Josh

Staumont

The 30-year-old hurler had been rehabbing his left calf strain at Triple-A St. Paul and he’ll stay there a bit longer as he continues to build back up. Expect him to return to the Twins’ bullpen at some point in May.

Staumont landed on the injured list at the conclusion of spring training with a left calf strain and should be ready to make his Twins debut at some point later this month, barring any setbacks.

Staumont enters the 2024 season coming off of thoracic outlet surgery last July, which is usually a tough surgery for pitchers to recover from. He appeared in seven spring games this season where he posted a 5.40 ERA and a 5/7 K/BB ratio.

Staumont averaged 94.1 mph with his fastball today, down from 95.8 mph last year and 98.1 mph when he was at his best in 2020. Really, though, that’s not bad at all for someone who underwent a major surgery seven months ago. Unless injuries strike, there’s probably just one spot on the Twins staff open for Staumont, Louie Varland, Jorge Alcala and Kody Funderburk. Staumont does have an option left, so he’s something of an underdog to make the team at the moment.

The former Royals “closer of the future” had thoracic outlet surgery in July, which is one of the tougher surgeries for pitchers to come back from. However, the 30-year-old claims that he’s fully healthy heading into his first season with the Twins. The team will hope to get him back to his 2020 and 2021 levels where he posted a 2.76 ERA in 91 1/3 innings. With Jhoan Duran in town, Staumont will likely not be closing any games for the Twins, but he could help in late-inning situations if he is indeed back to his old self.

It’s worth a bit less than $1 million, according to The Athletic’s Dan Hayes. Staumont, 30, was non-tendered by the Royals in November. The one-time closer of the future had thoracic outlet surgery in July, so we’re kind of surprised to see him get a major league deal here. He was effective for the Royals in 2020 and 2021, posting a 2.76 ERA in 91 1/3 innings, but he’s amassed a 6.09 ERA and a 67/42 K/BB ratio in 57 2/3 innings the last two years. If he does bounce back, the Twins will have him under control as an arbitration-eligible player in 2025.

Staumont is officially headed to free agency after being designated for assignment earlier this week. The 29-year-old reliever might have to settle for a minor league contract this offseason as he continues to work his way back from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery.

Staumont is one of the bigger names that we have seen designated for assignment as teams are freeing up 40-man roster spots on Tuesday, but he’s in the process of recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery and isn’t expected to be ready to return until around mid-season. Still, you could see a savvy front office try to stash him if they have an open roster spot.

The right-hander was transferred to the 60-day injured list on Friday after suffering a setback, and now we have the dire news. He’ll miss the remainder of the 2023 campaign — and the start of the 2024 season as well — while recovering from the procedure.

Staumont landed on the injured list with a strained neck in early June and reportedly suffered a setback a few weeks ago. He can now be ruled out through the early part of August.