The Minnesota Twins have placed Kenta Maeda on the 15-day injured list with a triceps injury and will shut down Tyler Mahle after he experienced a posterior impingement in his elbow during his last start against the Kansas City Royals.
Maeda returned to the mound after undergoing Tommy John surgery in Sept. 2021 but his season has been filled with setbacks. After leaving a Apr. 20 start against the Boston Red Sox after taking a 111 mph line drive off his ankle, Maeda left his last start after allowing 10 runs in three innings in a 12-6 loss to the New York Yankees on Wednesday afternoon.
The right-hander underwent an MRI after experiencing arm soreness but the exam revealed no structural damage and the Twins are planning on treating the injury similar to a muscle strain. In four starts this season, Maeda has an 0-4 record with a 9.00 ERA.
Mahle has been more effective but lasted just four innings and 66 pitches in the Twins’ 7-1 win over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night. Twins trainer Nick Paparesta told the Star Tribune’s Jerry Zgoda the issue isn’t related to the shoulder issues that ended Mahle’s season a year ago but the Twins will evaluate Mahle over the next 48-to-72 hours before making a decision on whether to place him on the injured list.
In five starts this season, Mahle is 1-2 with a 3.16 ERA.
To replace Maeda on the roster, the Twins have called up Bailey Ober from Triple-A St. Paul. The right-hander had an excellent spring and allowed one run over 5.2 innings in a 3-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Apr. 23.
Ober will make the start on Saturday as the Twins continue their four-game series against the Royals.
