CLEVELAND – Kenta Maeda became the latest Twins player to go on the injured list, with manager Rocco Baldelli announcing Sunday that the righthander has a right adductor strain.
Maeda will go on the 10-day IL with a 2-2 record and 5.27 ERA through nine starts after his 2020 AL Cy Young runner-up campaign. Infielder Nick Gordon arrived in Cleveland shortly before Sunday's game to join the Twins from Class AAA St. Paul.
Maeda pitched Saturday but abruptly left ahead of the sixth inning with groin tightness, something that had bothered him since his previous start. While Maeda and Baldelli have emphasized how this is an issue the pitcher has dealt with and played through before, it's apparently not as palatable as once thought.
"What we're really dealing with is a mild strain," Baldelli said, adding Maeda usually wraps the area tightly to continue playing. "… His velo [Saturday], it was 87, 88 [miles per hour] at times, up to probably 90. But the velocity's down, and he even mentioned he had to come up with a few adjustments with this split … things he was doing to compensate. We don't want him compensating. We want him to be able to go out there and pitch."
Baldelli said Randy Dobnak, who made his first start Friday in place of the injured Michael Pineda, will slot into Maeda's spot in the rotation. Pineda went on the 10-day list Wednesday after having a cyst removed from his thigh. Lefthander Devin Smeltzer went on the IL May 12 because of left elbow inflammation, and reliever Shaun Anderson entered onto the list the day before Pineda because of a left quad strain.
Injuries abound
Center fielder Byron Buxton has been out since May 7 because of a right hip strain. Besides the players on the IL, the Twins have several others at varying levels of availability. Luis Arraez, who hurt his shoulder Saturday trying to steal second, again played through the entire game Sunday. But Nelson Cruz and Jorge Polanco again did not.
Cruz, hit in the wrist by a pitch in Thursday's doubleheader against the Angels, was able to swing Sunday but still felt pain on his follow-through. Polanco won't test anything out with his ankle injury until Monday, though he did receive a cortisone injection Saturday.
"Our guys are in the middle of a season, following a year in which we played 60 games. I think guys' bodies are reacting differently across baseball right now to what's going on," Baldelli said. "And I think we're going to see more of what we've experienced this year. … I don't foresee the injuries curtailing or especially not spiking downward."
