Complicated finger injuries keep Twins starter Randy Dobnak sidelined

FORT MYERS, Fla. – If anything good has come from Randy Dobnak's injury woes the past 10 months, it's that he might have found his next calling once his baseball career comes to a close.

"I've done so much research about it, it's like I'm basically a rock climber," Dobnak said Monday. "Someone asked me the other day like, 'Do you think you'll ever pick up rock climbing?' I was like, 'I mean, I probably should once I retire.' "

Dobnak and the free-soloists of the world share an unfortunate bond: pulley injuries. A series of connective tissue hooks hold the tendon to the bone it runs underneath in each finger — there are five of these pulleys, A1 closest to the first knuckle by the palm up to A5 more toward the fingertip. The A2 and A4 pulleys are the most commonly injured, and those are exactly what have derailed the pitcher's 2021 and now 2022 seasons.

Last year, he partially tore his A4 pulley in June and came back too soon in September, only to completely tear it. He was able to fully recover in the offseason but ended up rupturing his A2 pulley shortly before spring training began.

Dobnak, who is not throwing, went on the 60-day injured list Monday when the Twins claimed reliever Jhon Romero from Washington on waivers.

"Climber's finger," as it's called, happens when the finger is flexed with a lot of strain, like when a rock climber is literally hanging by the fingertips off a cliff. That repeated stress can tear the pulley. It's not common in baseball, which is why Dobnak has had to read up since he first started having issues last summer.

"They actually call this crimping when they climb, all that flexion right there," the rock climbing aficionado explained while forming his hand into a claw. "And most of the time, they'll blow out their ring finger instead of the other ones first. I've watch videos of them when they're rock climbing and then when they pop it, it's like a [snap]. It's really gross.

"The same thing as rock climbing. When you throw, you get that flexion."

Dobnak's troubles seemed to begin June 9 when he started against the Yankees sporting a fake fingernail on his right middle finger. His nail had ripped, and he hoped the fake fingernail would prevent a blister, but his finger came out of those 4 ⅔ innings sore and bruised.

A week or so later, he started again in Texas, and his finger hurt in warmups and through his five innings. So he had it checked out to find his A4 pulley was partially torn. He went on the injury list and rehabbed for about 2 ½ months, eventually making his return in a start against Tampa Bay on Sept. 3. He pitched seven innings but was still sore after the game. He practiced as normal the next few days, but then the day before his next start on his second-to-last throw, he felt the pop, almost like a burning sensation through his finger.

The was the end to Dobnak's 2021 season, when he pitched 14 games and had a 7.64 ERA after he signed a five-year extension with the Twins worth a guaranteed $9.25 million. The 27-year-old had risen from once driving Uber to make extra money in the minors to being an up-and-coming fan favorite, thanks to his eclectic take on facial hair.

Dobnak didn't start throwing again until mid-November, wanting to be patient with the injury this time. He was playing catch daily and throwing bullpens with no issues, so he decided to come down to Florida a bit early to work out in the warm weather. But on March 7 while playing catch, he felt another pop.

This was still during the lockout, so Dobnak couldn't talk to any of the Twins' training staff. He could go to one of the team physicians, though, so he underwent an MRI that only showed inflammation. He took five or so days off, and while he didn't feel the same pain as he had the previous summer, he could still tell something wasn't right. So he did another MRI, this one grasping a roll of tape to capture the fingers while flexed, and that revealed the new A2 tear.

"The whole offseason, everything went smoothly. Everything was feeling good. I was working on more consistency for my slider, and I was getting a new changeup, the way it moves a little bit. And everything was coming along really great," Dobnak said. "And then sure enough."

There is an option to have surgery to fix the tear, but because the injury is so rare in baseball, there isn't a strong track record of how recovery goes. So Dobnak. 27, is keeping it as a last resort, since just rest and rehab could help him return to the field sooner than the surgery would.

For now, he tapes his finger and wears a small ring brace during the day and a full one at night to keep his finger from flexing. There isn't really a timetable; he won't know if it's healed until he starts throwing again. But he said he'll start doing that in a couple weeks.

"I've never been hurt in my whole entire career until last year. I've always thought, you know, maybe it'll be, like, my elbow or shoulder or something. Or, like, hamstring," Dobnak said. "Finger. It was the last thing I ever thought about. It's really frustrating."