Twins Pitcher Injury Round-Up: Mick Abel, Mike Paredes, and Joe Ryan

[Lucas Seehafer PT]

Image courtesy of Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins, like many other teams across MLB, are no stranger to pitcher injuries, and, unfortunately, they became even more familiar recently. Starting pitcher Mick Abel was ruled out for the remainder of the season after undergoing an arthroscopic elbow procedure; spot starter Mike Paredes suffered a Grade 2 oblique strain before Saturday’s game against the Athletics; and All-Star Joe Ryan skipped his scheduled turn in the rotation with the ever-nebulous arm fatigue.

Mick Abel
Abel had a strong start to the 2026 season, posting a 2.77 FIP with 23 strikeouts in 20 ⅓ innings pitched, before he was shut down with what was believed to be a relatively minor elbow injury in mid-April. (Note: There is no such thing as a “relatively minor” elbow injury in baseball pitchers.) He eventually underwent an arthroscopic procedure in late June that will ultimately end his season.

Generally, arthroscopic procedures are considered minimally invasive, as the incisions are small and few instruments are needed to perform it. Damaged tissue such as frayed cartilage, bone spurs, and/or “loose bodies”—pieces of bone and/or cartilage suspended in the joint—are trimmed and removed, and rehabilitation begins within a couple of days. Rehab focuses on re-establishing full range of motion and reducing swelling before moving on to forearm and rotator cuff strengthening and (eventually) a gradual throwing program. On average, MLB pitchers return from arthroscopic elbow surgeries in 5-6 months, with 12% going on to eventually suffer a UCL injury within five years of the procedure, which is approximately the same rate as control comparisons.

While Abel may not resume throwing on a mound until October, he should be all systems go by spring training—assuming spring training begins on time. It's bad news for this year, but when you lose a pitcher to an elbow issue in April and they eventually need surgery, this is one of the best possible outcomes.

Mike Paredes
While his numbers are unassuming—4.72 ERA, 5.67 FIP, 3.9% K-BB%—Paredes filled a need. He delivered 34 innings of coverage for a Twins team that has, at times, been desperate for any effective pitching they could get. In his five starts, the club went 3-2. However, it’s possible he has thrown his last pitch for the summer.

Oblique strains are relatively common in baseball. The muscle group’s primary job is to forcefully rotate the trunk. Grade 2 strains are considered moderate, and generally speaking, it takes approximately 4-8 weeks for them to heal. Previous research reported that MLB pitchers missed, on average, 35 days due to oblique injuries, but this data was published in 2012, when pitchers carried very different loads.

Paredes's return-to-play timeline, therefore, falls anywhere between the end of August (in a best-case scenario) and the end of September, with the Twins’ final regular-season game scheduled for September 27. While the Twins probably wouldn’t carry Paredes on their playoff roster even if he were healthy, they’ll miss his plug-and-play ability over the coming weeks, even if his underlying numbers suggest he was over his skis. 

Joe Ryan
For all intents and purposes, Ryan’s injury—deemed arm fatigue, as of this writing—seems relatively inconsequential. Ryan, according to The Athletic’s Dan Hayes and other reporters on the scene, threw a bullpen session Saturday and is expected to make his next start against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.

It’s not uncommon for pitchers to experience episodes of dead arm, in which velocity drops and the arm “feels heavy” or tires more quickly. That can happen without any underlying orthopedic mechanism. It’s a long season, and sometimes a pitcher’s arm just needs a little extra rest. Unless and until there is another setback or more information put forth, this doesn’t seem to be an issue to worry about.

The combination of Abel's and Paredes’s injuries, in particular, places increased pressure on the Twins front office to add pitching depth at the trade deadline. With no clear starting pitcher options waiting in the wings at Triple-A and Kendrys Rojas averaging less than four innings per start, it would behoove general manager Jeremy Zoll and company to add a back-end starter or a long reliever who can provide a spot start when needed, such as Pittsburgh’s Carmen Mlodzinski—3.62 FIP, 10.8% K-BB%—or Arizona’s Eduardo Rodríguez—4.16 FIP, 8.3% K-BB%. Here are their capsules from our DiamondCentric Top Trade Candidates ranking:

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Carmen Mlodzinski, Pirates

RHP  Age: 27 FA: Nov 2029 Sal: $807k

There’s no truth to the rumor that, after each of Bubba Chandler’s NL-leading 52 walks through the end of the 4th of July weekend, Mlodzinski leaned toward a teammate and said in a stage whisper out of the side of his mouth, “I could have done that\!” It’s not a whole lot better than that between the Pirates and their least famous first-round pick-turned-homegrown starter, though. Mlodzinski was unofficially suspended for a day earlier this season for initially refusing a move to the bullpen. He’s strung together several scoreless multi-inning appearances in relief since accepting the change in role, but that doesn’t mean he’s happy about it. He has a starter’s arsenal and a starter’s mindset, and his career numbers mark him as a credible back-end starter even on a contending team. It wouldn’t be surprising at all to see Pittsburgh cash him in for something with more long-term utility, and Mlodzinski is the rare player who should appeal heavily even to teams without 2026 playoff hopes.

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Eduardo Rodríguez, Diamondbacks

LHP  Age: 33 FA: Nov 2027 Sal: $21m

Very much a get-you-there guy, Rodríguez will have fans of any acquiring team sweating bullets if he ends up starting a game in the postseason. He’s done so before, but the track record is poor, and he last appeared in October five years ago. His results look good this season, and there’s some genuine craftiness fueling his resurgence, but he’s not missing bats the way he did even in an ostensibly worse 2025. For teams who need a durable back-end starter and have cash to spend, though, he could be an interesting pickup. As the Diamondbacks circle the drain in the NL Wild Card race, they might be happy to get out from under another $25 million owed to Rodríguez after this season—so much so that they’d give him to the right buyer practically for free.

It doesn't seem like Abel or Paredes can help the 2026 Twins down the stretch. But if their absence prompts the team to add more quality depth options who can bolster the staff for 2027, the team can still survive the grind now—and improve in the future, too. Injuries are the worst part of baseball, but they also create some valuable opportunities, roster-wise.

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[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

I think lengthening out Anderson will be the next guy up for the starting rotation is my guess.  

[Sjoski]

Where is Austin Voth when you need him? ( spot starter vs Dodgers)

Update: DFA by Twins.  Picked up and DFA'D by Rangers.  Now in South Korea, with the Samsung Lions of the KBO League.

[ashbury]

1 hour ago, Hawkeye Bean Counter said:

I think lengthening out Anderson will be the next guy up for the starting rotation is my guess.  

Lengthening didn't work out so well with his prior team.  A glance through his AAA game logs (and it wasn't systematic so I may have missed something) suggested that the damage would start to occur during his third inning of work and after.

I'm very intrigued whether he could turn into something resembling lights out in one-inning stints.  I know we are starved for starters, but we could use bullpen help too.

[Mike Sixel]

Thanks for this!

[HarmonK03]

Maybe start giving more length to Rozek and Gallagher in St. Paul, quit holding them to 4 innings and 70 pitchers.  Until they get rid of the bulk pitcher nonsense we are going to have issues with depth when injuries occur like this year.  And I am not saying Gallagher is ready to be up hear but sometimes you have to prepare.

[bjorks]

OMG! Is that Chris Paddock's music?!?!?

Trevor Bauer looks good on YouTube, at least he did against former pro Eric Simm.

I do find it a bit odd nobody has connected Peralta to Twins since they supposedly kicked the tires on him previously. 

[mrguy]

3 minutes ago, bjorks said:

OMG! Is that Chris Paddock's music?!?!?

I do find it a bit odd nobody has connected Peralta to Twins since they supposedly kicked the tires on him previously. 

would make sense if the Mets are going to go sell mode, but at the same time, I think the spots twins have the most enticing pieces to trade away like outfield prospects are kind of locked up in New York for a long time