Bonser to have surgery on Wednesday
Posted on February 24th, 2009 – 11:46 AMBy La Velle
Twins reliever Boof Bonser will have exploratory surgery on Wednesday in St. Petersburg to try to get to the bottom of why he’s having shoulder problems.
The surgery will be performed by Rays’ team physician Dr. Koco Eaton.
Bonser will miss at least several weeks because of the surgery - but even longer if he needs more than just a clean-up. Bonser reported shoulder soreness at the end of last season but an MRI revealed no structural damage. Rest didn’t help, as Bonser threw three times off a mound in January and still felt discomfort.
Eaton gave him a cortisone shot right before he reported for spring training - but experienced only minimal results.
“It’s disappointing,” Bonser said Tuesday morning.
That could open a door for righthanders Philip Humber or Jason Jones to make the team, if the Twins head north with 12 pitchers.
Other notes: After Glen Perkins, Joe Nathan, Jesse Crain and Bobby Keppel are on the list of pitchers for tomorrow night’s game against the Red Sox.
The catchers: Mike Redmond, Wilson Ramos and Chris Butera.
Infielders: Justin Morneau, Nick Punto, Alexi Casilla and Brian Buscher.
Joe Mauer worked out and took some swings off flip-throws in the batting cage. Things seem to be moving in the right direction. “Today was a good day,” said Mauer, who had more pep in his step on Tuesday than he did when camp first started.
I’m trying to keep track of any Juan Cruz news but have I nothing new. I’ll chime in when I do.
One last thing: I know the Twins’ trainers have been taking shots here, but how do you cure something when MRI exams show no structural damage? Even the Rays’ doctor looked at them and found nothing odd. Exploratory surgery is not an option until everyone is out of answers - and I think things got to that point this week.
And a programming note: I will fill in for Paul Allen tomorrow from 9-12 on KFAN. Twins assistant GM Rob Antony has agreed to come on during the 9 a.m, hour. It should be fun!
107 Responses to "Bonser to have surgery on Wednesday"
La Velle,
Thanks for such a detailed response. Don’t feel the need to respond to the people calling out the Twins doctors. These people will just find something else crazy to complain about with no facts to back it up.
La Velle,
Do you think that with news of Bonser that the Twins will step up there efforts to sign Cruz?? Unfortunately his agent also already knows about Bonser too now.
When asked for a comment, Phillip Humber said: “WHEW!”
PA said you’ll be doing the show 9-12 tomorrow from ST. Did he mean the entire show?
Bonser is terrible anyway….rebuild that should and keep him out the entire year for the benefit of the Twins.
whoops…shoulder, not should***
Sports Guru Dan,
Without Bonser and his clutch pitching down the stretch the Twins would not have won the central division. If you recall he stepped up and next to Johann became the Twins best starter for awhile there.
why do the twins spend money on doctors when there is all this free expert medical advice on here?
Boogieneedsagoal,
When asked for a comment, Phillip Humber said: “WHEW”
I would imagine that Mijares, Dickey, and Jones all had the same comment too!
i thought boof was due to become a great one inning reliever. he has the stuff, 95 mph fastball and nasty hook, but just needed the mindset of being a one inning guy. he was going to finally get that this year. bummer about the shoulder.
La Velle,
Isn’t it Drew Butera, not Chris?
If Humber doesn’t make this team I actually think he may benefit. He could be picked up to be a rotation guy for another team needing pitching.
Crede’s first game is Friday correct? Wish it was on TV. I’m excited to see him play.
Humber would just love to get picked up by the Nats. Bet he can’t wait to hit waivers.
The Ray’s physician is doing the surgery? I’d be a little nervous about a doctor with that name. Doctor Koko:
Bonser needs to go on the Subway diet
I suck. You heard it here first.
I just read the headline and thought, liposuction is a surgery isn’t it?
I know what ails poor Boof: too many doughnuts. Lifting that many pastries can strain your shoulder for sure.
Yes, Lipo and Gastric Bypass are both surgeries. What’s your point, Baldkid?
Isn’t the world of blogging nice. People can say whatever they want without any accountability. I am sure these people would say these things to Bonser in person as well.
Is Joe Mauer the teams best over-all hitter? Of course he is. Can Joe Mauer hit a groud ball through the right side of the infield at will when the first baseman is holding a runner? Yes he can!!!!
However, Joe has never been a huge RBI guy. That is not a knock….just reality.
With all the above in mind, how about batting Joe in the two slot. The Padres did it with their best hitter for years (Tony Gwynn). Doing this would allow the Twins a very interesting Left/Right lineup that could look like:
Span/Gomez CF
Mauer C
Young LF
Morneau 1b
Crede 3B
Kubel DH
Cuddyer RF
Casilla 2B
Punto SS
Young and Cuddy could end uo switching spots but this would make it very difficult to make a pitching move against the Twins late in a game.
Now I’m not a doctor, but what about taking Bons out to a swimming pool and have him start doing laps… lightly. It’ll strengthen his shoulder and loosen it up at the same time… in a weightless environment.
Dr Koko
Well at least its not Dr. Vinnie Boombatz or Butcher Bagley or Doctor Ben Dover
[…] Twins Insider – […]
What a bunch of dorky comments here today. Good Luck, Boof.
Not looking good for the Jays right now… they already were looking at 4th place realistically and now Wells is going to miss some time on a team that already doesn’t hit too well. They might be looking to trade off some of those quality bullpen arms come midseason. If Twins lose out on Cruz but can keep pace in the division anyway, maybe a trade with Toronto would be an option?
Can’t wait to listen in tomorrow.
exploratory surgery
that’s no good. It means that they don’t know what’s wrong with him and are going in to find out and repair it.
Hope it all turns out well for Boof
Anybody know if any Twins are caught up in this Stanford financial mess? I’ve heard there’s a loose Boras connection and also that IMG was getting paid to direct their clients to Stanford for investment services.
bisonaudit,
Not too sure about the Stanford financial mess but in other BIG news IHOP is giving away free pancakes for the day!! 
Good luck Boof! I hope it’s not serious and you emerge pain free!
I was just looking at opening day last season and the Twins lineup had Monroe, Lamb, and Everett with Livan pitching
Side note: How many trolls are going to pop in today with multiple names to make “Boof is fat” jokes?
Is the Vikings blog broke down again?
T
because the making fun of Boof bothers you I will skip that other than to say that I think that his agent told him that the surgery was the only way he was getting a major league paycheck this year.
I hope it goes well for Boof.
But I’m happy that someone else can get a chance now. Boof wasn’t cutting it as a starter or in the pen. For some reason the Twins saw/see him as a project guy much like Eddie G back in the day
Seriously this is probably best for Boof. He couldn’t do more than 4 innings of quality work, and his arm didn’t bounce back. According to Thesier’s article, Humber can bounce back, and Anderson thinks pretty highly of him. It would be nice to see two of the 4 guys for Santana come in and help us get to the playoffs this year.
Maybe if boofs arm stops “hurting” he will pitch better
Crede, Crede, Crede……All about Crede.
I am Topp Dogg.
Good takes on this webshow with Aaron Gleeman, Kaplan and Doogie. All Twins this week.
http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/generic/video/sod/Sports_On_Demand_Archive
I hope they aren’t starting Redmond in that game. We know what we can do - I want to see what Ramos and Butera have to see if they can be his eventual replacement.
medschoolmatt,
You don’t really want to see Butera. He couldn’t hit his way out of a wet paper bag.
I miss Doogie… would have been happy to see Common Man go away…
Thanks for the link medschoolmatt,
My only notable problem with that is their take on DY. I’m tired of all the Delmon hatin’. Give him a starting role. Give him one more year. THEN you can hate him. I REALLY hope he gets a starting spot. I’m ready to see Cuddy go. Like him, but give me Delmon or give me…pie. (He’s not worth dying over). Seriously. I Really think that he’ll have a big year, if given the chance.
New sig. for a while:
*Sign Juan Cruz; Play DY*
Boof’s always been one of those guys who frustrates me. Dude has some stuff, mid-90’s fast ball (though it’s a little too straight), and a nice curve ball, but just can’t seem to put it all together. Mediocre control from always trying to hit the exact spot?
I wish Boof well. Nobody should be in pain like that. I think he makes a good pitcher. Yes, he can be inconsistant, but when he is on, he’s on.
Plus, I think he is HOT!
can’t say,
Is that you BC?
is radio covering the twins game…our announcers and all??
That was me, and now it’s me again, lol.
Sorry I had to answer a phone call.
Good luck to you Boof. Hope it’s just a minor problem & you can come back for a long & successful MLB career. It would be sweet if you could hold down the 8th inning shut down spot. Good luck!
Paul…
I am not CANT SAY.
I never change my name on here.
coco,
I agree with you. I hope it’s minor too, but I really think that they opted for surgery because he is not the odds on favorite for the position. With Ayala, Humber, and possibly dickey
BC,
I know. Bad joke. Sorry. Just feelin rascally.
I really think that they opted for surgery because he is not the odds on favorite for the position
this is an exploratory scope procedure. He had 2 MRIs, they showed nothing, he got a cortisone shot, he was still in pain (which means that it was not an inflammation -muscular, or tendon things). Exploratory scoping is the only thing they can do to determine what is wrong. It is not like he is having major shoulder surgery (they are making a slit the size of a dime and put a scope through it). If there are some bone fragments (doubt it, and X-ray would have shown those) or something like scar tissue from a previous injury or overuse, they can clear it.
Football players have knees scoped all the time and return on the field within 1 or 2 weeks max…
Boof was looking very thin in the face. He lost quite a bit of weight. There was less bodily mass being influenced by the gravitational pull. This upset the structural equilibrium of his entire body, thus resulting in the arm injury.
“Just feelin rascally.”
Put “rascally” back in your pants.
Hey Thrylos,
Enjoyed what you had at “Tenth Inning Stretch” When are you coming out with part 2 ???
Jeff,
are you talking about the Twins and the money thing? Maybe later tonight… I am currently working on the 2009 season projections (and it’s looking good )
just got done hitting up all the ihops in the tampa area. sweeeeet. 10 short stacks later and i’m still hungry, anyone know a good hot dog joint in the area?
CUT HIM
Craig sees DH being split up between Delmon, Buscher and Kubel in 2009.
Delmon should get all the DH at bats vs. LHP. Also some AB against RHP in the DH role. He can play some RF and LF against RHP. He needs to start somewhere most every day. Rediculous for him to be on the bench.
Craig sees Span moving to CF. Gomez to LF. Delmon can then spell the two corner spots, when he isn’t the DH. Craig thinks Delmon will eventually become an adequate corner OF if he works on his fielding with Jerry White.
Craig is extremely miffed hearing how the Twins are attempting to lower Delmon’s stance and have him use his legs to help pull and power the ball, in order to hit more HR. What nonsense!
Delmon needs to stay up in his stance and hit line drives all over the field. They are messing with a near .300 hitter! Delmon is just fine. Leave him alone. Craig is so upset about this, that he is putting in a phone call to TK ASAP. What is going on? TK needs to straighten this matter out. I’m calling Carew and Terry Ryan. Someone has to take charge of this.
What do they want? Some piece of crap that hits 30 HR and bats .250? Is that what they want to turn Delmon into? Craig is mad.
Between OF and DH this is how Craig would like to see the AB split up:
600 Span
550 Delmon
500 Gomez
400 Cuddyer
300 Buscher
200 Kubel
Something about like that.
Span moving to CF. Gomez to LF.
Why do that? Gomez was the best CF in the game last season
http://www.billjamesonline.net/fieldingbible/charts/leaders2-08.gif
in a post above, someone brought my reputation into question. I would like to assure everyone here that I operate only in the finest vans in the finest alleys, and the scalpels i use are of the finest second hand quality.
that fielding bible thing is cool. which reminds me, it’s about time to order my new stratomatic cards.
Span is the superior OF. Gomez runs bad routes, misses the cut-off man, throws to the wrong base, and has a very inaccurate arm. He doesn’t go back on the ball as well as Span and lacks the polish Span has. Gomez might be a tiny bit faster, but a foot race would be very close. Span can better utilize his speed than Gomez. Gomez has a bit stronger arm, but Span hits the mark much more often. Gomez sees himself as eventually becoming a corner OF and Craig agrees with him. The sooner the change is made, the better.
Bill James is a huckster who sells books to ignorant chumps. I never read that garbage.
That’s all anyone needs to know tonight. Goodnight from Craig.
it does seem like it would be alot of work. plus if he has valid statistics to rate all the fielders, why would they need to vote on the winner? the system they used did seem a bit subjective as i looked into it more.
BOOF IS FAT
thrylos98 says:
February 24th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Why do that? Gomez was the best CF in the game last season
lol. this statement is absurd on many levels. you are calling him the best center fielder, in all of baseball, because he is fast. Um… what about hitting, baserunning, arm and accuracy, and overall baseball IQ (situational hitting, routes to batted balls in the outfield, timing jumps and dives while going after batted balls, and not looking like a little leaguer in general at the plate)? all of these things, combined, are what makes a baseball player the best player at his position. Does Gomez have the tools to one day be the best? Yes, I think he does. Was he the best last year? No, he was not. Not even close. He was simply the fastest.
Lavelle or anyone else on here have any insight on the HD schedule this year for the twins? Hopefully it’s a lot.
Dr. Vinnie,
He was clearly talking about defensive CF. His link clearly shows that Gomez was significantly better defensively than anyone else in the game at CF. That includes his bad throws and bad baseball IQ.
The discussion was about putting Span in center and moving Gomez to the corner OF. Had nothing to do with his offensive production.
he doesn’t need to be on the subway diet, he already has a footlong!
If Gomez matured as much as they claimed he has then this is going to be a good season for him this year.
We also won’t be discussing how immature he is either.
We will have to see first
cs thanks for the insight
please keep it to your self pleeeaase
Moving Gomez out of center field would be somewhat foolish. regardless of bad routes he covers a lot of ground fast.
The boof fat jokes are kind of annoying at this point.
expecially when there are even fatter players out there who aren’t exactly on the best of terms with twins fans
cc sabathia, dennys reyes, etc.
I just don’t get this concern about Gomez (and AaronK, thanks, I was obviously talking about fielding). As a 22 year old in his first year in the majors paid the league minimum, he hit .258/.296/.360. Not great, but he more than made it with his glove. Last year he produced 2.2 wins above replacement (where replacement is a warm minor league body i.e Rabe/Tyler/Pridie). The one player that Twins’ fans should really worry about is a highly paid outfielder in his career peak who hit .249/.330/.369 last season while in the first year of a multimillion dollar contract and contributed -0.3 wins above replacement to the team.
And Gardy got him penned in as a starter…
t98
I agree with the gomez part
with cuddy i think if we keep him or not is up to this year or next. He has the ability to deliver clutch and has a rocket arm. give him a healthy year and then talk about him
why are they selling rsox tickets on this website
I was just looking at Baseball Prospectus top 10 twins prospects. They also showed who the top prospects were each of the past year. I noticed that Cuddyer was the top prospect for a couple of years at the beginning of the decade. Interesting. Of course, B.J. Garbe and Adam Johnson were top prospects at one point, but so were Joe Mauer (for 4 years), Matt Garza, and Nick Blackburn last year.
I think Cuddy just might have a very good year if he’s fully recovered from the injuries. And, the value of his right arm cannon should not be overlooked.
My biggest concern is that some of the young guys: Span and Casilla especially, will have major production dropoffs. In 6 years in the minors, Span hit a total of 10 home runs, and in less than one year in the majors he hit 6. I think he may be ready for some serious regressing to the mean.
My boldest prediction: big breakout year for Jason Kubel. I’m predicting 30+ homeruns and 100+ RBIs. I’ve said this before, but his first five big league seasons were incredibly similar to David Ortiz’s.
I never read that garbage.
Chief thinks Craig would benefit greatly from broadening his reading list.
Chief thinks we all would benefit greatly from Craig broadening his reading list.
The truth is that if the Twins obtain someone like Cruz, and if Gardy does go with 11 pitchers, there’s no place for Boof anyway. You’ll have six guys in the pen: Nathan, Cruz, Mijares at the back, Crain in the 7th, Breslow as a situational lefty, and Matty G. as the long guy (so, too, will be Breslow when need be). There’s no room here for Boof if the Twins acquire Cruz, so who really cares what’s going on with him? I suppose you care if you think we can actually get anything for the guy in a trade, but…
Lala:
A) I will be very surprised if the Twins go with an 11 man staff.
B) The Twins don’t have Cruz.
C) It’s never a bad thing to have more pitchers than you have room for. At the very least, if Boof is unable to pitch that limits the Twins options.
Besides, considering the fact that Boof’s downing about 3500 calories per meal four times a day, I’m sure this is just the beginning of his physical woes.
Chief, true, but I think the Twins will end up with Cruz. My gut tells me that on this one. And yet, we have stiffs like Dickey and Ayala taking up potential spots too, so…
GET WELL BOOF!!!! ill always have a soft spot in my heart for a guy named BOOF his name is fun to cheer and not too mention he can throw hard and has a wicked curveball I hope the surgery fixes his shoulder. Furthermore I think he should start eating and gain some weight he was a much better pitcher when he was pushing 240. 3 cheers for fat guys
hip hip HOORAY!!
hip hip HOORAY!!
hip hip HOORAY!!
Lala,
you forgot Ayala…
donuts to dollars, Mijares starts in Rochester this year (he has options) and either Bonser (if ok) or Humber get the last spot (if they go with 11). If they go with 12 they are both in (if Bonser is ok), otherwise look for Jones or Dickey to get a spot.
Lala,
if it were a leg/back/abdomen injury, the weight might have been an issue. There is no way that someone’s weight can influence a shoulder injury…
I can’t imagine Boof being ready to pitch in the big leagues by opening day.
Spring training will tell the tail, but as it stands right now I think Mijares is on the team to start the season.
[…] III, the busy beat writer from the Strib, is reporting that Bonser will be forced to undergo surgery and will miss Opening Day. While he will be missed, this will give a guy like Philip Humber a […]
I don’t see how they can keep Mijares off this team with a straight face. I realize he has options, but he is the only guy not named Nathan that could be trusted at all at the end of the season. Without him we don’t see a tiebreaker game. He has to be on this roster and don’t forget he is the 2nd lefty in the pen now.
@AaronK
Let’s not forget that Mijares only pitched 10 and a third innings last year. Sure, he was superb, but he is only 23 years old. I want to see him as much as you do, but he would probably be best served with some fine-tuning from the great Rochester pitching coaches.
I would rather give Humber the chance. I’m sure we’ll see Mijares in 2009, though.
That…is not Matt Guerrier. lol.
AaronK,
I didn’t even trust Nathan at the end of last year. Don’t want to look it up, but I think he blew 3-5 saves in September/end of August.
TK
Sigh…
Ok if you go from August 25th on, he had 3 Blown Saves and a Loss; the rest of the way (his final 6 appearances) he was lights out. Two of the blown saves were caused by errors - the runs were not earned, and the other blown save he only gave up one run. The loss he got hammered, but none of the pitchers were doing well that day…
From Sep 18th on, he gave up 0 ER’s and had 3 saves in 6 appearances.
You still don’t trust him?
Regarding the BP
I still think we have one of the best closers on baseball. In addition, as much as I want Mijares here, Thry makes a good point in that he should get some more time in AAA, if only to get his head straight. From what it seems, Bonser is going to be out a LONG time. IF we don’t get Cruz, and we keep Humber, I want to see Humber get a shot at that starting rotation. While I love Perk, I think he needs to develop at least one more pitch before he can really be a solid starter. Hitting your spots with your fastball can only get you so far (in his case, 5 innings). He’d be the other great lefty out of the pen with Breslow, and has the stamina to go longer innings if needed. And we can always plug him back in the rotation if Humber falters.
Crain can hopefully get back to form and be sound with Ayala as the righties. Breslow was underrated and quite reliable last year. Hopefully Guerrier can get back to form.
Dickey is on a two-way contract I believe, so he can go to AAA as well if he doesnt make it (quite likely actually). Jones can also be kept for a minimal trade (lower tier prospect) or given back to the Yankees if he’s unimpressive.
The BP will be better if only for addition by subtraction with the loss of Bass, Rincoln, Guardado, Bonser (sorry to say) and (hopeful) improvements on Crain, Guerrier
I think Boof’s injury is actually very convenient as it will give the Twins longer looks at Jones, Dickey and Humber without having to lose Boof because he’s out of options. Doesn’t anyone else see this? I think it is all a stroke of good luck (except for Boof. He could possibly benefit from a change of scenery, but also possible he’d kick around with a few teams before finding himself).
I got this tidbit from a national blog:
Buscher will try to make the team as a utility guy as he has begun taking balls at both third base and shortstop.
La Velle,
please tell us whether this is wrong or whether Gardy has lost his mind if he thinks that Buscher can play a single opponent at bat as a shortstop.
Perkins has two pitches Humber and Blackburn don’t - a left-handed fastball and a left-handed whatever-else-he-throws.
thrylos98,
Having Buscher take grounders at SS makes about as much sense as having him work in the outfield. Who does he think he is, Denny Hocking?
WJ,
the only times I can think that Buscher might have to play over there, is if the Twins use an extreme shift on a LHB, like Papi or Thome. Other than that, it’s nuts.
Just the thought of Buscher at SS makes me cringe. Can’t picture it happening.
Buscher should concentrate on being a better hitter and third baseman. Third is his best position and he isn’t even good there. If he sticks in the majors, it will be because of his bat.
Maybe Buscher came back in a different body with just 4% body fat.
I have seen players re-make themselves before.
He may have gained enough agility to become a shortstop-impersonator and an outfielder impersonator.
Anybody out there have any opinion about my idea of moving Mauer to the number 2 spot in the order. The Padres did it with the best hitter in baseball (Gwynn) and while a great hitter, Joe is not a huge RBI guy. The order could go R/L almost throughout making it tough for opposing managers to make pitching changes late in games. How about:
Span CF
Mauer C
Young or Cuddyer (whoever is hot)
Morneau 1B
Crede 3B
Kubel DH
Cuddyer or Young
Casilla 2B
Punto SS
What do you think???????
