Twins Provide Injury Updates On David Festa, Mick Abel, Ryan Jeffers, Cole Sands

[Cody Christie]

The Twins entered Monday hoping for positive news regarding Bailey Ober's injured right elbow. While losing one of their most dependable starters is never ideal, the update from general manager Jeremy Zoll suggested the organization may have avoided a much more serious situation.

Ober was diagnosed with a mild right flexor strain after undergoing an MRI. The most encouraging aspect of the evaluation was that the ulnar collateral ligament graft from his previous Tommy John surgery remains fully intact.

According to Zoll, Ober will be shut down from throwing for 10 to 14 days while receiving anti-inflammatory treatment before being reevaluated. The Twins are also seeking a second opinion from renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Keith Meister, but early indications have been positive.

For a pitcher with a Tommy John history, any elbow discomfort immediately raises concerns about ligament damage. Instead, Minnesota appears to be dealing with a relatively minor flexor issue. While no timetable has been established for a return, Zoll's comments suggested the absence could be measured in weeks rather than months.

The news does not eliminate the challenge facing Minnesota's rotation. Ober had been a stabilizing presence, consistently providing innings while helping bridge the gap between the club's younger arms and veteran starters. However, considering the range of possible outcomes, the Twins have reason to feel relieved.

Mick Abel Continues His Climb Back

Another important pitching update involved Abel, who has been sidelined with right elbow inflammation. Abel is scheduled to throw live batting practice on Thursday, which represents a significant step forward in his recovery. If that session goes well, he could begin a rehabilitation assignment shortly afterward.

Even under an optimistic timeline, Abel still appears several weeks away from returning to the major league roster. He will likely need multiple rehab appearances before being considered game-ready. Still, after weeks of uncertainty, the fact that he is nearing competitive action is an encouraging development.

Cole Sands Nearing Return to Bullpen

The Twins could soon receive reinforcements in the bullpen. Sands is set to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday after missing more than a month with a right forearm strain. His return would provide a welcome boost to a relief corps that has spent much of the season searching for consistency.

Although Sands posted a 4.63 ERA through his first 12 appearances this season, his value extends beyond the raw numbers. He has proven capable of handling leverage situations and was expected to play a prominent role in Minnesota's late-inning plans before the injury occurred.

The Twins have shuffled bullpen roles throughout the season, making Sands' eventual return one of the more significant developments on the injury front.

Ryan Jeffers Making Steady Progress

Jeffers continues to move forward after surgery to repair a fractured hamate bone in his left wrist. More than a week removed from the procedure, Jeffers had his stitches removed over the weekend and has been pleased with how his recovery is progressing. He has already resumed throwing activities, an important early milestone.

The next hurdle will be swinging a bat. Hamate injuries often pose challenges for hitters because regaining wrist strength and comfort can take time. Until Jeffers begins taking swings, it will remain difficult to project a realistic return date. For now, the early signs appear positive.

David Festa Begins Throwing Program

Festa remains the furthest away from returning, but he has officially started the next phase of his recovery. After receiving a stem-cell injection to address his shoulder issue, Festa spent three weeks completely shut down from throwing. On Monday, he began a structured throwing program that will include three weeks of flat-ground work before progressing back to mound sessions.

The timeline underscores how much work remains before Festa can return to game action. Nevertheless, beginning a throwing program is an important step after an extended shutdown period.

Injuries have tested the Twins' pitching depth throughout the season, but Monday's collection of updates offered more optimism than concern. Ober avoided a potentially devastating diagnosis, Sands is nearing a return, Abel is progressing toward rehab games, and both Jeffers and Festa continue moving through their recoveries.

The encouraging news is that several important pieces appear to be moving in the right direction, giving the Twins hope that help could be arriving over the next few weeks.

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[Possumlad]

A random point I've made before but will make here again: Minor League "rehab appearances" are a dumb waste of time & resources. ESPECIALLY for position players, but pitchers as well.

Stupid tradition that serves no purpose & needs to die. If they're not ready, don't play them; if they're ready, get them up to the big league club where they can help. Stop wasting 1-2 weeks of productive play in the minors every time a guy gets hurt. Can you imagine if every time an NBA player got hurt they gave him 1-2 weeks of "rehab starts" in the G-League before on top of the the time they already missed? 

[thelanges5]

Jenkins and Roden are scheduled to face some live pitching this week and could be rehabbing  next week. 
 

Rojas could be cleared to throw sometime this week. 

[jmlease1]

Encouraging news, but still worried about Abel until he's back in MLB throwing again.

Glad to hear Festa is on a path again, but with his initial diagnosis I felt like we simply couldn't count on him in 2026. Wish I'd been wrong, but we are where we are. Hopefully he's able to throw real innings before the end of the season.

The real question with Jeffers is what his power stroke will look like when he's back. That's been the biggest drawback for a lot of guys returning from that injury: the power isn't there for a while. And for Jeffers that's an important part of his game.

[saviking]

Twins players are so i jury prone that they have to have 2 articles about injury updates. 4 players in one and 5 in another. 

[amjgt]

21 hours ago, Possumlad said:

A random point I've made before but will make here again: Minor League "rehab appearances" are a dumb waste of time & resources. ESPECIALLY for position players, but pitchers as well.

Stupid tradition that serves no purpose & needs to die. If they're not ready, don't play them; if they're ready, get them up to the big league club where they can help. Stop wasting 1-2 weeks of productive play in the minors every time a guy gets hurt. Can you imagine if every time an NBA player got hurt they gave him 1-2 weeks of "rehab starts" in the G-League before on top of the the time they already missed? 

Completely disagree on pitchers.

Making an appearance or two in the minor leagues is the NBA equivalent of playing 10-15 minutes in a game. 

With let’s say Mick Abel specifically, he doesn’t do you a ton of good if his first two MLB appearances he can only go 2 or 3 innings. He needs to get stretched out

“Able to throw” does not equal “ready to contribute”

Minor league rehab assignments for pitchers tend to fall in one of two categories 

1) Getting stretched out to a higher inning limit

2) Letting a guy, who was not performing all that great get some innings in before bringing them back up 

As for hitters, I mostly agree with you that rehab assignment are a waste of time. But also… I wouldn’t say the Twins have had many of their hitters go on rehab assignments. And certainly not for more than a couple days. 

[Possumlad]

49 minutes ago, amjgt said:

Completely disagree on pitchers.

Making an appearance or two in the minor leagues is the NBA equivalent of playing 10-15 minutes in a game. 

With let’s say Mick Abel specifically, he doesn’t do you a ton of good if his first two MLB appearances he can only go 2 or 3 innings. He needs to get stretched out

“Able to throw” does not equal “ready to contribute”

Minor league rehab assignments for pitchers tend to fall in one of two categories 

1) Getting stretched out to a higher inning limit

2) Letting a guy, who was not performing all that great get some innings in before bringing them back up 

As for hitters, I mostly agree with you that rehab assignment are a waste of time. But also… I wouldn’t say the Twins have had many of their hitters go on rehab assignments. And certainly not for more than a couple days. 

I'm probably on an island, here. Not suggesting pitchers don't need to get stretched back out, but I'd have Abel in the majors for his 2-3 inning build-up appearances as well. More innings from your best players is always a good thing. We get A LOT of terrible 2-3 inning stretches from our pitchers... in fact we have whole bullpen games built around it.

[amjgt]

49 minutes ago, Possumlad said:

I'm probably on an island, here. Not suggesting pitchers don't need to get stretched back out, but I'd have Abel in the majors for his 2-3 inning build-up appearances as well. More innings from your best players is always a good thing. We get A LOT of terrible 2-3 inning stretches from our pitchers... in fact we have whole bullpen games built around it.

The beauty of doing it in the minor leagues is that the results don't really matter, so you can do whatever the hell you want.

Even though many people are calling 2026 a lost season, the results still DO matter and being able to schedule out exactly Mick Abel throwing 50 pitches, then 5 days later throwing 65 pitches it just more difficult to ensure and the MLB level. 

Doable? Yes. But more difficult. 

 

[Possumlad]

22 minutes ago, amjgt said:

The beauty of doing it in the minor leagues is that the results don't really matter, so you can do whatever the hell you want.

Even though many people are calling 2026 a lost season, the results still DO matter and being able to schedule out exactly Mick Abel throwing 50 pitches, then 5 days later throwing 65 pitches it just more difficult to ensure and the MLB level. 

Doable? Yes. But more difficult. 

 

This is a good good point. I'm modifying my opinion to include only position players. Retaining the right to be pissed off later this year when Jeffers spends 10 days mashing in AAA while CaraJackson flail away in the majors.

[ashbury]

4 hours ago, Possumlad said:

I'm modifying my opinion 

This is not allowed here.  The site Moderators will be in touch with you shortly.  😁