“Elbow Soreness” For Pitcher Coming Back From Tommy John

It's never an easy road back from Tommy John surgery for a major league pitcher. The recovery period is 12-18 months. Now, after sitting out the entire 2022 season due to the procedure, Minnesota Twins pitcher Kenta Maeda is being shut down due to "elbow soreness." Yikes. 

#MNTwins will no doubt wait for the MRI results before any official word on Kenta Maeda, but he seems very likely to go on the injured list.

Bailey Ober would be the obvious choice to replace Maeda in the rotation, eventually.https://t.co/zzfTp6o4mI

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) April 26, 2023

After surrendering a whopping 10 earned runs on 11 hits in just three innings Wednesday night, Maeda came out of the game complaining of elbow soreness. Updated word on the MRI imaging revealed a muscle strain but no structural damage. He will go on the IL but seems to have avoided a serious problem.

Maeda was off to an ugly start in his return this season, with a league-leading four losses (0-4) along with a 9.00 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. Perhaps the elbow issue helps to explain all that.

The now-35-year-old pitcher was the Cy Young runner-up in his first season in the Twin Cities in 2020, but struggled to a 4.66 ERA in 21 starts in 2021 before going down to the dreaded Tommy John surgery.

Photo: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports