer bell, who else is there to bring up? You'd have to add another position player to the 40-man, which means removing someone ... as long as the subs keep performing and doing their job, I think it's okay for now and hopefully we see Buxton and Correa back in the lineup soon

Edit to add: maybe when Arraez comes off the Covid quarantine, they IL Buxton to make room? If he's not better and able to play. 

[cHawk]

27 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

With the hitters, this is all about the 40 man roster. Unless you are DFA'ing a Strotman or Vallimont, there aren't any hitters to bring up.

Welcome to TD!

[IndianaTwin]

Not to mention, if you have someone as good as Buxton or Correa, you’re less likely to put them on the IL if there’s a possibility of them not needing 10 days. The replacement is not nearly as good, and you’re committing to not having them for 10 days. With Garlick, et. al, there’s less reason not to IL him, since you can bring up a replacement player that’s pretty much his equal. 

At its most basic level, however, I don’t know that it’s that helpful to look for trends. Every circumstance has more variables than any of us are ever going to know. 

[GNess]

Injury severity, prognosis, individual history, response to treatments and the importance of the player are all some of the relevant variables for the professional medical staff of the Twins to consider in each case. 

Seems to me the Twins are just being cautious with three of their most valuable assets: Buxton, Correa and Gray.

[Nine of twelve]

43 minutes ago, GNess said:

Injury severity, prognosis, individual history, response to treatments and the importance of the player are all some of the relevant variables for the professional medical staff of the Twins to consider in each case. 

Seems to me the Twins are just being cautious with three of their most valuable assets: Buxton, Correa and Gray.

Yes. No two cases are exactly the same and therefore no two cases are handled exactly the same.

[stringer bell]

I get that valuable players like Buxton and Correa are treated from a different perspective in regard to the Injury List. Also, it especially makes sense to be cautious (and limit innings) with pitchers. I remain perplexed about Buxton and maybe it is because of his injury history. A platinum glove center fielder shouldn’t be DHing so often IMHO and then also getting scheduled off days. 
 

Maybe it was the plan all along and perhaps the injuries that are limiting him wouldn’t be healed by a stint on the IL. But if the TV announcers are saying that he’ll have to “live with” a nagging injury it just seems wrong to both let him play at less than 100% and still not play him every day. 

[Nine of twelve]

8 hours ago, stringer bell said:

But if the TV announcers are saying that he’ll have to “live with” a nagging injury...

I wouldn't trust medical advice given by a TV announcer. It's up to the team doctors and trainers to advise the manager and GM about what a player should and shouldn't do when dealing with an injury..

[stringer bell]

5 minutes ago, Nine of twelve said:

I wouldn't trust medical advice given by a TV announcer. It's up to the team doctors and trainers to advise the manager and GM about what a player should and shouldn't do when dealing with an injury..

It really wasn’t “medical advice”. Bremer and Morneau seemed to be acknowledging that there was ongoing issues with his knee injury. I assume they are close enough to the team to have information that we fans don’t have. 

[Squirrel]

8 hours ago, stringer bell said:

I get that valuable players like Buxton and Correa are treated from a different perspective in regard to the Injury List. Also, it especially makes sense to be cautious (and limit innings) with pitchers. I remain perplexed about Buxton and maybe it is because of his injury history. A platinum glove center fielder shouldn’t be DHing so often IMHO and then also getting scheduled off days. 
 

Maybe it was the plan all along and perhaps the injuries that are limiting him wouldn’t be healed by a stint on the IL. But if the TV announcers are saying that he’ll have to “live with” a nagging injury it just seems wrong to both let him play at less than 100% and still not play him every day. 

I get all that, but if they put both Correa and Buxton on the IL right now, who comes up? Who gets removed from the 40-man? They obviously don’t want to make any 40-man moves right now or they’d have done it. I think not putting them on the IL is as much about that as anything else

[nicksaviking]

1 hour ago, Nine of twelve said:

I wouldn't trust medical advice given by a TV announcer. It's up to the team doctors and trainers to advise the manager and GM about what a player should and shouldn't do when dealing with an injury..

Yeah, Danny Gladden would think it better to play the rest of the season with an injury and OPS .600 than take a few weeks to recover and OPS .800.