Tyler Mahle out for at least a month; Alex Kirilloff activated but sent to Saints

Tyler Mahle is injured and Alex Kirilloff isn't, the Twins announced Sunday, but neither will be on the big-league roster for awhile.

X-rays and a magnetic resonance imaging test revealed damage in Mahle's pitching elbow that will take at least a month to heal, the team said. He will be placed on the 15-day injured list before the Twins' next game Tuesday, and a replacement, presumably righthander Louie Varland, will be called up from Class AAA St. Paul to take his spot in the rotation on Wednesday against the White Sox.

Kirilloff, meanwhile, will be with the Saints, as he has been for the past two weeks, but with a difference. His rehab assignment has officially expired, forcing the Twins to activate him from the major league injured list, which they did Sunday night.

But doubts about his right wrist remain, after surgery was necessary each of the past two summers, so the team chose to option him to St. Paul until they are certain he's ready for promotion.

"We need to get him out there and get a ton of at-bats, and get him swinging the bat real well," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said earlier in April. "Hopefully he can give us some things to think about."

At least to some extent, Kirilloff is waiting for a roster spot to open. The Twins outfield is already crowded, with Michael A. Taylor, Trevor Larnach, Max Kepler, Nick Gordon and Joey Gallo vying for playing time, and Gallo has become the primary first baseman, with Donovan Solano backing him up. Byron Buxton has been a full-time DH. Larnach, Kepler and Gallo are all lefthanded hitters like Kirilloff, so there's no urgent need for another.

The Twins are probably also wary of using Kirilloff until the 2016 first-round pick proves that the workload of playing every day won't cause his wrist injury to flare anew. The 25-year-old batted only .178 over his final 13 games in 2021, as he tried to play through pain, and he hit .194 in his final 11 games last season when the pain returned.

Mahle, meanwhile, had hoped the soreness he felt during his start against the Royals on Thursday was minor, perhaps some elbow inflammation. Initially, in fact, he said he didn't think it would cost him a start.

But after reviewing the MRI, the righthander was diagnosed with, technically, a flexor pronator strain and posterior elbow impingement.

"He's going to be down and resting for four weeks," Baldelli said, "and then he's going to be re-evaluated at that point."

It's a blow to the Twins, whose rotation has ranked as the AL's second-best after the first month, but which already lost Kenta Maeda to an elbow injury last week. Mahle made five starts and had posted a 3.16 ERA, with 28 strikeouts and only five walks.

Bailey Ober has already been recalled to fill Maeda's spot, and Varland, who made a start in Yankee Stadium in mid-April, appears the logical choice to replace Mahle.

• The Saints' series finale at Rochester was canceled because of rain. The teams won't make up the game.