The Minnesota Twins were already dealing with a less-than-loaded deck coming into the 2012 season. The last year was abysmal and it seemed the well had begun to run dry for a club that sat near or atop the AL Central for so many years. The small-market success of the Twins had been a running story for so long that it’s hard to imagine a division where they’re not competitive, but that’s likely going to be case again as the Twins have announced they’ve lost Scott Baker for the 2012 season.
Ben Nicholson Smith writes, “Baker will miss the 2012 season to undergo and recover from elbow surgery, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger reports (Twitter links). The operation will repair Baker’s flexor pronator tendon and rehab will take six months. Fortunately for Baker, his ulnar collateral ligament is fine.”
The Twins are already 1-4 on the season and now three full games behind the Tigers. Losing Baker, who had a 3.14 ERA last year takes out one of their best pitchers on a team that could ill afford any more setbacks. It could be a long season in the Twin Cities.