DETROIT — A small injury is having a big impact on the Twins rotation.
The knuckle on the middle finger of Randy Dobnak's right hand, which has experienced "pretty severe soreness," according to Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, hasn't improved much since Dobnak stopped pitching a month ago. So the Twins are giving Dobnak at least another month off.
Dobnak was moved to the 60-day injured list Saturday, partly because the Twins needed a roster spot in order to add another relief pitcher, but also in facing the reality that the finger is still hampering a pitcher who relies on his breaking pitches.
Dobnak threw a bullpen session recently to test the injury, and "it didn't go terribly, but it definitely didn't go at the best end of the spectrum," Baldelli said. The manager expressed hope when Dobnak was placed on the injured list on June 24 that it would be a quick-healing injury, "but we know that this is going to be a little while."
The 60-day injured list now includes four young Twins pitchers: Dobnak, Edwar Colina, Cody Stashak and, as of Saturday, lefthander Devin Smeltzer, too.
Smeltzer was originally sidelined because of elbow irritation, but during his rehab, he injured his back and neck, too. "He's been dealing with a lot of things. His recovery hasn't been as smooth as we wished," Baldelli said.
In addition, the Twins placed righthander Derek Law on the 10-day injured list because of an impingement in his right shoulder. A magnetic resonance imaging exam this week found no ligament tears, but he is too sore to pitch right now, Baldelli said.
The moves enabled the Twins to add reliever Juan Minaya and Game 1 starter Charlie Barnes to the 40-man roster, and both were called up for Saturday's doubleheader. Minaya had appeared in four games for the Twins this season, but was outrighted to Class AAA St. Paul in early June.