Twins’ Right-Hander Kenta Maeda Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

Kenta Maeda with the Dodgers in 2019
Kenta Maeda with the Dodgers in 2019. Photo by Chris Brown/CSM/Shutterstock (10429260x)

The Minnesota Twins announced that their pitcher Kenta Maeda underwent successful Tommy John surgery on Wednesday. The team expects Maeda, last year’s AL Cy Young Award runner-up, will spend nine to 12 months recovering from the procedure.

Maeda made 21 starts for the Twins in 2021, going 6-5 with 4.66 ERA and 113 strikeouts. The 33-year-old pitcher initially landed on the injured list in late August after he felt tightness in his right forearm. After several tests, it was determined that he has torn ulnar collateral ligaments.

Speaking with reporters after the news was announced, the Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said that Maeda’s surgery didn’t only repair the UCL injury. According to Baldelli, the doctors also dealt with several other issues that might have been affecting the player’s performances in a negative way in the past years.

“He’s been pitching with some of this stuff for a while now. This gives him an opportunity to be at full strength going forward,” said Baldelli.

Maeda’s absence shouldn’t hurt Twins much as they already have slim chances to reach the postseason. They currently own a 58-75 record and are 19.5 games behind the leading the Chicago White Sox in AL Central.

Kenta Maeda spent his early career playing in Nippon Professional Baseball with Hiroshima Toyo Carp before joining the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016. After four years in LA, Maeda was traded to the Twins ahead of 2020 and ended up having his best outing since arriving in the MLB. He posted a 6-1 record with 2.70 ERA and finished second in American League Cy Young Award voting while also picking up the All-MLB Second Team nod.

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