Matt Canterino Enjoyed Watching the Twins While Crushing his Rehab

[Seth Stohs]

On the offseason debut of Twins Spotlight, Matt Canterino provides us with an update on his rehab and much more.

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge

Late in September, the Twins had taken over the American League Central and were playoff-bound. After starting all season, Louie Varland was moved to the bullpen, and he aired it out, sitting in the upper 90s and breaking off some really sharp sliders. 

In addition, Chris Paddack came off of the Injured List. The 27-year-old from Cedar Park, Texas, hadn’t pitched since April 2022 after his second Tommy John surgery. On September 24th, Paddack ran from the Target Field bullpen to the Target Field mound, but before he could throw a pitch, the rains came, and a delay pushed back his return to MLB game action. Two days later, he finally had the opportunity. 

In his first inning, Paddack struck out the side and let out a yelp, releasing pent-up emotion that was fun for Twins fans to see. 

At that same time, Twins pitching prospect Matt Canterino was sitting in his room in Fort Myers watching the game, about 13 months into his Tommy John recovery. Was seeing that performance motivational for the 25-year-old from Southlake, Texas?

“I would say it was more joy for Chris than anything. I saw his process. I saw how hard he worked every day. And I saw how much he got to know some of the minor leaguers and formed relationships with people that he didn’t have to in Fort Myers. It was a lot of joy for him, knowing it was a culmination of everything he’s been working on.”

Nevertheless, seeing Paddack’s return come to fruition is something that the two Texans who grew up about three hours apart talked about while they worked and rehabbed in Fort Myers. 

Canterino noted, “he was a great teammate to rely upon in the process, especially because we were in fairly similar spots in rehab the entire year. I was able to bounce a lot of ideas off of him, and we were able to have a lot of good conversations about how we wanted to develop and how we wanted to be better than we were pre-surgery. I’m really thankful for that friendship.” 
(this video can also be found by clicking on this link. If you right-click and select Open Link in New Tab, you can watch this while continuing to read this article or others at Twins Daily.)

Now Canterino is ready to show that he is back. However, let’s not minimize the timeline. The first issue came early in the 2021 season after just five (dominant) starts in Cedar Rapids. He had a 0.86 ERA, a 0.67 WHIP, and 43 strikeouts to just four walks in 21 innings. He spent the rest of the 2021 season in Fort Myers rehabbing. He worked two innings in a game for the Mussels later that summer, but it didn’t feel right. 

He began 2022 with the Double-A Wichita Wind Surge. He was being eased in, working three innings at a time and then four innings. However, after 11 games and 34 1/3 innings (with 50 strikeouts but also 22 walks). 

He went and met Dr. Meister in Texas, and while they had met before, this was the first time they had mentioned the term “Tommy John surgery.” Meister and Dr. Camp (the Twins' surgeon) were on the same page. They could give it one more try just rehabbing, but he had been doing that for a long time. Canterino had given it “one more try,” and the pain was terrible after one inning in the GCL. He had never had a complete tear, but the ligament was compromised enough. Rehab hadn’t worked. 

So, on August 25th, 2022, Canterino had Tommy John surgery. Dr. Meister’s timeline is a 14-month plan to return to competitive pitching. For the first six months, there was no throwing. It’s all about building strength in the shoulder, elbow, and forearm. Over the next six months, throwing is built up slowly. The first three months involve throwing on flat ground, and the next three months include a return to a mound. That leaves two months where the focus can be on a return to pitching. 

While he is very competitive on the mound, Canterino appreciated the process. “I am a pretty process-oriented person, and I like hitting little check marks along the way. Everything is written out and well-recorded within the rehab. The Twins do a great job of that. I was able to keep hitting those check marks and able to stay optimistic with how things were progressing.” 

The most challenging part, he said, was “just building up to go home for the offseason. I wasn’t building up to face hitters in any games. I still have to wait for spring training.”

However, before heading to Texas for the offseason, he was able to get back on the mound and face live batters. What was the goal? What was the plan for facing live batters? 

“(It marks) The last step to start building up to be ready in games. So, we definitely pushed it a bit. We wanted to see where I was at so we could get an accurate judge. This is what you need to work on this offseason. This is what you need to be ready for coming into spring training. It definitely was a little bit of Let it Rip in terms of velocity and using offspeed pitches as well. So it was good.”

How did it go?

“I was missing bats, so that was good. I was up to 96 (mph). My slider felt completely returned to normal. My changeup felt completely returned to normal. And I was getting swings and misses on all of them. You never want to put too much stock into the results of those things, but in terms of my process, going through, getting ready, Letting it Rip, and recovering the next day, it was exactly what I wanted to do.”

Canterino is set to enjoy his offseason. He’s got a couple of trips planned and will spend time with his closest support group. But he will also be working on improving to impress in Fort Myers in spring training. “I feel like I’m back to where I was, and I know that I’m going to come to spring training and be able to compete for a job and show that I can still compete at the highest level.”

From Paddack’s return, Canterino notes. “This is doable. There will be ups and downs, but this is doable. You can get back, treat the rehab process with a lot of respect, and give it the attention it deserves. You can come back even better than wherever you were when you had to go down.”

Canterino was the Twins second-round pick in 2019. His goal in 2023 is to get to the big leagues, where seven from his draft class have already played. He was excited to watch Matt Wallner, Brent Headrick, Louie Varland, and Edouard Julien play critical roles at various times for the Twins during the season and playoffs. 

“I was beyond happy for my friends that debuted this year and got to be big-time contributors both during the regular season and in the playoffs.” 

In conclusion, it was great to catch up with Matt Canterino. The interview is about 42 minutes long, and we talked about several other topics beyond what you read above. You’ll want to take a listen. But it was also great to see the excitement on his face and hear it in his voice as he talked about looking ahead. 

I’ll leave you with a few final quotes that are exciting. 

“I feel strong. I feel ready. This is the moment to prove it now.”

“I just want to be the best teammate I can be. I just want to get back there and play baseball with the boys.”

“I love baseball. I want to be able to contribute. I want to be a part of that winning culture that the Twins are establishing.”

Matt Canterino was previously a guest on Episode 2 of Twins Spotlight back in October of 2020. That episode was more of a Get to Know 'em show, and as you can imagine, Canterino is fantastic at that. 

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[FlyingFinn]

I'd like to think he can help the Twins in 2024 but he probably will be on a severe innings limit. I believe the Twins have confidence that he will be great as he has occupied and will occupy the 40 man roster a LONG time without pitching in MLB. Maybe in the Twins bullpen in mid-2024 and then see if he can return to being a starter in 2025 if everything goes well.

[RJA]

Thank you, Seth.  Nobody does these interviews better than you--you have a knack for making the young players feel relaxed when you talk to them.

Boy, I hope this kid can stay healthy.  I really like his stuff, and he is a quality young man.  I will be pulling for him.  It will be interesting to see how the Twins handle him next summer.  I suspect they will bring him along slowly, but he could be a candidate for the Twins in 25 if all goes well.

[roger]

Thanks, Seth.

Still believe this kid can be a big part of Twins future pitching staffs.  Is it likely, Seth, that because of his not pitching in soooo long that he will be stretched out to 2-3 innings this spring, then moving to the bullpen for the year?  Is it realistic to expect him in Minneapolis by the All-Star break?

Have always thought this kid could be a good one and wish him the best now that this is behind him.

[Seth Stohs]

29 minutes ago, roger said:

Thanks, Seth.

Still believe this kid can be a big part of Twins future pitching staffs.  Is it likely, Seth, that because of his not pitching in soooo long that he will be stretched out to 2-3 innings this spring, then moving to the bullpen for the year?  Is it realistic to expect him in Minneapolis by the All-Star break?

Have always thought this kid could be a good one and wish him the best now that this is behind him.

From the conversation, it sounds like he'll be given the chance to start and they'll go with that but obviously listen to his body, listen to his arm, etc. So yeah, I think they'll ease him in for the  first month and see where he's at. But hopefully by May or at least June he'll go a bit longer. I also think he can be great in the role Louie Varland had in September and that may be a good way to limit his innings.  

[SF Twins Fan]

It will be interesting to see where he starts next season.  Does he start in Fort Myers until the weather warms up and then moves to AA with a chance to move to AAA if everything goes well? 

[Dman]

26 minutes ago, Seth Stohs said:

From the conversation, it sounds like he'll be given the chance to start and they'll go with that but obviously listen to his body, listen to his arm, etc. So yeah, I think they'll ease him in for the  first month and see where he's at. But hopefully by May or at least June he'll go a bit longer. I also think he can be great in the role Louie Varland had in September and that may be a good way to limit his innings.  

Personally I was hoping they would move him to the pen sooner rather than later to add another hard throwing top end guy to solidify possibly the teams greatest weakness.  If he is effective the first couple of months he could help the team faster that way.

And yet I get that they likely don't want to throw away a guy that has 4 average to above average pitches in there unless the arm can't take it.  He is 26 to start the year next year so it will be interesting how they handle him.  I would guess your Louie Varland comparison is spot on for Canterino.

[Seth Stohs]

5 minutes ago, Dman said:

Personally I was hoping they would move him to the pen sooner rather than later to add another hard throwing top end guy to solidify possibly the teams greatest weakness.  If he is effective the first couple of months he could help the team faster that way.

And yet I get that they likely don't want to throw away a guy that has 4 average to above average pitches in there unless the arm can't take it.  He is 26 to start the year next year so it will be interesting how they handle him.  I would guess your Louie Varland comparison is spot on for Canterino.

I would hope his Age wouldn't factor into their decision-making. They need to do what is right for him, but also right for the organization. Let's just say he debuts in July at 26. The Twins will hold his rights through the 2030 season, and that encapsulates his entire 'prime.' 

[Seth Stohs]

32 minutes ago, SF Twins Fan said:

It will be interesting to see where he starts next season.  Does he start in Fort Myers until the weather warms up and then moves to AA with a chance to move to AAA if everything goes well? 

I think really it is a case where it doesn't matter too much. I think they should get him to Wichita fairly quickly... whether that's April 2nd or May 2nd doesn't really matter much... And, depending on how things progress, he could be in St. Paul by June 2nd. I would say that's a pretty aggressive return and it can't be about stats as much as healthy and process and pitches, etc. But also the long-game of the 2024 season and how to have him available in October should be considered. 

[Dman]

1 minute ago, Seth Stohs said:

I would hope his Age wouldn't factor into their decision-making. They need to do what is right for him, but also right for the organization. Let's just say he debuts in July at 26. The Twins will hold his rights through the 2030 season, and that encapsulates his entire 'prime.' 

I was just thinking that if they are building him back to be a starter how many innings can they put on his arm this year?  If in the pen he can pitch can all year NP and likely be ready for a MLB role this year.  If starting it feels like that all gets pushed back IMO.  Maybe not, but fresh off TJ they will likely take things slow.  I want him to get to MLB as soon as possible and am not worried about years of control.  Even if he gets to MLB this year he will be an old man in MLB years by the time team control is up.

[Seth Stohs]

3 minutes ago, Dman said:

I was just thinking that if they are building him back to be a starter how many innings can they put on his arm this year?  If in the pen he can pitch can all year NP and likely be ready for a MLB role this year.  If starting it feels like that all gets pushed back IMO.  Maybe not, but fresh off TJ they will likely take things slow.  I want him to get to MLB as soon as possible and am not worried about years of control.  Even if he gets to MLB this year he will be an old man in MLB years by the time team control is up.

He talks about that in great detail and what Dr. Meister and the Twins staff have been telling him. 

[Fatbat]

It would be great to see him pitch 60-90 inning on the varsity in 2024. With being almost 2 years since surgery, he should be a full go by mid season, ramped up and making hitters look bad. Everyone is wondering how the Twins will deal with roster turnover from 2023.  I believe it will be mostly home grown and trusting the young studs to step up a be above average MLB’rs.

[Devlin Clark]

Another great episode as always! I have a sneaking suspicion he could be a huge bullpen piece in '24. 

[DocBauer]

I've been torn on where he should be. But I guess I am still on the side of keeping him as a SP initially. If he builds up that arm...even with some careful monitoring...and can be a legit, quality rotation option in the near future, who cares if he's 26 or 27yo? Having 4-6 years of quality performance isn't as good as 8-10 years, but it sure doesn't stink! And being able to monitor him on an IP leash still allows him to work on all of his pitches, at least for now.

I do have a feeling he's still going to end up in the pen eventually as even with a re-built elbow, gut instinct still tells me he's not built to eat innings, but to be dominate in 1-2 of them. And I think that's what's going to happen. I can see a fast track where he's with the Twins by the break in that role.

But letting him work on ALL of his pitches and just see what he looks like as a starter makes sense to me to begin with.

 

[Steve Lein]

Love to hear from Matt! I wouldn't count him out because the stuff is so good when he's healthy!

But while it's a good thing to say that starting is still a possibility and maybe even the plan, I think that ship has sailed (happy to be proven wrong). I'd go into the year with him in the bullpen and not look back at this point. One or two appearances a week, maybe multiple innings if just one. That way you don't worry about innings and should have no reservations about calling him up if he's got all that bat-missing stuff back.

[gman]

Schedule 60-80 innings in 2024, at whatever level. It would be great to have Canterino as a "stud" starting pitcher added to the rotation in 2025 with maybe 120 innings thrown. Then a possible 140-150 innings a year pitched in 2026. Don't limit his talent. Relief is good, strong starting talent is better,

[Mike Sixel]

I just want to say thanks to Matt and Seth

[Doctor Gast]

I'd have liked to see see him pitch in AFL. But I'd assume they deem it better to have him rest until spring training