On the Injuries of Joe Ryan, Brock Stewart, and Luke Keaschall

[Lucas Seehafer PT]

The Twins will be without their best starter for "weeks to months," according to Rocco Baldelli. While troublesome in the short term, the injury shouldn't be of concern in the long term.

Image courtesy of © John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

The teres major is a relatively small muscle that runs from the shoulder blade to the front of the arm. It's actively involved in throwing as it pulls the arm into extension and internal rotation, two of the primary motions of the arm during pitching. The latissimus dorsi (i.e., last) perform the same motions but are significantly larger and more powerful.

Teres major strains aren't among the most common pitching injuries but aren't rare. A recent study identified 159 professional pitchers who suffered either teres major or lat strains, with long-term return-to-play rates hovering around 100%. 

However, what is more important, particularly for the Twins, is short-term return to play. 

Grade 2 injuries fall on the moderate to severe end of the muscle strain spectrum. They generally don't require surgical intervention, but they do take a while to recover from. Moderate muscle strains usually heal within 4-8 weeks, not including a full ramp-up period. With seven weeks remaining in the regular season, it's possible Ryan won't be able to make another start until the playoffs (assuming the Twins make the playoffs).

Unfortunately, Ryan's injury was far from the only one to strike the Twins in recent days.

Reliever Brock Stewart will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery. The recovery is expected to take 5-6 months, which is fairly standard for the procedure. Arthroscopy generally involves "cleaning up" damaged and/or floating tissue in the joint. According to Stewart, imaging did not find major structural damage, which keeps the expected recovery time from approaching 12 months or more.

Finally, top prospect Luke Keaschall will be undergoing Tommy John surgery. Luckily, he is a position player and right-handed batter, so he should be a full go by the time Spring Training rolls around. Keaschall joins Alex Kirilloff and Miguel Sanó among Twins position player prospects to have the procedure done. 

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[wabene]

"Keaschall joins Matt Wallner and Miguel Sanó among Twins position player prospects to have the procedure done."

I didn't know about Wallner, but Alex Kirilloff had the procedure as well.

[Lucas Seehafer PT]

1 hour ago, wabene said:

"Keaschall joins Matt Wallner and Miguel Sanó among Twins position player prospects to have the procedure done."

I didn't know about Wallner, but Alex Kirilloff had the procedure as well.

That was an error. It should have said Kirilloff, not Wallner, in the story. Made the fix.

[wabene]

It is good to hear that this injury is not likely to present long term problems for Joe. Labrum and rotator cuff injuries seem to be the worst for pitchers. 

[Mike Sixel]

Thanks! Really appreciate the info.

[Whitey333]

Going to be tough the rest of the season without Ryan.  Let's hope nothing happens to our real best pitcher Baikey Ober.  Go Twins

[wabene]

[Jocko87]

Wondering how much Keaschall injury affected the deadline.  We may not have known, but other teams did. 

[USAFChief]

4 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

Wondering how much Keaschall injury affected the deadline.  We may not have known, but other teams did. 

There were no top 100 prospects traded. 

The deadline was about money.

 

[Parfigliano]

9 hours ago, wabene said:

"Keaschall joins Matt Wallner and Miguel Sanó among Twins position player prospects to have the procedure done."

I didn't know about Wallner, but Alex Kirilloff had the procedure as well.

Dead arm

[Parfigliano]

3 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

Dead arm

Traded for "dead arm"

[Doctor Gast]

Tough blow for Joe & the team, he was surprised that it was that serious. That goes to show any slight discomfort should be quickly addressed. It'd be hard for Ryan to be top-ready for the playoffs. Stewart has been almost all season so he'll be missed but have been used to not having him around, Keaschall has no bearing on Twins' near future.

[old nurse]

8 hours ago, USAFChief said:

There were no top 100 prospects traded. 

The deadline was about money.

 

Jason Adam on a reasonably inexpensive contract was trade for a top 100 prospect

[Jocko87]

9 hours ago, USAFChief said:

There were no top 100 prospects traded. 

The deadline was about money.

 

Member when everyone was confused why it seemed like they were trying to sell him for Flaherty?  Good timing for the surgery, just after the deadline.  He's been hurt for a while.

[chinmusic]

Appreciate the concise, informative article, Lucas.

Ideally, the Twins do make the playoffs, and Ryan's able to contribute.

[LambchoP]

All these injuries just a few short weeks after the Twins did absolutely nothing to add depth to an already thin pitching staff. Chances are Ryan, Paddack, StewArt and Topa are done for the year. This means we're going to have to lean heavily on a lot of unproven rookies. Not ideal for a playoff chase:( hopefully Correa gets back soon. If we can get and keep our lineup healthy, maybe they catch fire and we can slug our way out of any poor pitching performances that are surely coming.

[AKTwinsFan]

Just another injury to a starter who has had a good year, for the most part. Now the inactivity during the trade deadline really hurts. 

[Linus]

Thanks for these articles. Always interesting and great to be able to understand what’s happening. 

[USAFChief]

3 hours ago, Jocko87 said:

Member when everyone was confused why it seemed like they were trying to sell him for Flaherty?  Good timing for the surgery, just after the deadline.  He's been hurt for a while.

Huh?

I don't remember anything like that.

I remember some (you?) trying to sell the story Detroit ASKED for Keaschall, and that being a ridiculously high ask. 

Now the Twins were trying to peddle an injured Keaschall?

No.

 

 

 

[bean5302]

Detroit and Chicago asked for Walker Jenkins, Brooks Lee or Emmanuel Rodriguez for Flaherty or Fedde was what was insinuated by Falvey and reported by media.

Media also reported the Twins were countering with Keaschall as the headliner for those types of deals. Would Keaschall's UCL injury have prevented him from being coveted by those teams?

Ehh... probably not since neither one of them were going to compete this year and Keaschall is expected to be 100% next year. Keaschall was also playing well at the time.

https://www.startribune.com/highly-rated-twins-prospect-luke-keaschall-set-to-undergo-season-ending-surgery/600993828

Quote

“He did have an elbow injury that was diagnosed a while back that, ultimately, we knew would eventually require a Tommy John surgery,” said Derek Falvey, the Twins’ president of baseball operations. “He’s played through it and could play through it for a while. We made the determination a little while back now, knowing our timing, to go ahead and proceed with that surgery now, because we knew he’d need it in the offseason.”

Keaschall hasn't played at 2B/CF since 7/9, just before the All Star Futures Game where he only had a single PH at bat in the 6th. Seems reasonable to conclude the injury was known about at that point, and based on the fact Keaschall was in the futures game with that restriction, that the rest of the league was probably aware Keaschall was dealing with an issue.

[bean5302]

Hopefully, the cleanup will address Stewart's shoulder going forward. If there was/is structural damage found, like 90% career over.

[LanceJS]

If we are going by recent performance I disagree that the team lost the “best” starter. That has clearly been Ober for the last month or so. 

[Jocko87]

2 hours ago, USAFChief said:

Huh?

I don't remember anything like that.

I remember some (you?) trying to sell the story Detroit ASKED for Keaschall, and that being a ridiculously high ask. 

Now the Twins were trying to peddle an injured Keaschall?

No.

 

 

 

Every time you purposely misrepresent someone's opinion you call undue attention to your lack of critical thinking skills.

No wonder talks never advanced.

 

[USAFChief]

57 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

Every time you purposely misrepresent someone's opinion you call undue attention to your lack of critical thinking skills.

No wonder talks never advanced.

 

Detroit was trying to trade Fedde?? 

No wonder talks never advanced. 

 

You can spin the deadline that money wasn't a factor until you're blue in the face, but that won't make it true.