Twins need to stop trading for damaged pitchers

The Twins generally have been a successful team since Derek Falvey and Thad Levine arrived before the 2017 season.

They’ve reached the postseason in four of the seven “Falvine” seasons. They have won three of the last five AL Central titles. Even if inferior competition has helped fuel that success in some part, we should also give credit to the team’s brain trust for putting the Twins on a strong path with several good draft picks, signings and trades.

But if the Twins under Falvey have a blind spot, it is this: A strange affinity for right-handed pitchers who arrive as or soon become damaged goods.

The latest: Projected fifth starter Anthony DeSclafani, who the Twins acquired this offseason in the Jorge Polanco trade even though DeSclafani missed the last two months of 2023 with elbow problems, will likely miss this entire season.

It was part of a troubling day of injury news after a largely positive spring for the Twins, as I talked about on Tuesday’s Daily Delivery podcast.

If this was a one-off, the Twins and Falvey could be forgiven. But this isn’t even a “fool me twice” scenario. This is the fourth time this has happened since 2019.

The unfortunate trend started in 2019, when the Twins tried to bolster their bullpen at the trade deadline by acquiring Sam Dyson. He appeared in 12 games, posting a bloated 7.15 ERA before a shoulder injury ended his season and Twins career. The Twins were suspicious that the Giants knew he was hurt at the time of the trade.

On the eve of the 2022 season, the Twins acquired righty Chris Paddack. He was only able to make five starts before needing Tommy John surgery, though at least he was able to return in late 2023 and is on track to figure prominently into the 2024 rotation.

To bolster their rotation at the deadline in 2022, they dealt for Tyler Mahle. He made just nine starts combined between 2022 and 2023 for the Twins because of arm problems before leaving in free agency.

And now DeSclafani will again put the Twins’ pitching quality and depth in a bind.

“I wish we could say every pitcher has a perfectly clean situation,” Falvey said Monday. “This is one where he dealt with it before, he rehabbed it, he was in a good place. All the medical stuff we had and everything around the offseason … we knew there was a risk to this going forward.”

Fool him four times, shame on Falvey.

Here are four more things to know today:

*The “Passtronaut,” Joshua Dobbs, didn’t quite match Kirk Cousins’ $180 million deal with the Falcons. But he did get a one-year gig with the 49ers.

*Marcus Fuller joined me on Tuesday’s podcast to talk all things men’s college basketball. Check out his NCAA picks here. We’ll plan to do the same thing Wednesday for the women’s tournament with the Star Tribune’s Kent Youngblood.

*Anthony Edwards is ridiculous, but more importantly he’s finding another gear when the Wolves need him most.

*If you liked Kirk Cousins in “Quarterback” on Netflix, you probably will love Justin Jefferson in “Receiver.”