Tampa Bay Rays Pitcher Matt Garza was placed on the 15 day disabled list today with radial nerve irritation in his right arm. Garza came out of the Rays game against Seattle last night in the third inning with two outs. After walking Jose Vidro in 5 pitches Garza motioned to the dugout for a trainer and then came out of the game. Garza threw 70 pitches in his 2 plus innings with 6 hits, 3 eared runs, 3 base on balls and 2 strikeouts.

Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com wrote:

While Rays manager Joe Maddon said he had no prior knowledge of the injury, Garza told the media following the game that the problem surfaced late last year. "It’s been gradually hurting, but I’ve fought it off," Garza said.

An AP story appearing on CBS Sports quoted Matt Garza as saying:

"We’re going to take our time," Garza said. "It’s something I’ve dealt with over time, but I was able to fight through it. (It started) more towards late last year. It got to the point where, I’ve got to get looked at and see what’s going on. It was like somebody was pressing down on my arm."

So did the Twins get away one here and unload an injured Matt Garza to the Rays? It sure seems like Garza knew he had problems. Who knows what the Twins knew but my guess is this Twins didn’t know about this. Young pitchers often don’t say anything about soreness they are experiencing because they are unsure of what are feeling and don’t want to be complain about something they can maybe work through when fighting for a job.

Only time will tell of this is something serious for Garza or if he will bounce back with no effects of it. Last spring Garza complained of headaches and neck pain but only missed 5 or 6 days and then was available all season.

In other notes Joe Christensen reported on Francisco Liriano’s shaky start for Rochester yesterday. Liriano threw 88 pitches in four innings and gave up three runs with 6 hits, 3 walks and 3 strikeouts. People are speculating on whether Liriano will take Slowey’s spot in the rotation if Slowey is unable to go because of a sore bicep. With this recent outing of Francisco’s, it appears he is better off staying in Rochester for a few more starts. Maybe Brian Bass can make the start for the Twins if need be.

The Twins rotation for opening day became clear after Francisco Liriano’s last spring start on Friday and Scott Baker’s minor league start on Sunday.  Ron Gardenhire announced Francisco Liriano was optioned to the Twins Class A Fort Myers to start the season. Francisco pitched well on Friday throwing 73 pitches in 5 innings with 7 strikeouts, 2 base on balls, and 3 hits, one being a homerun. Kelly Thesier wrote in her article that Francisco is expected to make one start in Class A, make a start for Class AAA Rochester, then maybe join the Twins. Gardy wants to get Liriano up to throwing around 100 pitches. It will be interesting to see if Francisco does join the Twins after two starts or if the Twins will wait to see which of the starters isn’t making the grade over the month of April.

Scott Baker pitched well enough in his minor league start on Sunday and will jump on the end of the Twins rotation and start the series against Kansas City. In his start Baker threw 71 pitches over 6 innings giving up 6 hits, no walks with 3 strikeouts. Baker should be able to get more strength back after his extended bout with the flu by the time he makes his first start,

The Twins will start the season with Livan Hernandez, Boof Bonser, Nick Blackburn, Kevin Slowey and Scott Baker.

Francisco Liriano got his 2nd start of the spring and didn’t fare so well. Francisco made it through 2+ innings today against the Red Sox and gave up 3 earned runs with 4 hits and 2 base on balls. Francisco said he didn’t have command of his pitches but did work up to throwing at 90-95% of full throttle. He also said he think he will be ready for t he rotation by end of the spring. Probably the best thing we heard  was that Francisco felt great after the game. Below is francisco’s line. Boxscore

Today’s game vs the Tampa Bay Rays is one of the few spring training games where we don’t get to listen on the Twins Radio Network. If I remember right just a few years ago we were lucky to get just a handful of games during Spring Training. Now we get pretty nice coverage. Will have to follow the MLB boxscore. So far 0 -0 after 1 and a half innings. Boof has pitched 2 innings with 2 SO, 0 BB and 1 H. I wonder if he will go 3 IP today?

La Velle E Neal III reported earlier that Francisco Liriano was going to throw BP again today. Now I see Joe Christensen just posted that the session went well without any pain. Joe also said

"Liriano said he feels like he’s throwing his fastball and slider well but is still holding back with his slider. That explained what those of us behind the batting cage saw, as his fastball and change-up looked pretty good, while his slider was wild and ineffective."

One thing I have heard about pitchers coming back from Tommy John surgery is that strength and pain is not usually a problem. The arm has been so well rested and has gone through a lot of physical therapy so the arm is quite strong and healthy. Endurance for pitching 7, 8 and 9 innings and control are bound to be what Francisco will have to overcome.