Twins, Alex Kirilloff Dodge Major Bullet During Shoulder Surgery

[Lucas Seehafer PT]

The Minnesota Twins announced Wednesday afternoon that first baseman Alex Kirilloff underwent surgery on his right shoulder. The good news is that the damage was less significant than anticipated.

Image courtesy of © Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

A nagging shoulder injury continued to bother Alex Kirilloff following his return from the injured list in September. It became bad enough in the playoffs that he needed to be removed from the ALDS roster.

Kirilloff was originally diagnosed with a torn labrum, the ring of cartilage in the shoulder that improves the joint’s stability. Depending on the location of the tear, rehabilitation can take upwards of 6-8 months following surgery before the athlete is cleared to return to play full-time.
 

Luckily, Kirilloff’s labrum was discovered to be intact, which allowed his surgical team to perform a bursectomy, a much less invasive and traumatic procedure. There are many bursae located in and around the shoulder, with the most prominent being the subacromial bursa. 

This fluid-filled sac sits between the supraspinatus tendon (the supraspinatus is a rotator cuff muscle) and the nearby bone, reducing the amount of friction expounded upon the tissue. Shoulder pain resembling a rotator cuff or labrum injury may be a result of subacromial bursa irritation. Removal of the bursa often relieves pain and improves range of motion. 

Athletes can often return to play in relatively short order, so, barring any major setbacks, Kirilloff shouldn’t be expected to begin the 2024 regular season on the IL. There also shouldn’t be any major concerns for future rotator cuff injury as proper strength training and other rehabilitative procedures should reduce the risk of tendon irritation.

All things considered, this was a best-case scenario for Kirilloff and the Twins. Bursectomies fall under the nebulous “clean-up procedure” umbrella and spare the surrounding muscular and joint stabilizing structures. While this was Kirilloff’s third surgery of his career (Tommy John while in the minors and two wrist surgeries), it was by far the least significant and concerning. 

View full article

[LastOnePicked]

Thank (insert your chosen force/power/creator-of-fate here)! Good to hear. Thanks for the update. Any chance we can get some Buxton and Lewis body miracles this offseason, too?

Not pressing my luck. Just asking. 😀

[stringer bell]

Thanks for the learned analysis. I'm glad to hear that he should be back in time for the 2024 season. 

[big dog]

It would be fun to watch a healthy Kirilloff. Here's hoping.

[mnfireman]

1 hour ago, LastOnePicked said:

Thank (insert your chosen force/power/creator-of-fate here)! Good to hear. Thanks for the update. Any chance we can get some Buxton and Lewis body miracles this offseason, too?

Not pressing my luck. Just asking. 😀

Lewis finished healthy, not sure where you're going here...

[Doctor Wu]

I'll join the chorus in breathing a sigh of relief and very thankful that the surgeons didn't have to do more cutting than necessary. And thanks for the very detailed report, thus expanding my knowledge of surgical procedures and body parts!

[by jiminy]

Thanks, very interesting!

[jmlease1]

It's really good news for both the Twins and for Kirilloff. Much more likely that we don't need to invest significant resources in 1B depth in the off-season and can stay focused on improving the rotation, strengthening the bullpen, and ensuring that we're covered in CF.

Kirilloff has hit when he's been healthy. It looks like they've finally solved the wrist problem through the Kirk Gibson surgery he had done last season, and this shoulder issue was relatively minor. His history means the Twins have to be prepared for him potentially missing time during the season, but we also have good internal options to support in Julien, Miranda, and Severino to provide depth.

There's few bench spots available on this roster because the Twins will carry 13 pitchers (even when their starters are going long enough consistently enough that that last man in the bullpen doesn't pitch more than once a week at best), so there's only room for 4 bench jobs, and 1 goes to a backup catcher (Vazquez), 1 goes to a backup SS/INF (Castro/Farmer), 1 goes to a 4th OF who can play CF (Taylor again?), so there's not a lot of space for anyone else.

[DJwessmix]

A Tommy John, 2 wrist surgeries, and a bursectomy. 1+2+1=4, yes? 

[Lucas Seehafer PT]

12 minutes ago, DJwessmix said:

A Tommy John, 2 wrist surgeries, and a bursectomy. 1+2+1=4, yes? 

I went to school for healthcare, not math!

[miracleb]

9 hours ago, mnfireman said:

Lewis finished healthy, not sure where you're going here...

HUH?  It was iffy if Lewis was even going to be on the playoff roster against Toronto.......

[Karbo]

Well lets hope that's it for injuries for AK. Starting down the Buxton path of pain is not where they need another one of their quality players.

[mikelink45]

I reserve judgment.  Let's see him play a full season before celebrating his health.  Yes, it is great that this was less serious, but the fact that he has had a career in minors and majors that has a yearly health issue comes too close to the Buxton Syndrome.  

[saviking]

This is great news from the standpoint we don't go out and sign someone for :{in the event he's not ready} like we did last year .. The Twins have trouble deciding to cut a veteran once they sign him, like you know who, last year.

[Jeff K]

1 hour ago, saviking said:

This is great news from the standpoint we don't go out and sign someone for :{in the event he's not ready} like we did last year .. The Twins have trouble deciding to cut a veteran once they sign him, like you know who, last year.

Well, they DEFINITELY held onto "he who must not be named" far too long; that said, they also held onto Kepler and Pagan who many of us (self included) felt should be long gone.  

[Mike Sixel]

Great news. let's hope this is the end of his issues for awhile.

[MN_ExPat]

6 hours ago, Lucas Seehafer PT said:

I went to school for healthcare, not math!

I totally get and respect that 😆.

My son has switched his major from Engineering to Biology so that he too can pursue Sports Medicine and Physical Therapy.  He wasn't a big fan of all the extra math.

[mnfireman]

7 hours ago, miracleb said:

HUH?  It was iffy if Lewis was even going to be on the playoff roster against Toronto.......

Looked pretty healthy against Houston....

 

 

 

 

[miracleb]

16 hours ago, mnfireman said:

Looked pretty healthy against Houston....

 

 

 

 

Then you nailed it!  (for that week)  LOL!
:)

[saviking]

21 hours ago, Jeff K said:

Well, they DEFINITELY held onto "he who must not be named" far too long; that said, they also held onto Kepler and Pagan who many of us (self included) felt should be long gone.  

That's fair. I resemble that statement 

[Doctor Evil]

Mark me down as skeptical about Kiriloff ever reaching his ceiling. He has a lot to prove as far as ability and availability.

[stringer bell]

17 hours ago, Doctor Evil said:

Mark me down as skeptical about Kiriloff ever reaching his ceiling. He has a lot to prove as far as ability and availability.

I think that is a fair statement. However, in the few healthy interludes Kirilloff has had, he has looked the part of an elite hitter. If the fates give him an entire healthy season, we will have enough information to know what to expect.