Twins starter Sonny Gray left Saturday’s start with right hamstring tightness and will be placed on the IL, per Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Cody Stashak, who began the season on the IL with right biceps tendinitis, will swap places with Gray and join the active roster.
Gray threw 31 pitches Saturday before the hamstring issue ended his start prematurely. In the immediate aftermath of the game, he was considered to be day-to-day and perhaps not in need of a trip to the IL. Now it seems the team has decided to play it cautious and give him a chance to recuperate. As stated by Miller, the club anticipates he will miss only one start. Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com relays that the Twins will condense their six-man rotation down to five in Gray’s absence, with Dylan Bundy, Chris Archer, Chris Paddack, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober as the remaining members. Josh Winder pitched well in long relief after Gray’s departure Saturday (2 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings) but will stay in a long relief role.
Stashak had a nice showing over 2019 and 2020, throwing 40 MLB innings with a 3.15 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate and excellent 2.5% walk rate. In 2021, he threw 15 2/3 innings with a 6.89 ERA, with his strikeout rate jumping up to 34.7% but his walk rate hitting 13.3%. He was placed on the 60-day IL in June with a left back disk injury and didn’t pitch again. The 27-year-old will now look to get back on track after a lengthy absence.
