What the Heck Should Minnesota Twins Do with Bailey Ober?

As a guy who wants Ober to succeed, I think that he may need a stint on the 15 day IL to potentially set himself right. He can rest that left hip and maybe work on some mechanical issues while doing so. Or worst case scenario, we gotta send him down to be able to work on some things while down there. But I don't really have much faith the in coaching/mechanical team at that level as our starters we've gotten from them haven't really been working out (Zebby, Festa, SWR).

Agree on the 15-day IL. We’d probably have to call up Adams or Urena. Don’t see anyone else viable at St. Paul.
Pitching and working through it at the MLB level isn’t good for Ober or the Twins. 

13 minutes ago, mac098 said:

As a guy who wants Ober to succeed, I think that he may need a stint on the 15 day IL to potentially set himself right. He can rest that left hip and maybe work on some mechanical issues while doing so. Or worst case scenario, we gotta send him down to be able to work on some things while down there. But I don't really have much faith the in coaching/mechanical team at that level as our starters we've gotten from them haven't really been working out (Zebby, Festa, SWR).

I had very high expectations for Ober this season, but obviously his performance has been very disappointing. What you suggested makes a lot of sense. Maybe some rest and/or a stay on the IL will be beneficial for both him and the Twins.

A baseball coach growing up likened pitching to a golf swing: on any given pitch/swing, there are so many variables that can be off that one small thing can make a huge difference in the outcome. That being said, if Ober's hip is bothering him regardless of whether or not it is "affecting his pitching" I would argue he should still be shut down for a short while and have a healing restart. Because trying to push through it clearly isn't working.

Right now I think he needs to take one for the team and work on it in the big leagues. They don't have anyone better to use.

If there is an injury concern he should be on the IL. Rest the hip and then get a full rehab in AAA. If there isn’t an injury then Pete Maki has to earn his pay and find a fix.

22 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Right now I think he needs to take one for the team and work on it in the big leagues. They don't have anyone better to use.

IMO, this is the only response that makes sense. Skipping 2 or possibly three starts are going to fix the problem? or going to the minor leagues? 

No matter how I tried to manipulate the rotation (on paper) between now and the All-Star break, Ober's spot comes up twice, though he can be pushed back a day each time by keeping Ryan and Paddack on regular rest and bumping SWR (once) and Festa (twice) back a day.

The two Ober starts would fall on the 5th, followed by Ryan on the 6th, and the 12th, preceded by Ryan on the 11th. A BP game on the 5th, while not ideal, could be done, hoping Ryan goes 7 on the 6th, the team has a day off on the 7th. Ober's start on the 12th would precede SWR on the 13th, the last game before the All-Star break, though I guess they could piggy-back SWR and Festa (on 3 days rest) and possibly not need the bullpen that day.  

The team could run a man short on the pitching staff and bring up a position player or bring up a AAA reliever(s) for two weeks and throw 2 BP games, they could spot start whoever they feel gives them the best shot to compete for two starts, or they could use the days off to maximize Ober's days off between starts. Tough choice's each...

Something needs to happen before this gets any worse. IL stint or AAA stint for awhile. Problem is, this pitching pipeline we've been sold on doesn't exist. The best option would be Adams who hasn't thrown more than 4 innings at a time. Next in line would be C Lewis, Raya or Dobnak, all of whom have era's over 7. Can you imagine how hard they'll be hit in the majors if they're getting shelled this bad in St Paul? The only other option are the two waiver wire guys Urius or Gilliapie, or however you spell them. These guys aren't going to solve any problems but if it's just a matter of covering a few starts to get Ober right, it might be worth it. Kyle Gibson is still available for the league minimum......

I'm on the ":send him to the IL to try and get right" train. The hip is an issue, but he mostly needs a re-set, and he's not really going to get the opportunity in MLB if he's getting his brains bashed in. This is easily the worst he's been in MLB and it almost doesn't matter what the issue is at this point: use the IL to get him a break and cite the hip. Give him some time to get a mental and physical break, and then work on the mechanics and give him a rehab start or two and let's try this against after the all-star break.

Give Adams a shot. Even if he gets his brains kicked in (and he might not), it'll be valuable experience for him, and frankly he might give the team a better chance to get a win right now.

Ober's been a good pitcher. I'm not letting a rotten month wipe all of that out. He needs to be protected from himself right now and the team needs him to work on things away from the rotation. It sucks that Pablo, Matthews, and Morris are hurt right now and Raya & Lewis aren't ready, but letting Ober give up moonshots isn't the answer either.

Give Adams a shot, see if he has a future. Give Dobnak a look; he can certainly chew up some innings (did a good job coming in for Ober in a game Ober shouldn't have started in the first place).

What to do with Ober  ???

Have him throw as a lefthander 😅 ...

Seriously I don't think anyone really knows , they keep trotting him out every fifth day and the results haven't been good ...

Does he have an injury or not , that is the question  , if he did wouldn't you think management would use that excuse on his ineffectiveness that he's pitching through an injury  ...

Barring pitching through injury, they are pot-committed to Ober, especially with no AAA depth at the moment.

I agree with other posts here: IL stint seems logical right now. The Twins are about 2 weeks away from throwing in the towel on the season, looking towards the future seems the best choice here.

I vote we use that last option on him and send him down thru the All Star Break to work out the kinks.  Bring up Dobnak (who is bad, but is he worse than the current version of Ober?) - but at least he did look ok in his one MLB appearance this year.  He would have maybe 2 starts?  Short term pain with a possible passing grade for hopefully a long term better looking Ober post all star game break.  

I have texted from the beginning that our rotation is fragile. I'm not in the camp of keep overextending & playing our hurt players no matter what. For our SPs & RPs that means injury & many non-quality innings. I advocated limited innings by incorporating a rotating long RPs & spot SP roles. Ober had a sore hip early, was sick as a dog his 1st outing & compounded by death threats, yet he hasn't missed a turn. IMO, he should have been put on the IL to begin the season until his hip & mechanics are good.

Lopez has been our strongest SP & he has become our 1st casualty. As soon as Lopez went down, we should have immediately filled that void with an outside-inning-eating SP while maintaining the routine I suggested, so we can put Ober on the IL & try to keep our other pitchers healthy & pitching quality innings.

I mean, the season is lost at this point so the Twins have a few options, all of which have been discussed here. Here they are in order of my preference. 

1. Just keep rolling him out there. Let him work it out and eat innings. 

2. Give him a break by putting him on the IL. I don't really like this because he's not really injured. He's just struggling. 

3. Send 'em down. This could be mentally deflating for the guy, or it could be a major motivator. It seems the most risky option, but maybe has the highest upside. 

Shut him down for the year. Twins aren't going anywhere this year and having him and Pablo healthy for 2026 is far more important. 

"Though he doesn’t think it’ll result in a trip to the injured list, Bailey Ober acknowledged knee and hip discomfort is playing a part in mechanical issues that have resulted in reduced fastball velocity" - Dan Hayes, the Athletic

I had to go look up the exact quote that was used in the article as there seems to be a game of telephone being played to separate the two issues from each other.  If this quote is to be believed, then yes, he has knee AND hip discomfort AND it's affecting his mechanics.  I'm no doctor, nor pretend to be, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn last night so take my opinion for what you paid for it.  I suspect that the Twins staff already know the timetable it would actually take for Ober to come back to 100% and its likely season-ending (think Topa last year or Tonkin this year).  As many of us have commented, there are no more quality arms in St. Paul to bring up and I'm also suspecting that the FO also knows this but aren't willing to waive the white flag yet and put Ober on the IL or subject the pitchers in St. Paul to a task they aren't ready for yet.  With that being said, Ober should be put on the IL because continually tweaking with his mechanics to match his pain level serves no one.  It doesn't serve the team now and won't serve him later and will be used against him when it comes to arbitration negotiations in the upcoming offseason.

That brings us to what we should do?  If my suspicion is correct and the eventual fix is some form of season-ending surgery, but Ober can pitch through it until then, I'm unsure the FO will make a change until they decide they are out of the playoff race and then he will magically have season-ending surgery.  It's not uncommon for athletes to have nagging injuries that they play through that restricts their movement or their abilities. Again, using Correa's own plantar fasciitis as an example that wouldn't be fixed until after the season, but could be played through with proper treatment.  I do believe this is why they signed Gillespie, to eventually take over for an IL stint from Ober or a Paddack trade as a rotation placeholder until the arms from St. Paul improves enough to be given a chance at the ML level.  One final idea would be to use Adams with an opener.  Difference between Adams and the pitchers they have tried the opener idea on (SWR and Festa) is that Adams is used to coming into the middle of a game as they are currently piggy backing him with Raya.  Raya gets the start and Adams gets the 6-9th innings.  

To me, his stuff always looked hittable, but he has managed to be successful in spite of appearances. Maybe he has to adopt the Joe Ryan mantra of pitching inside when things are not working.

Were there not rumors of death threats against him and his family...some crazed gamblers?

If the Twins want to model integrity, this is the move:

Pull him. Shield him. Give him space.

If it’s physical, treat it.

If it’s mental, support it.

If it’s mechanical, rebuild it.