Anthony DeSclafani details elbow pain as he braces for potential season-ending surgery

FORT MYERS, FLA. – After missing the final two months of the 2023 season, Anthony DeSclafani wasn’t sure how his elbow would react during spring training.

He felt fine when he threw during the offseason, at an indoor facility in New Jersey, but there is no way to replicate the intensity and adrenaline of pitching in games.

He never made it into a Grapefruit League game.

“It’s the flexor that is flaring up,” DeSclafani said. “I would say it’s like a stabbing pain when you throw the baseball. It’s tough to pitch when it hurts that bad.”

DeSclafani was shut down for the second time this camp after he pitched 1 2/3 innings in a minor league game last weekend. He’s scheduled to visit Dr. Keith Meister in Texas to evaluate his elbow, which may lead to season-ending elbow surgery.

It’s the third time he was shut down with a right elbow flexor strain in the last nine months, and Tommy John surgery is a possibility.

“This thing can only pop up so much before something has to be fixed,” he said. “I’m going to hold out optimism. You always want to try to avoid going under a knife.”

During the minor league game, DeSclafani sat at 94 mph with his fastball, his normal velocity, and he drew swings and misses with his offspeed pitches. He said the pain in his elbow became “progressively worse” on his last four or five pitches.

The Twins knew there was an injury risk when they acquired DeSclafani, one of the four players they received in the Jorge Polanco trade from Seattle. He was traded twice this winter, and the Twins are paying $4 million of his $12 million salary. The Twins hoped he could slot into the rotation to begin the season, but there is a chance he doesn’t throw a pitch for them. He’ll become a free agent at the end of the season.

“I know [Meister] is going to give me the right thing to do here,” said DeSclafani, who turns 34 next month. “I know I’m getting older, but I’m still hoping I can play baseball for years to come, so I want to do what the best is for my future, as well.”

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Louie Varland, making his first start after he cemented a spot in the Twins’ starting rotation, gave up nine hits and eight runs in four innings during the Twins’ 12-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday at Hammond Stadium.

Eight of the nine hits against Varland were singles before Carson Kelly hit a two-run homer to left field in the fourth inning. Despite the results, the St. Paul native is lined up to make his first Opening Day roster with his hometown team.

“It’s a dream come true,” Varland said. “This was a goal since 2019, and it’s right in front of me. It’s pretty cool.”

* Twins reliever Jorge Alcala exited Wednesday’s game in the middle of the ninth inning after a mound visit from manager Rocco Baldelli and a trainer. Two pitches before he exited, he fielded a line drive comebacker and the ball grazed off the fingertips on his pitching hand. His last pitch was a wild 98-mph fastball and he looked at his hand afterward. Alcala said his hand felt fine in the clubhouse afterward.

* Max Kepler was scratched from the lineup Wednesday because of left pectoral tightness. Kepler participated in a team defensive drill a couple of hours before the game.

* Bailey Ober pitched five innings in a Class A-Advanced spring training game on a Twins’ backfield Wednesday. “One of the better days I’ve felt this year physically,” Ober said.