Scott Baker Injury: Twins' Pitcher Has Surprise Tommy John Surgery

The original prognosis on Minnesota Twins' right handed pitcher Scott Baker was a surgery to remove scar tissue in his throwing elbow that would only require him to miss six months, which means he would have missed this season, but should have been fine by Spring Training 2013.

Unfortunately, when Baker received a second opinion by orthopedic surgeon David Altchek, an MRI showed that Baker had damage to his ulnar collateral ligament and would need Tommy John surgery. Tommy John rehabilitation requires at least 12 months for full recovery and can sometimes take up to 16 months.

According to TwinsCities.com, Baker had the surgery surgery on Tuesday. It's a safe guess he will not be ready by Opening Day 2013, which means the Twins may decide not to exercise Baker's $9.25 million option for next season.

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Scott Baker Injury: Rotation Still Not A Problem For Minnesota Twins?

Scott Baker will miss the entire season due to injury for the Minnesota Twins as he undergoes elbow surgery and an ensuing rehab over the next six months. That certainly isn't a good thing for a Twins team that has won just one of its first five games, but all apparently isn't lost.

General manager Terry Ryan went on the record Wednesday and, thanks to the good people at 1500 ESPN, we have the money quote below that describes exactly what will happen with the Twins rotation going forward.

"You're going to find a spot for Jason Marquis, and Anthony Swarzak threw the ball well, and the kid with food poisoning was one of our better performers in spring training," Ryan said. "OK, we've got something to work with there. Our big issue has not been pitching. We haven't hit too much. Our pitchers have done relatively decent job here.

"So let's give these guys a chance to settle in and see exactly what we've got in the rotation. It's not going to be easy to replace the guy that was going to be our home opening starter. But you get put in some situations and you've got to adjust, and that's one of the reasons why we've got a little bit more depth. We went out and signed plenty of pitchers just for the very reason, we were hurt so much last year."

It's interesting that Ryan refers to Liam Hendriks as "the kid with food poisoning" but, aside from that, this should give hope to those worried that Baker's injury is going to throw the Twins into a bigger tailspin than they already seemed to be involved in prior to Wednesday night's win.

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Scott Baker Injury: Elbow Surgery Ends Season For Twins Starter

The Minnesota Twins have barely started the season, but it already feels as though the season is doomed. The latest setback is the most severe, unfortunately, as starting pitcher Scott Baker has been declared out for the season due to an elbow injury.

Baker and general manager Terry Ryan held a press conference on Wednesday afternoon and, like the skeptics figured, the news was about as bad as it could possibly be for one of the team's top pitchers.

Scott Baker to undergo surgery on right elbow to fix flexor pronator tendon. Six months for rehab. Out for year. #Twins.

— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) April 11, 2012

That news comes following a second opinion on an MRI that appeared to initially bring about good news, actually. The 30-year-old Baker went 8-6 as a starter last season, ending what was otherwise a terrible season for the Twins with a 3.14 ERA.

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Scott Baker Injury: Minnesota Twins Call Press Conference To Update Situation

Scott Baker was expected to be a key piece of the Minnesota Twins starting pitching rotation this year. That hasn't gone exactly as planned, however, as the veteran was placed on the 15-day disabled list to start the season and then yanked in the first inning of a rehab appearance.

The initial MRI following that injury seemed to be okay, but a second opinion might not have went as well as planned. The Twins have called for a Wednesday afternoon press conference and, according to the Star Tribune, the news likely isn't going to be of the positive variety.

The Twins have called a 4 p.m. press conference during which GM Terry Ryan and righthander Scott Baker will meet with the media. Not sure what it means, but it's usually not good when when a presser is called.

Baker has had elbow problems in each of the last two seasons. He reported to camp claiming to be fully healthy but had to shut down during spring training when he said his elbow felt tender. Last Thursday, Baker tried to throw in a minor league game but left after 11 pitches when he could not get the elbow loose.

Hopefully it isn't as bad as the media is currently thinking it might be and Baker's able to return to the active lineup soon.

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Scott Baker Injury Update: Twins Starter Seeking Second Opinion

Scott Baker's injury woes have popped up already this season, leading to him finding a spot on the injured list already. The Minnesota Twins starter had an MRI on his right elbow Friday and, in news that's a bit tough to read into, he's decided to get a second opinion.

There wasn't any guessing as to how long he'll be out, but general manager Terry Ryan announced the results of the MRI in a statement on the team's website.

"Structurally, the MRI on Scott Baker's right elbow was very similar to the previous MRI he had in July of 2011," Ryan said. "Baker will see Dr. David Altchek in New York next week for a second opinion."

Hopefully the second opinion is better than the first and Baker's able to return to the active roster soon.

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Scott Baker Injury Woes Continues In Rehab Start For Minnesota Twins Pitcher

Scott Baker was expected to be in the rotation for the Minnesota Twins this season, but another injury setback won't help him move back to the Twin Cities any time soon. Baker injured himself once again on Thursday night in a rehab start for the Fort Myers Miracle.

It's unclear exactly what caused him to be yanked after just 11 pitches, but the Star Tribune's Joe Christensen was able to get a bit of clarification in an email from general manager Terry Ryan.

"Baker just didn't feel right tonight," Twins GM Terry Ryan said in an e-mail. "He couldn't seem to get loose on the mound and instead of pushing the envelope, we decided we would go get him out of the game. We will evaluate him again tomorrow."

Baker's currently on the disabled list due to tendinitis in his elbow, an injury that's popped up for him quite a bit since 2010. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the future regarding his status.

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Scott Baker Injury Update: Minnesota Twins' Pitcher Placed On DL, Eligible To Return April 12

There has been some concern over the status of Minnesota Twins starter Scott Baker and his availability for Opening Day. Baker has been dealing with some elbow tendinitis, which has put the original plan to start him in the home opener on April 9 in jeopardy.

Joe Christensen tweeted on Saturday, after Baker threw four strong innings, that Baker will start the season on the DL as originally feared:

#Twins place Scott Baker on the DL (elbow) retroactive to March 27. He's eligible to return April 12 and pitched four innings today.

— JoeChristensen (@JoeCStrib) March 31, 2012

After Baker missed some time due to the injury, this appears to be simply a move to make sure Baker is at full strength when he returns and he's not hurried along before a long season even begins. Baker did say that he felt 100-percent in today's outing.

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Will Minnesota Twins' Pitcher Scott Baker Be Available On Opening Day?

There's been some changing of opinion on the healthy of Minnesota Twins pitcher Scott Baker over the last few days. Is he a sure thing for the disabled list, or not? It seems ... not.