The Minnesota Twins were supposed to have one of the best bullpens in Major League Baseball this season. And at times, they have been, ranking top-10 in ERA (3.61 ) and home runs allowed. Griffen Jax has grown into a dominant back-end reliever, and Jhoan Duran looks more like himself, of late.
Minnesota Twins reliever, Brock Stewart starting rehab assignment
But they could use more solid help, after those two. And on Monday, Darren “Doogie” Wolfson (KSTP, SKOR North) reported that reinforcements are on the way, specifically in the form of Brock Stewart, who has been on the injured list since May 3.
#MNTwins reliever Brock Stewart will begin a rehab assignment tomorrow w/ the Saints in Louisville. He went on the I.L. May 3rd due to right shoulder tendinitis. He’ll be a huge help moving forward, if all goes well this week. Has been great when healthy. pic.twitter.com/kZ3xiracJ5
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) July 8, 2024
Brock Stewart blossomed into one of the best bullpen arms in the rotation in 2023, posting a 0.65 ERA, 1.065 WHIP and 2.21 FIP in 27.2 innings pitched. His ERA+ last season was an ungodly 666, which might be creepy if it wasn’t shocking. To have that type of bloated ERA+ after nearly 30 innings is not normal.
And he didn’t miss a beat to start 2024, either, racking up 16 strikeouts to go with a 0.68 ERA. 2.92 FIP and 1.0 WPA, in 13.1 innings pitched during April. But after citing soreness during an appearance against the Chicago White Sox on April 29, he was evaluated and placed on the IR May 3 with “right shoulder tendinitis”.
Oh where, oh where has Brock been?
And things only got worse from there. Less than a week later, Brock Stewart did an interview with Sirius MLB Radio. There, he was confident his injury would be short-term and that he hoped to be back in the Minnesota Twins bullpen within a week or two. Wrong.
On May 13, his shoulder was treated with a platelet-rich plasma injection. On June 10, Stewart tried ramping things up… but his workouts didn’t go as planned. After a failed two-day throwing session, the 32-year-old was forced to shut things down for a couple weeks.
Related: WTF is Going on With Brock Stewart?
Then, last week (July 2), more bad news. A report surfaced that, while Brock was expected back before the end of the regular season, his return was unlikely to happen until late August, possibly even September.
“Brock Stewart is not out for the year. We’ve not heard much on Brock Stewart… This is not a season ending injury. The question is, when does he return to game action, and we’re looking more like August into September. Brock Stewart is expected to be back this season.”
Darren Wolfson – Mackey & Judd (SKOR North)
Fortunately, his recovery has taken a turn for the better in recent days. Hopefully, this rehab assignment goes as planned. If so, it sounds like we could see Brock Stewart back in the Minnesota Twins bullpen as soon as late next week, following the All-Star break.