Homer

Bailey

Bailey is back with the Athletics, where he made 13 starts back in 2019, to serve as organizational starting pitching depth. The 35-year-old veteran righty was limited to just a pair of starts with the Twins during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign due to injury.

Bailey had been designated for assignment and now has officially been cut loose. The veteran right-hander battled a biceps injury this season which limited him to just two appearances.

Bailey pitched decently in his two starts when healthy this season, but he wasn’t going to be part of the Twins’ playoff rotation and they determined they have better options for their bullpen. The 34-year-old will be a free agent this offseason.

Bailey retired nine straight batters to open the contest -- his first major-league start since July 28 -- before coming unraveled in the fourth inning. He allowed four consecutive Tigers to reach safely, and failed to record an out, before being lifted from the contest. He was only charged with one run, courtesy of an RBI single by Miguel Cabrera, thanks to reliever Cody Stashak, who induced a double-play ball and got a harmless fly out to end the threat without any further damage. He finished with three strikeouts and only walked one batter. The 34-year-old veteran right-hander missed nearly two months due to right biceps tendinitis and finishes the truncated 2020 campaign with a pedestrian 3.38 ERA 1.13 WHIP and 7/3 K/BB ratio across eight innings (two starts).

Bailey will make his return in a start against the Tigers on Tuesday. The veteran right-hander has been out since the start of August with right biceps tendinitis. He’s not a recommended fantasy play in his first start back.

Nothing has changed in Bailey’s rehab, this was merely done as a procedural move to free up a roster spot. He’s eligible to return to the Twins on September 13, though there’s still no guarantee that he’ll be ready at that time.

He’s slowly ramping things back up after being shut down for the last week and a half with right biceps tendinitis. Bailey should have a shot to return before the end of the month.

The Twins originally pushed Bailey’s start back a day, but they’ve now elected to put him on the IL. It’s unclear at this point how much time he might miss. Jake Odorizzi (intercostal) should be ready to slide back into the rotation this week in Bailey’s spot.

The Twins will roll with a bullpen day on Sunday, with Tyler Clippard functioning as the opener. Bailey isn’t dealing with any sort of injury, Baldelli called it more of an extra recovery day for Bailey and simply wanting to take care of his starter and making sure that he’s equipped and ready to go for the remainder of the season. Bailey will take on the Pirates on Monday.

Bailey gave up four hits and issued two walks while striking out four of the 20 batters he faced. It wasn’t the most dominant outing, but Bailey doesn’t really offer dominance at this point in his career, and the Twins don’t need it given their potent offensive attack. The veteran right-hander is lined up to face the Indians next.