David

Festa

There was some concern a couple months ago that Festa could be dealing with thoracic outlet syndrome, but it sounds like he’ll been cleared to resume throwing again and have a relatively normal offseason. The 25-year-old righty hit the injured list with shoulder inflammation in late July and never made it back to Minnesota before the year wrapped up. It’s an extremely encouraging update considering how murky his status was at the conclusion of the regular season.

Festa was shut down after a setback during his rehab from shoulder inflammation, and Dr. Meister — one of the leading arm experts in the industry — believe that TOC is the cause. If that is the case, Festa could be looking at a long recovery, and his 2026 season is in jeopardy. The right-hander has been referred to another doctor, and more information on his status for the coming season should be available after that visit.

The big concern here is that Festa, who is scheduled to visit specialist Dr. Keith Meister in the coming days, could be in jeopardy of missing time next season if he winds up requiring a shoulder procedure, which typically results in an extended absence, even in a best-case scenario. There should be a clearer outlook on his future at some point in the next few days.

Festa, on the IL with shoulder inflammation, struck out five and walked three while throwing 48 pitches. He could join the Twins rotation after one more start.

The 25-year-old hurler has been sidelined since just after the All-Star break due to inflammation in his pitching shoulder. Given how long he has been shelved for, he’ll probably require at least two rehab outings before he’s an option to help out the Twins at the big league level.

Festa allowed three homers in his loss to the Dodgers on Monday, and it’s possible the shoulder issues played a factor. He’ll be out through the rest of July, and the Twins should provide a timeline for a potential return in the coming days, if not sooner.

Festa gave up three homers in the outing; the first being a two-run homer to Shohei Ohtani in the first inning. The other two roundtrippers were allowed to Will Smith, and those dingers accounted for all four runs allowed. He struck out five while issuing one walk in an outing that was better than the box score might suggest. Festa will take on the Nationals on Sunday.

This game started out great for Festa when he retired the first eight hitters he faced. Then, things got a little hairy in the fourth inning when the Cubs loaded the bases and wound up bringing two runs home. Yet, that ‘rally’ was more chaotic than worrisome as Kyle Tucker hit a well-placed single, then Festa walked the next two batters. The Cubs scored two runs on ground balls that didn’t leave the infield. That was all he’d give up in a strong start against the highest-scoring offense in the league.

Festa’s stuff was good, as he generated 15 swings and misses on his pitches during his four frames. His command was not, as he gave up a two-run homer to Agustin Ramirez and he missed his spots several times throughout the contest. It’s still nice to see him missing bats, however, and he was better than this line indicates. He’ll take a 5.49 ERA into a scheduled start Wednesday against the Cubs.

The 25-year-old hurler racked up six strikeouts on the evening and didn’t allow a base on balls. The only real threat against him came in the second inning as he plunked Spencer Torkelson and allowed a two-out single to Dillon Dingler, but Festa got Parker Meadows on a comebacker to silence the rally. He generated nine whiffs on 75 pitches on the night — five of them on his slider — while posting a CSW of 25 percent. He’ll see if he can carry over the momentum from this fine outing when he brings a 5.40 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and a 38/15 K/BB ratio (36 2/3 innings) into Thursday’s matchup against the Marlins in Miami.