Mick Abel's Elbow Rehab Derailed Again — Connor Prielipp's Rotation Spot Is Now a Long-Term Reality

Per the team's announcement, Twins right-hander Mick Abel hit another wall in his recovery from right elbow inflammation, experiencing new soreness in his right triceps following a bullpen session Saturday. The 24-year-old received a cortisone shot and won't be evaluated again until Tuesday when Minnesota returns home — leaving his timeline entirely open-ended. Assistant GM Alex Hassan confirmed the soreness has migrated from the front of the joint to the back of the triceps, what he described as a possible triceps impingement. That's not a minor detail. A moving pain location in a pitcher's elbow is a red flag, not a blip.

Abel was building genuine momentum before this latest setback. Acquired from Philadelphia last July in the Jhoan Duran trade, he had posted back-to-back strong starts before the original inflammation surfaced in mid-April. Now, with a cortisone shot masking symptoms and no mound work scheduled until at least next week, the Twins face a realistic scenario where Abel misses another month — minimum. The front office's cautious language about needing to 'get him throwing' before projecting any return date tells you everything about how uncertain this is.

The beneficiary is rookie left-hander Connor Prielipp, who has quietly made this a non-emergency for Minnesota. In three starts filling Abel's slot, Prielipp owns a 3.86 ERA with 15 strikeouts across 14 innings. He takes the ball again Friday in Cleveland. That's not a guy you yank the moment Abel is cleared — Prielipp has earned a sustained audition, and the Twins coaching staff knows it.

For bettors, Prielipp's strikeout rate — roughly 9.6 K/9 in his early sample — makes his K props worth monitoring as the market catches up to his role security. Books may still be pricing him with a short leash, undervaluing his strikeout ceiling in a full-game line. On the team total side, Minnesota's rotation continuity matters: Prielipp has kept the Twins competitive in starts without being a liability, which supports playing the Twins' first-5-innings lines at reasonable prices when he's on the hill. Abel's prolonged absence doesn't crater the rotation, but it does concentrate risk — watch how the Twins' bullpen usage trends if Prielipp's pitch counts climb in Cleveland.