Twins Place Starting Pitcher Back On IL

For the second time this season, the Minnesota Twins have had to place right-hander Sonny Gray on the injured list.

#MNTwins have placed Sonny Gray on the 15-day injured list with right pectoral strain. Injury is backdated to Monday. Eligible to return on June 14 in Seattle.
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) June 2, 2022

Gray had to leave his last start, on Sunday, after six innings due to a sore right pectoral. He appeared to be improving, as he played catch on Wednesday, but the pectoral strain is obviously troubling enough to sit him down for at least a couple of turns through the rotation.

The Twins acquired Gray in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds in the offseason, and he's been better than advertised—when he's been on the mound. He's made just seven starts, but sports a 2.41 ERA with 10.4 strikeouts per nine.

The 32-year-old is certainly not the only Twins pitcher to land on the IL this season. The injured list is currently jam-packed with, in addition to Gray, Joe Ryan, Chris Paddack, Josh Winder, Kenta Maeda and Randy Dobnak. And on top of that, we're hearing that at least one starting pitcher will be among the large anti-vaxxed Twins contingent that will be placed on the restricted list, unable to play in Toronto this weekend due to U.S./Canada border quarantine rules.

Photo Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports