The Minnesota Twins were on the wrong end of a 3-2 final on Saturday against the Detroit Tigers. But more concerning than the loss is the health of Minnesota pitcher, José De León.
De León came on to pitch with one on and one out in the bottom of the eighth inning — but never threw a pitch in the game.
When De León was warming up on the mound, he threw a pitch and immediately knew that something was wrong. He initially grabbed at his throwing elbow. De León continued to run toward the Minnesota dugout with his right arm hanging low. He eventually stopped and hunched over. At that point, he was met by Twins manager Rocco Baldelli as well as the trainer. Shortstop Carlos Correa also came in to help.
Twins pitcher José De León throws a warmup pitch, then runs off of the mound in obvious pain.
A troubling sign for any pitcher, especially one who has had Tommy John Surgery. pic.twitter.com/m6UJvWCpOZ
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) June 25, 2023
Baseball fans expressed their concern about the injury.
Ugh. You really, really hate to see it, especially for a guy like José De León.
I've chatted with him several times about how happy he was just to be healthy and having fun in the big leagues without worrying about how he physically feels. Injury-ridden path just to get here.
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) June 25, 2023
:/ that looked awful https://t.co/Z2wcX6Xbak
— Negro Leagues Larry David (@tangible_uno) June 25, 2023
I thought about Joel Zumaya right away. https://t.co/I1lO8AbtRZ
— @bfsesq.bsky.social (@BFSEsq) June 25, 2023
He’s leaning mannnn smh https://t.co/Lnqs520lOH
— Vic Damone Jr (@wholesomefoxx) June 25, 2023
Just a tough tough moment here for Twins reliever Jose DeLeon. Something snapped or popped in his elbow during one of his last warmup pitches. He immediate dropped his glove and left the field. Teammates and Tigers both visibly shook
— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) June 25, 2023
The Twins, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com, announced after the game that De León had “right elbow soreness.”
Twins have officially announced right elbow soreness for José De León, but more to come postgame.
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) June 25, 2023
While the obvious hope is that it’s something mild, injuries like that unfortunately rarely are.
Sights like this trigger memories of the past — and none of them are good. Pitchers like Dave Dravecky, Tony Saunders and Joel Zumaya have all had similar moments, throwing a pitch and then either running immediately off of the field or falling to the ground in pain.
De León has pitched 17.1 outings this year over 12 games. He’s posted a 4.67 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and struck out 17 hitters.
[Do-Hyoung Park, Photo Credit: Fox]
