Uh-Oh: Anthony DeSclafani Has a Date with Dr. Meister, Leaving Season in Doubt

[Nick Nelson]

The Twins took another flier on a starter with arm concerns, and they are once again seeing the downside. After experiencing renewed elbow soreness this spring and trying to battle through it, projected fifth starter Anthony DeSclafani looks likely to miss most or all of the season.

What are the implications for the Twins' rotation?

Image courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony DeSclafani has been a very productive, valuable starting pitcher as recently as 2021, which is undoubtedly why he intrigued the Twins as a throw-in to the package they got back from the Mariners for Jorge Polanco. If healthy, DeSclafani seemed like a fine fit for the back of the rotation, capable of helping make up for the quality innings Minnesota is losing from Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda.

As with past acquisitions such as Chris Paddack and Tyler Mahle, however, the "if healthy" caveat has proven to be a costly one. DeSclafani's elbow concerns were known after he missed the second half of last season with a flexor strain and received a PRP injection to bolster his healing. He arrived at Twins camp reporting that he felt fine, but the elbow didn't take long to start barking again.

DeSclafani and the team initially downplayed the issue, but the righthander has been unable to get going. He hasn't thrown in a Grapefruit League game and came out of pitching in a minor-league game over the weekend not feeling great. On Monday, the Twins revealed the corresponding bad news: he's been shut down due to ongoing issues with his flexor tendon and is slated for a consult with orthopedic surgeon Dr. Keith Meister. 

Nothing has been finalized, but Derek Falvey acknowledged that elbow surgery is on the table. Dr. Meister, who performed reconstructive elbow surgeries on Maeda, Paddack and Mahle, is known as "the maestro of Tommy John surgery" and has been credited with revolutionizing the procedure.

With their lone rotation addition going down before the season begins, it seems to be back to square one for the Twins rotation. DeSclafani was meant to provide the sort of additional depth that enabled Minnesota to weather the absences of Paddack and Mahle last year, as those hurlers recovered from Tommy John surgery. Now, Plan A is out the window, seemingly moving their only established contingency plan into the season-opening rotation. 

Louie Varland has looked great this spring, inspiring hope that he'll be up to the task, but the Twins will surely need to depend on more than five starters this season, and the depth behind Varland is now almost entirely unproven.

Monday's unfortunate news coincided with a smattering of tough injury updates on pitchers from the Twins, who shared that Jhoan Duran and Caleb Thielbar will also open the season on the injured list, as will promising minor-leaguer Matt Canterino. Arm-ageddon, indeed.

With DeSclafani officially out of the picture indefinitely, will the front office try to find another veteran in the remaining free-agent crop? Notably, both Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery remain available, with the start of the season 10 days away. It might be time to ask the Pohlads once more about opening the wallet a bit wider.

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[howeda7]

I'm glad this happened now instead of after he got smashed 4-5 times. Go sign Clevinger and be done with it.

[Cory Engelhardt]

I don't think it will happen at all, but Blake Snell IS a Twin. His Twin brother is an assistant coach at Shoreline Community College north of Seattle. 

Just wanted to throw that out there :)

 

 

[MMMordabito]

Simeon Woods-Richardson and Davide Festa, firehose is being turned on.  Get ready to drink!

[strumdatjag]

Didn’t Comedian Rob Schneider talk about this Doc a lot back in his days as the Copy Machine Guy on SNL?

[Twinsgypsy]

If the FO were to go after a starter I believe that Ryu might be a good option because he shown that he's recovered from surgery and is also a Southpaw . However, I believe that Varland has earned the right to be the Fifth Starter in the Rotation with how he has pitched in Spring training, but as has been stated that he would be a good additional late innings option in the Bullpen.

 

[old nurse]

A trade for pitcher almost has to feel like they just became the drier for Spinal Tap when they come to the Twins.  

[Doctor Gast]

Desclafani hasn't been good for a while & chances of him really contributing was very slim. We have in-house pitchers who can easily fill the 5th SP spot better than Desclafani. Twins need to spend their money wisely picking up another Desclafani via FA isn't wise. 

[Twins GFP]

33 minutes ago, howeda7 said:

I'm glad this happened now instead of after he got smashed 4-5 times. 

As a person, I feel bad for him and hope that everything goes well.

As a fan watching the SP, this statement about sums everything up.

There is a zero chance the Twins make a move that increases payroll.  Everyone better hope (there is that word again... hope) that multiple guys in AAA are ready and show some MLB success or this season is going to go downhill unbelievably quickly. 

[Parfigliano]

9 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

We have in-house pitchers that can fill the 5th SP.

Had those in house options when they brought DeScalf in the house.

[jkcarew]

19 minutes ago, old nurse said:

A trade for pitcher almost has to feel like they just became the drummer for Spinal Tap when they come to the Twins.  

This!
Could the organization have a ‘better’ track record of acquiring arms that are on the cusp of blowing up…even if they were trying!??

[Matthew Trueblood]

32 minutes ago, Twinsgypsy said:

If the FO were to go after a starter I believe that Ryu might be a good option because he shown that he's recovered from surgery and is also a Southpaw . However, I believe that Varland has earned the right to be the Fifth Starter in the Rotation with how he has pitched in Spring training, but as has been stated that he would be a good additional late innings option in the Bullpen.

 

Alas: Ryu signed a long-term deal to return to the KBO, last month. 

[Mike Sixel]

11 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

Had those in house options when they brought DeScalf in the house.

Except he was a throw in and insurance, imo ... To even out the money in the trade. Did people really think this guy would come in and be healthy and good? I didn't. 

[twins_89]

DeSclafani going down is unfortunate, but it's hard to consider it a surprise. Trading for a pitcher with known arm issues has not been a strategy that has worked well for the Twins.

[sweetmusicviola16]

Michael Lorenzen is still available. He would be the best depth option available on the open market. I don't see Snell or Montgomery as 2024 Twins.

Otherwise, SWR, Headrick and Festa are the best in house options as I see it. I would like to see SWR and Festa this season.

[Twinsgypsy]

13 minutes ago, Matthew Trueblood said:

Alas: Ryu signed a long-term deal to return to the KBO, last month. 

I forgot about that....did not see it even mentioned in the 3 places that looked at unsigned free agents.  Oh well

[Dave The Dastardly]

19 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Except he was a throw in and insurance, imo ... To even out the money in the trade. Did people really think this guy would come in and be healthy and good? I didn't. 

MN Twins: Preferred destination for elbow surgery.

You know where to go.

[Fatbat]

Ownership needs to make an investment in Monty. He is the expensive high end workhorse we need. 

[Whitey333]

Imagine.  The Twins traded for an injured starting pitcher.  He may likely need Tommy John.   It's Deja vu all over again.

[CRF]

Louie can absolutely take the 5th starter gig, but Falvey should be on the phone to Lorenzen's agent this afternoon. They won't get Snell or Montgomery, but Lorenzen is an affordable option and he can start or relieve. 

[Fatbat]

9 minutes ago, CRF said:

Louie can absolutely take the 5th starter gig, but Falvey should be on the phone to Lorenzen's agent this afternoon. They won't get Snell or Montgomery, but Lorenzen is an affordable option and he can start or relieve. 

It almost seems like they were planning for the worst by signing all the RP’s knowing that Varland would likely pitch in 30+ starts.. If he has just a solid season of results, we will be fine but if anyone of the 5 has an issue, its gonna be a problem.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

Potentially losing DeSclafani for the season to injury is actually quite a bit less scary than losing Mahle was last spring.  At the time Ober was mostly unproven and Mahle was thought of as a top end arm.  Varland is also unproven but promising, and I don't really think anyone was counting on DeSclafani for a lot this summer.  This moves Varland up the food chain and SWR, Headrick, and Festa potentially into the mix waiting in the wings in St. Paul.  I'd rather have DeSclafani healthy than not, as he is a potentially OK arm, but I don't think this is the end of the world at all.  On the other hand. . . if Duran is hurt for an extended length of time, I'm very worried.  They have other "potential closers", but again it moves everyone up the food chain, and we definitely don't know if they are all ready for prime time. 

[LA Vikes Fan]

34 minutes ago, CRF said:

Louie can absolutely take the 5th starter gig, but Falvey should be on the phone to Lorenzen's agent this afternoon. They won't get Snell or Montgomery, but Lorenzen is an affordable option and he can start or relieve. 

I've read that Lorenzen wants a minimum 2 year deal and that's why he hasn't yet signed. I'm not sure I would sign him for multiple years. Plus, the Yankees and White Sox are already talking to him. My guess is that Varland is the #5 and the Twins sign a starter they can stash in AAA. Think Brad Keller, Jaime Barria, Eric Lauer, etc.... 

[AceWrigley]

Can we just please stop acquiring "major league" pitching?????? What ever guidelines the Twins are using in choosing who to acquire . . . STOP IT! We have to stop decimating our roster for arms that just won't give us value, Pablo Lopez the one exception. Are we surprised here? I'm not.

[KirbyDome89]

44 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Except he was a throw in and insurance, imo ... To even out the money in the trade. Did people really think this guy would come in and be healthy and good? I didn't. 

Idk why so many are downplaying DeSclafani's role now that he's (predictably) injured. The Twins handed him a rotation spot and allocated nearly 1/3 of what little money they had to spend this offseason towards his salary. Clearly they didn't view him as some toss in. 

[jorgenswest]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

Except he was a throw in and insurance, imo ... To even out the money in the trade. Did people really think this guy would come in and be healthy and good? I didn't. 

Agree. I don’t think the Mariners make the trade unless the Twins take DeSclafani. It certainly would have been a better trade without him.

Falvey did not set the player budget but he was responsible for allocating it. Polanco had to be traded once they chose to tender Farmer. Is the 2024 team better with Polanco, Varland and Alcala or Farmer, DeSclafani and Topa? I think the money is virtually the same. No move should have been made this winter that didn’t improve the 2024 team.
 

 

[singlesoverwalks]

Quote

It might be time to ask the Pohlads once more about opening the wallet a bit wider.

Agreed.

[howeda7]

3 hours ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

As a person, I feel bad for him and hope that everything goes well.

As a fan watching the SP, this statement about sums everything up.

There is a zero chance the Twins make a move that increases payroll.  Everyone better hope (there is that word again... hope) that multiple guys in AAA are ready and show some MLB success or this season is going to go downhill unbelievably quickly. 

Can we file grievance against Seattle (or SF) and make them pay his salary if insurance doesn't cover it?

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

2 hours ago, Whitey333 said:

Imagine.  The Twins traded for an injured starting pitcher.  He may likely need Tommy John.   It's Deja vu all over again.

They got the value of what they did due to the medicals on Desclafani.  He was a thrown in and a negative asset at 4 million a year.  We don't get the prospects we do without taking him on.  The Twins were willing to eat some salary on him, get the prospects and see if he could remain healthy.  He couldn't.  On the upside, Varland looks good, really good so far.  You also have a potential pitcher in Festa.   

[howeda7]

15 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

I doubt Montgomery or Snell could be obtained.  Their agent knows that the Twins are desperate so the cost just went up.

Can they get the old LH'er with the beard that they had last year and stash him in STP like they did last year?  That would allow Varland to be the #5 with some vet insurance available.

I'm not Dallas Kuchel's biggest fan but "old LH with a beard" is a bit of a slight.