MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Twins right-hander Scott Baker’s season is over before it started.
Baker will have surgery to repair the flexor pronator tendon in his right elbow. He will become a free agent after this season, and the Twins desperately needed him to provide some stability in their shaky rotation.
The tendon has bothered Baker for the last couple of seasons and he says he can no longer pitch through the pain. He got a second opinion this week and was told he needed surgery, which requires six months of rehab. It is not Tommy John surgery, which replaces the ulnar collateral ligament.
Baker was the team’s opening day starter last year and went 8-6 with a 3.14 ERA.
