Following Brush with Cancer this Spring, Former Twins Reliever Tyler Duffey Feeling Good

ST. PAUL–He got famous with a fierce, high-spin curveball, but this spring, life threw him one. Tyler Duffey has had a strong go-around with the Kansas City Royals Triple-A affiliate Omaha Storm Chasers, following a month-long stretch with the big-league club from Apr. 22 to May 20. 

Duffey had mixed results over nine games for the Royals in those 28 days, allowing five earned runs in nine innings of work, but he avoided giving up any home runs. 

Four days after his last outing on an MLB mound, Duffey was designated for assignment by the Royals, as they reactivated fellow right-handed reliever Carlos Hernández from the 15-day injured list. Duffey cleared waivers and remained in the organization. While it was a bit of a downer, it was far from the most alarming thing on his mind this season: he faced a cancer diagnosis a week into Spring Training.

“We got there and had our physicals and it was just a general check,” Duffey said. “I mentioned I had a little freckle up here (his left shoulder) that didn’t look normal, and the doctor looked at it and said, “Yeah, it’s not great.” They (the Royals team doctor) got me in good hands, and within five days I had it seen, got a biopsy, and then a week later they said it had to be taken out.”

Fortunately for Duffey, the freckle that Royals team doctors identified as melanoma was identified at an early stage. An additional plus on the baseball side was that it wasn’t on his throwing shoulder. The treatment still set him back in Spring Training, as he had around 40 stitches in his shoulder to help heal the wound. But it was a short detour Duffey was happy to have, to avoid long-term health issues.

“It was definitely a shock to the system. I showed up to Spring Training ready to go and felt great, but I literally couldn’t play catch for about 10 days. Thank God I was in the right place to talk to the right doctor and got ahead of it,” Duffey reflected. 

Unfortunately, this is not the first time Duffey has had to face down this enemy. Both his parents, Tim and Shanna, battled and died of cancer. Shanna Duffey was diagnosed with breast cancer when Tyler was still a student at Rice University, and died from blood clot complications related thereto in 2012. Tim Duffey, like his son, was diagnosed with melanoma, and died from the cancer in 2021, when Tyler was still with the Twins. 

Having lost both his parents to different types of cancer, Duffey has been especially grateful toward the Royals organization for their care, as well as the endless support from his wife and his brother Travis.

“From the get-go, they were taking care of me great, anything I needed, things like that. Fast-forward, here we are, my family has been traveling with me and I’m enjoying that,” said Duffey. 

Duffey conspicuously covered up head to toe in pre-game workouts at CHS Field last week when the Storm Chasers played the St. Paul Saints, with leggings and long sleeves. His diagnosis has had teammates throughout the organization asking them about how it was identified and what they can do to avoid a similar (or even more severe) diagnosis down the road. 

After going through what he did this spring, Duffey has been more open to the whims of the game than ever. Since being outrighted to Omaha, he has 16 solid outings out of the Storm Chasers bullpen, posting a 2.11 ERA in 21 ⅓ innings, along with 24 strikeouts and only six walks. 

“It’s a joke that I have with a lot of these guys, that if I had the 99 MPH like a lot of these guys have I wouldn’t be fun for anyone to face. But I get to go in and show them it can be done without it. If I can do that, hopefully, what I’m tinkering here and there, shaping pitches things like that--as we all are,” Duffey said on his performance of late. 

The end of his tenure with the Twins wasn’t a happy send-off, as he pitched his final game with the franchise nearly two years ago. Duffey always has a bittersweet time returning to Minnesota--even if it’s at a ballpark he never called ‘home’.

“It’s a homecoming, but the irony is I never played here. Everybody on the team’s like ‘Oh you played in St. Paul,’ and no, we were in Rochester, New York, that was where I played Triple-A with the Twins.”

There are fewer former teammates with the Saints this time around, compared to when he last threw at CHS Field on Apr. 8, 2023. Despite that, there’s still a plethora of familiar faces across the International League.

“The International League is littered with Twins guys and Royals guys, and everything for that matter. So it's a tight-knit group and there’s always so many of us around, and there’s only so much you get to control up in the big leagues," Duffey said. "So it's a brotherhood that is unique to itself and I’m definitely appreciative of that.”

Every player in the International League is still itching to get their first opportunity in the majors, or to return there, as Duffey is currently doing with the Royals organization. The additions of Michael Lorenzen and Lucas Erceg at the trade deadline have put a couple more names ahead of Duffey in the pecking order of who will be up in their MLB bullpen.

“Staying here, I thought was my best bet," Duffey said about accepting his assignment. "They gave me an opportunity, so why not keep trying to roll with that? And it’s a great group of guys here, that’s what makes it fun to do this. Our pitching coaches are great, they’ve been around the game for a long time and little stuff like that matters to a guy like me, who’s just trying to be comfortable somewhere and get another chance and so far, so good.”

But none of that is a major concern for him. Duffey is happy to be where he is, and making the most of it, following the cancer scare. He hopes acting on it early will not only give him more years to keep throwing, but many more to spend with his friends and family both on and off the field.