DeSclafani to miss 2024 season after right arm surgery

KANSAS CITY -- As the Twins brace for life without Royce Lewis for an undetermined but extended period of time, they’ll also have to reckon with the loss of the starting pitching depth they found in the offseason.

That’s because Anthony DeSclafani underwent season-ending surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his right (pitching) arm on Friday with Dr. Keith Meister, as announced by president of baseball operations Derek Falvey. That means that the veteran the Twins acquired to serve as their fifth starter will ultimately end the 2024 season without having thrown a pitch for the team.

“An unfortunate outcome for Anthony, but I think when he went there, we knew that was in consideration,” Falvey said prior to the Twins' 5-1 victory over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. “A lot of conversation was around, is the ligament or the UCL the question mark? And ultimately, it ended up being the flexor tendon that needed to be repaired.”

That means it wasn’t a Tommy John surgery, but the flexor tendon repair carries an estimated recovery timeline of 13 months, Falvey said.

DeSclafani was acquired as part of the offseason Jorge Polanco trade with Seattle that also brought Justin Topa (currently on the IL), and Gabriel Gonzalez (Twins’ No. 4 prospect) and Darren Bowen (No. 29).

The hope was that DeSclafani would serve as preliminary depth to allow the Twins to have Louie Varland waiting as a reserve instead of as an immediate starting option, since there’s not much proven organizational rotation depth to backfill in case of injuries.

That could be of particular concern because the Twins’ current group doesn’t have the best health history. Bailey Ober put together a healthy season in ‘23 following injury troubles in the previous two years, but Chris Paddack is coming off a second Tommy John surgery, and Joe Ryan spent a chunk of last year’s second half pitching through a groin issue.

With Varland in the Opening Day rotation, the Twins will instead have to rely on Simeon Woods Richardson, who has been inconsistent at best over the past two seasons before finding a velocity uptick this spring, Brent Headrick and, eventually, top pitching prospect David Festa if rotational needs were to arise.

Falvey indicated that the Twins remain vigilant of the market for additional depth-type help, but acknowledged that might be difficult at this stage of the season.

“I mean you're always trying to, right?” Falvey said. “But there's a host of other teams that are doing the same that have had a series of different issues with pitching across the last month, two months in Spring Training, too, so we'll continue to do that.”

DeSclafani ultimately didn’t even pitch in a Spring Training game for the Twins, as elbow soreness that presented after a live batting practice session held back his buildup. That delayed progression was once again halted after he experienced more soreness following action in a March 16 Minor League spring game, leading to this additional inquiry, and ultimately, surgery.