The Major League Baseball season is just over 50 games old and the Minnesota Twins have already watched their big offseason starting pitcher acquisition land on the injured list twice.
Sonny Gray, who has a 2.41 ERA and is holding opponents to a .187 batting average in seven starts this season, was placed on the injured list Thursday to allow him time to recover from a right pectoral strain.
Gray appeared to sustain the injury during his start Sunday against the Kansas City Royals. His placement on the injured list is retroactive to Monday, so he’ll be eligible to return to the starting rotation June 14.
Gray’s first appearance on the injured list came after he left his April 16 start against the Boston Red Sox with a hamstring issue. That kept him out of the rotation for three weeks.
Since returning May 7, Gray made five starts and allowed a total of five earned runs in 27.1 innings, while striking out 34 batters and allowing only seven walks and one home run.
To replace Gray on the big-league roster, the Twins called up right-handed reliever Yennier Cano. Meanwhile, Joe Ryan remains on the COVID injured list, so the only healthy starters currently on the roster are Chris Archer, Bailey Ober, Dylan Bundy and Devin Smeltzer, who took Ryan’s spot in the rotation.
The Twins have not yet announced he will replace Gray in Friday’s series opener at Toronto.
