With all of the trauma that the Minnesota Twins franchise has experienced over the past couple of seasons, you would think a bright sun would come out and provide them with a little peace this spring. But the baseball gods are not in a forgiving mood, and since the start of training camp, the team has been beset with a series of injuries to key performers.

Some of these injuries are season-ending (Pablo Lopez), some could fester into something more serious (David Festa), and some are nuisance injuries (Joe Ryan) that slow down a player’s preparedness for the season. Throw in a couple of chronic offenders (Royce Lewis and Walter Jenkins), and you’re left with a team waiting for the next shoe to drop.

Twins Pitching Staff in Tatters

The Twins experienced just one full day of injury-free baseball at the start of this season. After two pitches thrown on the second day of camp, Lopez felt pain in his throwing elbow and left the field to have X-rays taken of the area.

A few days later, it was announced that he had torn an elbow ligament that would require season-ending “Tommy John Surgery.” After Lopez missed half of the 2025 season with shoulder and forearm strains, Minnesota would once again be hitting the field for an extended period of time without the ace of its staff.

Next up for the Twins was Joe Ryan, who has also battled a number of injuries the past couple of years. But with Lopez gone for the year and Joe coming off an All-Star season, it was hoped that Ryan would step up and have a career year. And he still might. However, in the meantime, he is currently sidelined with a minor back injury suffered sometime before his initial start of the preseason. It is hoped that he will be ready for opening day.

Finally, hard-throwing David Festa, who was fighting for the final spot in the rotation, was diagnosed with a shoulder impingement last Thursday and will be sidelined until well past Opening Day. This is a double whammy for the Twins because if Festa was unable to secure a spot in the rotation, he was expected to pitch in long relief to eat up innings to aid a thin bullpen.

Not Again

Now we come to two young, talented performers who just can’t seem to stay on the field: Royce Lewis and Walter Jenkins. Lewis’ multitude of injuries since he joined the Twins’ organization is well documented, so there is no need to rehash that history. During the winter, he altered his workout, focusing on exercises to help him avoid the soft-tissue injuries that have stunted his career progress. But on the same day Festa reported his injury, Lewis was scratched from the lineup with tightness in his right side.

The MRI came back negative, but he is still listed as day-to-day, and the Twins are hopeful he will be back in the lineup when the season starts. And that groan you hear from the Twins’ offices is the recognition that star prospect, outfielder Walter Jenkins, has suffered another injury that will keep him out of the lineup. Jenkins arrived at the park yesterday with a sore hamstring, which was later diagnosed as a grade 1 left hamstring strain.

Jenkins, who is scheduled to start the season with the Triple-A Saint Paul Saints, was being counted on to give the team a lift sometime after the All-Star Game. He will most likely be sidelined for the remainder of spring training with the injury, but Twins manager Derek Shelton refused to provide a timeline for his return.

Moving On

For a team that is predicted to struggle all season, the Twins can only hope that their injured players return to the lineup as quickly as possible. Manager Shelton will already have a difficult time juggling an overmatched roster, and any delay in the return of these key players will only compound his miseries.