Minnesota Twins Utility Man Suffers Concussion

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Austin Martin, Minnesota Twins
Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins kick off their regular season against the Baltimore Orioles ten days from now. That means more roster cuts are on the way, as manager Derek Shelton looks to widdle the roster down to 26 players by March 26.

One player who had yet to establish himself as a season-long big-leaguer, but was expected to make it to Baltimore with the Opening Day roster was soon-to-be 27-year-old former top 5 draft pick, Austin Martin — who the Twins once received in a trade-deadline deal for Jose Berrios back in 2021.

Austin Martin suffers concussion for MN Twins

Unfortunately that became less certain after he left the Twins’ exhibition game in Fort Myers Monday, Pittsburgh Pirates, with what was later ruled a concussion. Martin was pulled in the third inning after he failed to wrangle in a diving catch out in right field.

Martin did not stay in the game, after his dive attempt. He did record a hit in his one at-bat, pushed his batting average this spring to .286. It seemed logical to place Martin as the platoon answer in left field, along with Trevor Larnach. Byron Buxton and Matt Wallner are projected to be the starting center and right fielders.

Of course, it should be noted that Martin can play a little bit of everything, even if he’s been more of an outfielder, of late. Last season, he made 32 appearances in LF, ten in CF and three at 2B.

Concussions are scary and tricky… especially for Twins

Unfortunately, his availability for that opening series vs the Orioles is now in question. And looking longer term, head injuries are anything but simple. More recently, we saw Byron Buxton miss 11 games last season with a concussion, after a collision with Carlos Correa (also concussed).

Martin doesn’t have a history with concussions, so the hope is that he’ll rebound will go smoothly. However, we’ve seen concussions greatly impact past players like Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau in ways that we never could have imagined at the time of their original head injuries. Thus, as mentioned, nothing is guaranteed when it comes human brain injuries.

Last season Martin was out into August with a hamstring injury, but was one of the few bright spots down the stretch. In 50 games, he batted .282/.374/.365 with eight doubles, a triple, and a home run. If he isn’t ready for Opening Day, the Minnesota Twins would probably turn to the likes of Alan Roden or James Outman, as a replacement.

Minnesota Twins see good Joe Ryan

After initially being scratched due to back inflammation, and then not participating in the WBC after all, Joe Ryan was back on the bump Monday. It was his second start of the spring, and looked substantially better than his first.

Ryan twirled four innings of one-run ball Monday. That run came across as a result of Luke Keaschall still learning the outfield. The Twins starter scattered five hits and struck out six while having velocity that sat around 93 mph. That’s a good sign after his first start included no strikeouts in three innings, and a fastball that was 2 mph down from his typical average.

Related: Former Top Pohlad Booted from Minnesota Twins Family Business?

The Minnesota Twins pitching depth is going to be tested without Lopez being available. They have plenty of arms vying for spots, but what level of reliability they can provide will be key.

Last season Ryan owned a 3.42 ERA (3.74 FIP) across 171 innings. The next step for him is to put together a full year of results. Ryan owned a 2.63 ERA on July 20, but owned a 5.10 ERA in his final 11 outings.

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