Some injury news as the Twins prepare to face the Phillies today.
Lefthander Ryan O'Rourke had a MRI on his elbow yesterday after reporting symptoms following his outing on Thursday against the Cardinals. The good news is that the area is structurally sound. The bad news is that he does have a strain of the flexor pronator mass near his elbow and will be shut down from throwing for seven to 10 days.
The flexor pronator mass, located in the forearm near the elbow, helps stabilize the elbow during actions like throwing.
Twins GM Thad Levine said that O'Rourke likely will start the season on the disabled list. FYI, the 15-day DL has been replaced by the 10-day DL.
Two things to keep in mind about O'Rourke's injury. One, he's been trying to perfect a forkball this spring, which puts strain on the forearm/elbow. Two, he's been working out with weighted balls since the offseason. He reported to camp in excellent shape.
This is a noteworthy development in the race to make the Twins bullpen as a lefthanded reliever. O'Rourke was in a battle with Craig Breslow, Buddy Boshers and Taylor Rogers for two spots. Many believe that Rogers has a leg up in the battle and it's down to the other three for the second spot. O'Rourke has been a hammer against lefthanded hitters but has been nailed by righthanders, which is likely the reason he was working on a forkball.
There is a report that Breslow has been placed on the 40-man roster today, but Levine would neither confirm nor deny that.
The way things are headed, the Twins will have to add at least three players to the 40-man before they break camp. Two spots will be made by placing Glen Perkins and Trevor May on the 60-day DL. And they might have to expose a couple players to waivers to get them off the 40-man so they add someone like Ryan Vogelsong, ByungHo Park, Chris Gimenez or Nick Tepesch to the roster.
