Neshek to have MRI on his elbow Tuesday
Posted on November 10th, 2008 – 4:40 PMBy Joe Christensen
Twins reliever Pat Neshek will undergo a magnetic resonance imaging exam on his right elbow Tuesday after experiencing discomfort during his throwing program last week in Fort Myers, Fla., General Manager Bill Smith said.
Neshek, 28, injured the elbow May 9 in Chicago and missed the rest of the season. He had an MRI at the time and was diagnosed with an acute partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament. The Twins recommended that he rehab the injury instead of having surgery.
Neshek began his throwing program in September and had hoped to be back to 100 percent by spring training. Smith said Neshek felt something in the elbow after throwing a pitch last week. Neshek traveled to the Twin Cities today and will be examined Tuesday by Dr. Dan Buss.
Neshek is 11-5 with a 2.91 ERA in 121 career appearances with the Twins and has held opposing hitters to a .188 batting average.
Neshek has given occasional updates on his rehab progress on his blog. The last one came Oct. 19:
Everything is still going as planned…About a week from today I will be throwing off the mound and a week after that I will be mixing in my slider. I’m pretty sure things will go well since I haven’t had a problem since I hurt my arm back in May. If everything goes well I will be finishing up my throwing/rehab program on Nov 14th.
68 Responses to "Neshek to have MRI on his elbow Tuesday"
not good
This isn’t good at all. Now we really need to be looking for a top notch reliever.
Agreed. He is very important to the Twins success next year. Hopefully this is nothing big.
maybe he should be seeking the advice of Dr james andrews
UH! I wondered why they did not have him get the TJ surgery last spring. He could be set back a long long time.
Matt Holliday was traded to the A’s. I wonder if they got any outfielders in return…
I have to agree with Laura on this one. I kind of thought this might happen. I’m always a bit skeptical when a pitcher has this kind of injury and they choose to go the “Give it rest” route over Surgery.
Carlos Gonzalez was apparently traded. CF if I believe.
Given Neshek’s unorthodox delivery was a result of an injury to begin with, they should have been planning all along to not count on him for the role had been in earlier, next year. He’ll have to prove healthy and reliable in the same manner Liriano did.
Yes this is disspointing but with this announcement it’s ever more certain the Twins should move one of their starters and/or Boof/Humber. They can’t afford to carry a bunch of long guys in the pen with the same bullpen for next year. Boof/Humber are out of options and the other 5 could start for most if not all MLB teams…
Yes - I hear that Dr. Strangelove is also available - he is the “bomb”
He is fast and should be a good fit in Coors Field
I cannot believe that Boof is still on this team!!! There are others that should have and should be moved - with no reservations!!! What is wrong with these idiots! SFB!!!!
He should of done Tommy John surgery
we may have to get used to him not here, just as we did last year and thats disappointing, and sounds like huston is part of that steal oakland made…my god, they have stolen a big bat for alot of unproven talent other than street…too bad twins could not have jumped into that deal in some fashion…..i do believe the easiest area to repair on this team is the bullpen…we have some good AAA arms and some pretty decent trade material if we need…i would still make the blake and hardy moves the most important and then work on the bull pen….damn i do want to see hardy and blake, as i think that would make this team as solid as any in the league…if not hardy, the kid from atlanta, escobar, but i really prefer hardy…i was surprised to see escobar only stole 2 bases…that seems strange, but lets get hardy and blake and then build the pen…..let go of blacky or perkins but not both and no other starters…anyone in AAA can go as far as i am concerned
Whoever is doing the original assessments on the Twins elbows needs to go ASAP! Neshek could have been rehabbing a surgically repaired elbow by now and would be ready by spring training (ie BJ Ryan)
I don’t like the Twins medical staff’s attitude: “Surgery is a last resort.” How many times have we seen guys with structural problems try to rehab their way back only to blow the thing out and require surgery? (Mauer and Liriano come to mind.) Meanwhile the guy loses a half a year. I hope that is not the case here. But why make the guy come back with half a ligament?
What a surprise. A torn ligament won’t heal by itself with rest? I’m shocked!
Honestly, I am a physician, and I was waiting for this news. A wasted 6 months, and he will now miss all of next year, most likely.
Like others have said, WHY DIDN’T HE HAVE SURGERY TO START WITH!
I think it is Street and Atkins to the Twins. Cuddyer and pitching to the Rockies. Likely Perkins and Humber and a third pitcher. Just my guess.
Rick, great call, that was the first thing I thought.
Atkins/Street for Cuddyer/Perkins.
Atkins must have improved his defense. He had less errors than Beltre last year. Found this from his ‘03 minor league scouting report:
“The main question for Atkins is defense. He’s a natural first baseman. He’ll never be more than an average defensive player at the hot corner.He is slow on the bases.”
But you gotta like .286/21hr/99rbi
Mudcat
If the Twins go with Atkins, then defense at short is a must. With the Brewers 2nd base and 3rd base issues, infielders must go back to the Crew.
Could it be Casillo and the Twins sign Hudson?
How about signing Juan Cruz?
Priority #1 - Bullpen help
Priority #2 - Bullpen help
We can lease the Harris/Buscher combo at 3rd base and Punto at short as long as we strenghten the bullpen,
Also, leave our young starting staff intact. Some may have injuries and see what bubbles up from the minor leagues.
Atkins must have improved his defense. He had less errors than Beltre last year. Found this from his ‘03 minor league scouting report:
Errors are awful measure of defensive ability.
MLB article today (11/10/08):
“The club has its nucleus of young starting pitchers intact, a productive lineup that features an abundance of young hitters and one of the best closers in the game. So even if the Twins don’t make any changes this winter, they would still be viewed as a divisional contender.
But as the Hot Stove season gets under way, Twins general manager Bill Smith isn’t exactly content to keep the status quo.
“Our primary concern is to resolve two areas — the infield and the bullpen,” Smith said. “We’ve got some depth in the starting pitching and we’ve got depth in the outfield. So we are looking to resolve those other two areas.”
The left side of the infield appears to be the primary concern for Minnesota. Third base and shortstop are both considered to be unsettled positions, and the expectation is that the Twins are looking to significantly upgrade at least one of those spots.
However, Smith prefers to leave vague the exact positions the club might be targeting this winter.
“I think it’s just the infield in general that we need to address because we’ve got players with versatility,” Smith said. “Brian Buscher and Brendan Harris are certainly viable options at third. But if we get a third baseman, then we can certainly move Harris over to short. If we settle on a shortstop, then we can leave them over at third.
“We have some versatility with those players, and same with Matt Tolbert, and same with Alexi Casilla. That’s why I say we need to resolve the infield more than where we need to replace people. And, of course, some of it depends on what happens with Nick Punto.”
Punto is one of the four free agents that the Twins must address in the coming weeks, along with shortstop Adam Everett and left-handed relievers Dennys Reyes and Eddie Guardado. Punto is of particular interest considering the current hole at shortstop. Re-signing Punto would give the Twins another versatile infield option — one with the ability to play second and third along with shortstop, where he played primarily last season.
Shortstop is certainly a need, but if the Twins had their choice of which spot on the left side to upgrade, it would likely be third base. The club has not had a consistent starter there since Corey Koskie left via free agency following the 2004 season. And securing a right-handed bat with some pop for the corner spot would solve two of the club’s problems. The Twins are looking to add a little more power to their lineup after tallying an American League-low 111 home runs in 2008.
The third-base free-agent market is thin on marquee names but could be suited to the Twins’ style of low-risk, high-reward players. Among the names available are Casey Blake and Joe Crede.
As for free-agent shortstops, it’s mostly a crop of veteran players who can provide value both offensively and defensively despite the majority of the best options being over the age of 30 — including Orlando Cabrera, Rafael Furcal and Edgar Renteria.
The rumor mill involving the Twins has been relatively quiet so far this fall. That includes just which free agents the club might be interested in pursuing. Smith prefers not to get into specifics in regards to who might be on the Twins’ target list, but he acknowledged that the team could look to the free-agent market to fill its holes.
“I think there are certainly players out there that can help us,” Smith said. ”
Well, what do ya think??
The one thing I like about Smith is that in general he keeps quiet about move the club will make.
No reason to show your hand before the cards are on the table.
My bet? Nothing will be done at third base before the Mariners select a manager and the Twins at least kick the tires on Beltre.
discomfort doesn’t mean numbness. usually numbness is the main symptom for having to have TJ surgery. but then again, what do i know. hopefully it’s just something minor, and he’ll be back throwing in 2-4 weeks. at least it’s still only november.
thrylos, i don’t know too many GM’s who go around talking about guys they want/guys they want to give up. usually it’s rumors started by sportswriters and such.
[…] According to Joe Christensen, Pat Neshek has experienced a setback in his rehab down in Ft. Myers. He apparently felt some discomfort in his elbow while pitching. He traveled to the Twin Cities for an MRI and to have it looked at by Dr. Dan Buss who I believe is a Twins doctor. […]
[…] Around the Majors – […]
This does not reflect well on the Twins medical staff especially after the mishandling of Liriano’s elbow injury.
Could have told you this would happen. I questioned the decision to rehab (instead of TJ surgery)from day one. Pat should have known better, because the Twins obviously don’t. They seem to have a nack for mishandling these situations. Now he’s likely out for another season. Not that he was so great to begin with. After his hot start in 2007, he was pretty bad the 2nd half and started out 2008 right where he left off. Pitchers with those wacky deliveries always seem to be initially lights out, but the league catches on to them pretty quick. Hope you have a college degree, Pat.
I was also afraid of this. Rehab instead of surgery. Now adding an arm to the bullpen has become - adding two or more arms to the bullpen.
As far as the left side of the infield - I thinks the Twins are hoping Hughs or Valencia can take over 3b though they are both one or two years away. I don’t think they really have a ss they are counting on in AAA or AA.
I would be nice to see the Twins address one of the two infield spots this off season. If not Buscher/Harris at 3b is adequate and look for Tolbert to play ss. Must resign Punto to be primary backup infielder.
If D Young is still with the team next year the ONLY reason is they were offered nothing for him.
When it comes to our pitchers and their elbows, The Twins better upgrade their medical staff. This thing with Neshek sounds familiar to Francisco in 2006, when he “rested” his arm and then was ready to go, once in Detroit and then against Oakland.
Especially with Neshek’s taxing delivery , they were just delaying the inevitable. Now the bullpen is going to be weak going into the season, because whomever they get for the set-up role will either be very costly or inferior to Neshek 2 years ago.
An as an aside, but still regarding the bullpen, our “evaluators” really blew it this summer when they PASSED ON Latroy Hawkins and Chad Bradford, and ended up with washed up Eddie. I believe Latroy had 20+ consecutive scoreless innings for the AStros and Bradford had an era close to 1.00 The inferences I got was that they didn’t want another submariner close to Neshek, but with
Here are a couple of encouraging signs:
After having a great September, Jose Mijares in 8 games in the Venezuela Winter League has not allowed a run in 7.2 innings, has 10 K, 2 BB, 0.91 WHIP and .200 OBA. At least Reyes’ hole seems to be filled by a probably better player who could grow into the 8th inning role.
Steve Tolleson is tearing up the Arizona Fall league hitting .383/.440/.543 (81 AB) and surely he will be considered at least for a utility position this spring. On the other hand, Danny Valencia’s AFL performance has been discouraging, .226/.208/.290 (91 AB). Also Delaney and Slama have not been doing too hot over there (8.10/1.80 and 4.26/1.89 ERA/WHIP)
Blake/Atkins/Beltre…any one of those would be an excellent upgrade at 3B. If Holliday truly is gone, then that means the Rockies now have an opening in the OF.
Which just happens to be where the Twins have a surplus.
Delmon Young is NOT the one they should trade. Though he struggled in 08, he was still a considerable upgrade from the Tyner/White/Ford platoon of old.
Mauer and Morneau both went through sophomore slumps, and I don’t believe either magically became tradebait because of it.
The only reason people seem so down on Young is because of “The Trade”. Nothing else.
i agree that d.young has huge offensive potential,but beside the fact that he doesnt like to listen to coaching,he already runs and fields like he is in his mid fortys.i think if you were close to the field you could actually hear him groan when he bends over to pick up the ball
Trying to get JJ Hardy would be my first priority this offseason (trade Delmon + a pitcher to get him).
Second, would be a great 8th inning set up man. My vote is Brandon League from the Jays. Having Mijares, League and Nathan to throw mid 90’s at the end of any game could be very imposing to other teams.
We lost some of that imposing swagger from the bullpen in 2008 and need to get it back.
This is worth re-posting. When Herb Score caught a line drive in the face he told Rocky Colavito to get away and score him so more runs!
http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2008/11/former_indians_broadcaster_her.html
I don’t mind the bullpen idea, Fry Dog, but the Brewers have absolutely no need for Delmon Young. They already have Ryan Braun and Corey Hart manning the corner outfield positions, and both are much better players than Delmon at this point.
Even if Neshek is able to start next season healthy, it is iffy if he will be effective. He had already lost some of his effectiveness before the injury. Alot of his success comes from his quirky delivery. But after going through the league a few times, it wears off. This setback might be a blessing in disguise, which forces the Twins to prioritize getting bullpen help now.
You’re right Dome Dog…Brewers don’t need a corner outfielder. Not, do I think Delmon should be one. I think he’s one of the worst leftfielders we’ve had here in years.
My hope is that the Brewers would look at him as a DH plus maybe one of our young pitching arms. Could be a lot to give up, but Hardy could add so much to this team I’d really look at it closely.
Right Walter. Time to move on, it’s gonna be awhile. If he can come back someday like Grant Balfour did, fine, but Twins gotta find some help now.
FryDog,
Why would Brewers need a DH in the national league?
Fry Dog,
The Brewers are an NL team. No DH.
Keep DYoung… he has potential to be a special type hitter in mold of MRamirez. Maybe not, but too early to bail on a 22 y.o. sophomore player who batted .300 …..
also, switch DYoung from LF to RF and put SpanMan into LF. that should fix some of the fielding issues. if he becomes a monster hitter, we will put him at DH and bring up one of our 5 Tooler draft picks.
I think DY should be at DH even if the National League has to make a rule change! LOL!
Trade DY to Brewers as a DH?!?!?! Credibility ruined instantly. If we were able to swing a trade for Hardy it will cost us a couple of arms. If Delmon is traded which I so hope he isn’t it will be to San Diego. Delmon is already one of the better hitters in the leauge when he makes contact. He needs to cut down the K’s and he will be an all-star.
Really bad news. I was very skeptical when they opted not to have surgery last May and now he is likely heading for a Tommy John procedure. The Twins may have to go and get a veteran RH reliever now more than even if Neshek will be out for an extended period.
Can’t trade Delmon now, his value is low. I gotta believe that, at a minimum, his value increases this year even though you lose one year of team control.
Really, Denard is the spare OF whose value is likely highest relative to what I think is his ceiling. I’d hate to lose him but if he can be packaged for a long-term solution to 3B or SS, I gotta listen.
I am amazed at how Delmon Young is viewed on this blog. The guy can flat hit at age 22. You would be absolutely nuts to trade him at this point. The guy is going to be a .300 / 30 HR / 100+ RBI hitter in the near future.
For some reason people have a hard time understanding how rare it is for someone at his age to be hitting in the majors and hitting pretty successfully.
He will be in RF next year where he belongs. He can show off that big arm and won’t have nearly as much room to cover. He is a stiff player, but he has good speed.
Also,re: Delmon.
All indications are that his dad is pragmatic and his brother, Dmitri, is a class guy. Could either be called on to help increase his coachabilty.
Listen, he will always be a free swinger and probably will never improve his “pitch recognition” much. But players can and do learn to improve mastery of the strike zone and count management He has the tools (quick bat, swing mechanics, strength) so relatively slight improvement in those areas could elevate his game considerably.
That is if he will accept coaching.
Save Delmon. Someone up in the Twin Cites needs to paint that on a watertower.
ALL the Delmon hate still sticks in my craw.
Here are some random stats comparing 1st 3 ML years of DY with another Twins Youngster from not long ago.
Mystery Man 306G…1117AB…165R…358H…70 2b… 7 3B…28HR…156RBI…22SB…4CS… 151BB…132K…0.321BA
DY
344G…1346AB…161R…393H…75 2B… 5 3B…26HR…172RBI…26SB…9CS… 62BB…256K…0.292BA
Mystery Man is for some odd reason thought rather highly by Twins fans, while DY is reviled. ALSO, DY was 1 year younger in each of those three years.
The only real difference in the 2 is the BB/K’s.
For a little perspective, DY has 2+ years of ML experience, AND is younger than ALL but 1 member of the New Britian Team, and the ONLY player younger than him is Jay Rainville, who is younger by a WHOLE month. DY is also younger than all but 10 players on the Ft. Myers roster.
Mystery Man, who is not really a Mystery…Joe Mauer, happened to have his career year in his 2nd full season, something he has yet to duplicate.
Just for comparison…Justin Morneau’s 1st 3 years:
255G…876AB…115R…217H…44 2B… 4 3B…45HR…153RBI…0SB…2CS… 81BB…178K…0.248BA Morneau had 40 games and 106AB at DY’s CURRENT age. I didn’t expect him to improve either, YET accidents do happen.
Regards,
The only reason people hate Delmon Young is they had unrealistic expectations for him. They expected him to come in and hit like Manny Ramirez in his 2nd year in the bigs at age 22. Just wait, this kid is special. Give him time! Trade him now and the fans will be complaining in a few years about how we traded another Big Papi away.
fans are so fickle…
Aaron,
One of my alltime favorite Twins had the following BB/K ratio in his 1st 3 ML seasons. 91BB/255K. Better than DY, yet not significantly so, and he didn’t even play in the ML until age 24 (by that age, DY will have 3+ years ML experience).
At the end of his career, the voters fealt sorry for him and put him in the HOF.
Regards,
Worst case scenerio: No trades happen, Gardy platoons Harris/Buscher at third, and Kubel/Cuddyer at DH, and Punto remains as our SS. That is my biggest nightmare. Gardy loves the right/left platoon, which is a complete joke. How is a guy supposed to hit a stride, or find a rhythem? Or worse, when the game is tied 3-3 in the 9th, and we have our platoon LH hitter up, and the pitcher is a lefty, and we have no options off our bench? Platoons SUCK.
WOW anyone who would say trade Span is crazy!! We’re sitting on the best young lead-off hitter in the game! I was very anti-Span until he had proven himself. Now he’s just a pleasure to watch in every facet of the game. Cuddy is the odd man out if for no other reason he makes too much $$$.
AJ,
Platoons do kinda stink in general, but what are you supposed to do when you have guys that can only hit LHP or vice versa?
shameless,
Sometimes you have to give up good talent to get good talent in return. The thing about Span is that is about the best you can expect from him. He had a great season and was great for the team, but I don’t think he can consistently reproduce that.
Just my opinion…if you are going to trade him, do it now. Although, I would still prefer not to as you pointed out he is a darn good young player.
Heinie:
Delmon’s Dad is an airline pilot, but Dmitri has had his share of problems with alcohol, drugs and violence. The Nats sent him to AAA this year. He played last year weighing 220 and this year is over 300. Maybe connected to his diabetes.
What’s funny is that people who think it’s crazy to trade Span are some of the same ones who thought Boston was thought it’d be easy to pry Ellsbury away from the Red Sox.
What do both players have in common? Both are young hitters who had phenominal seasons…
The Twins would be looking to sell high on Span (if they are looking at trading him at all), just like Boston was looking to do with Ellsbury.
T,
I remember a couple of regular posters who were adamant that the Twins should demand both Jose Reyes AND David Wright from the Mets for Johan Santana.
