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Just about a month after Bailey Ober was placed on the injured list with elbow inflammation, the Twins’ right-hander took a big step towards a return.
Rather than travel to Louisville to meet the Triple-A Saints, Ober instead flew to Appleton, Wis., to pitch for the High-A Cedar Rapids Kernels on Sunday afternoon.
Ober threw 3 1/3 innings Sunday against the Timber Rattlers, an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, giving up three runs on seven hits. He was scheduled to throw around 50 pitches and wound up throwing 57. It would seem likely that he will make at least one more rehab outing before returning.
In the early days after his injury, the Twins ran bullpen games. In recent turns through the rotation, Mike Paredes has been starting in Ober’s spot, throwing increasingly deeper into his starts over his past four games.
Most recently, Paredes threw 5 1/3 innings on Saturday night against the Colorado Rockies, giving up three runs and eight hits — two of them solo home runs by Hunter Goodman.
Notably, Paredes, who began the season at Double-A, pitched into the sixth inning for the first time since 2022.
“It’s a great opportunity,” said Paredes of the chance to start. “Every time I get the ball, I want to do anything I can in my power to put the team in a position to win. … Whether that’s a starting role, whether that’s a bullpen role, whatever it may be. Whenever my name is called, do absolutely everything I can in my power to execute.”
While Paredes has filled in capably, getting Ober back should provide a boost to the Twins’ rotation, particularly with the news this week that Mick Abel is headed for arthroscopic elbow surgery.
Abel was on track to return last Sunday after successfully completing a pair of rehab outings but felt renewed symptoms in his arm after throwing a bullpen last Friday.
Down at Triple-A, shortstop prospect Kaelen Culpepper returned to the Saints after missing almost two weeks with a left hip strain.
Culpepper, 23, is among the organization’s top prospects and was on a hot streak that had led to heavy speculation about a potential call up. In the 18 games before his injury, Culpepper had hits in 16 of them and was hitting .368 with a 1.098 OPS in June.
The Twins have been using a combination of Ryan Kreidler and Tristan Gray at shortstop after moving Brooks Lee off the position to third base.
The Twins will kick off a six-game road trip on Monday night in Houston with Zebby Matthews (3-5, 4.56 earned-run average) on the mound. The game is set to begin at 7:10 p.m. CDT. The road trip will take them to Houston and New York to take on the Yankees, with an off day in between.
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Rather than travel to Louisville to meet the Triple-A Saints, Ober instead flew to Appleton, Wis., to pitch for the High-A Cedar Rapids Kernels on Sunday afternoon.
Ober threw 3 1/3 innings Sunday against the Timber Rattlers, an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, giving up three runs on seven hits. He was scheduled to throw around 50 pitches and wound up throwing 57. It would seem likely that he will make at least one more rehab outing before returning.
In the early days after his injury, the Twins ran bullpen games. In recent turns through the rotation, Mike Paredes has been starting in Ober’s spot, throwing increasingly deeper into his starts over his past four games.
Most recently, Paredes threw 5 1/3 innings on Saturday night against the Colorado Rockies, giving up three runs and eight hits — two of them solo home runs by Hunter Goodman.
Notably, Paredes, who began the season at Double-A, pitched into the sixth inning for the first time since 2022.
“It’s a great opportunity,” said Paredes of the chance to start. “Every time I get the ball, I want to do anything I can in my power to put the team in a position to win. … Whether that’s a starting role, whether that’s a bullpen role, whatever it may be. Whenever my name is called, do absolutely everything I can in my power to execute.”
While Paredes has filled in capably, getting Ober back should provide a boost to the Twins’ rotation, particularly with the news this week that Mick Abel is headed for arthroscopic elbow surgery.
Abel was on track to return last Sunday after successfully completing a pair of rehab outings but felt renewed symptoms in his arm after throwing a bullpen last Friday.
Culpepper returns
Down at Triple-A, shortstop prospect Kaelen Culpepper returned to the Saints after missing almost two weeks with a left hip strain.
Culpepper, 23, is among the organization’s top prospects and was on a hot streak that had led to heavy speculation about a potential call up. In the 18 games before his injury, Culpepper had hits in 16 of them and was hitting .368 with a 1.098 OPS in June.
The Twins have been using a combination of Ryan Kreidler and Tristan Gray at shortstop after moving Brooks Lee off the position to third base.
Briefly
The Twins will kick off a six-game road trip on Monday night in Houston with Zebby Matthews (3-5, 4.56 earned-run average) on the mound. The game is set to begin at 7:10 p.m. CDT. The road trip will take them to Houston and New York to take on the Yankees, with an off day in between.
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