Twins righthander Jordan Balazovic has broken jaw following 'altercation'

FORT MYERS, FLA. – Jordan Balazovic, a Twins pitching prospect who spent 2022 at Class AAA St. Paul while he recovered from knee and back injuries, will miss the start of spring training after suffering a broken jaw in an "altercation" on Feb. 11 away from the team's training camp, according to President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey.

Balazovic, 24, required surgery on his jaw, which was wired shut during the procedure Sunday, shortly after the Mississauga, Ontario native reported to Twins camp.

"He can't do anything for probably a week to 10 days," Falvey said. "After that, he can start playing catch. We don't have a timetable on what his throwing program will be."

There were no arrests made or other legal ramifications to the incident, Falvey said. But it's another setback for Balazovic, a righthander once rated as the highest pitching prospect in the Twins system after being drafted in the fifth round in 2016. Balazovic seemed headed to the major leagues eventually after a terrific 2019 season in Class A. He pitched a scoreless inning in the Futures Game, and the Twins placed him on their 40-man roster to prevent losing him to another team.

But injuries and the pandemic have detoured his career since then. He went 0-7 with a 7.39 ERA for the Saints last season, giving up 46 extra-base hits in 70⅔ innings, as he fought off knee soreness.

The Twins were hoping a healthy spring would help him recover his effectiveness, but now he's unlikely to start the season on time.

"Obviously it's a disappointing situation," Falvey said. "We talk to all of our guys about some of the situations off the field that get you in trouble. We have to be aware that the decisions we make, where we go, what we do can have ramifications."

Technically, spring training is just starting for Jorge Polanco. It just feels like it's been going on for four months.

That's because the Twins second baseman has been commuting between Fort Myers and his offseason home in the Dominican Republic since the season ended, trying to put the patellar tendinitis in his left knee behind him for good.

The nagging injury affected Polanco's effectiveness, both at the plate and in the field, much of the season, then ended it on Aug. 27. So despite wanting to spend the winter with his three kids, all 6 or younger, Polanco devoted himself to long stints at the Twins' training center.

"It's taken a little bit longer" than he expected, Polanco said. But at least he avoided surgery, he said. The pain "is gone right now. I don't feel anything."

That's a sign that the tendon has healed, obviously, but the Twins are taking no chances. Polanco "will be on a slightly different schedule" than his teammates, manager Rocco Baldelli said. "We'll slowly work him back into all facets of the game. Before we completely cut him loose, we're going to keep progressing him. He's going to get a lot of at-bats on the back field. We're going to keep it controlled for awhile until we cut him loose in these games."

Kyle Farmer can play all four infield positions, but he will occasionally grab a glove and practice a fifth position, too: catcher.

Farmer, the Reds' starting shortstop the past two seasons, has caught 19 games in the major leagues, so if veterans Christian Vazquez and Ryan Jeffers are unavailable for some reason, "we'd be tapping him on the shoulder," Baldelli said. "And he knows that."