Bradley Returns to Twins Rotation With Elite Pre-IL Run as Foundation

The Minnesota Twins reinstated right-handed pitcher Taj Bradley from the 15-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Bradley had been sidelined since May 9 with right pectoralis muscle inflammation—a muscular injury that typically heals cleanly without structural damage—and completed a single rehab outing on May 17 at Triple-A St. Paul, allowing one run across 1.2 innings with three strikeouts and two walks against Columbus.

What matters for Twins backers is what Bradley looked like before the injury forced him down. Over eight starts prior to the IL stint, he compiled a 4-1 record with a 2.87 ERA across 47 innings, 1.19 WHIP, 0.219 opponent batting average, and five quality starts. The strikeout rate was the headline number: 52 K in those 47 innings works out to 9.96 K per nine innings—elite-tier stuff for any rotation member. He walked 17 in that span, so control wasn't pristine, but a sub-3 ERA with sub-1.20 WHIP told you the strikeouts were translating to outs, not just volume noise.

The pectoralis strain itself carries lower re-injury risk than labrum or rotator cuff issues. Bradley's rehab appearance—compressed into 1.2 innings but yielding three strikeouts—suggests the Twins have confidence in his health status for immediate return to the rotation. The market may price him conservatively on strikeout props for his first outing back, anchoring to recent underuse rather than his pre-injury baseline. A pitcher who struck out nearly 10 per nine over 47 innings of regular-season work, facing a Red Sox lineup that ranks middle-of-the-pack in strikeout rate, carries positive expected value on K props if the opening line hasn't fully adjusted to his recent elite performance.

One caveat: a pitcher returning from a muscular injury after only a single rehab inning is operationally unpredictable. The Twins may limit his pitch count or pull him early if tightness appears. Lean into strikeout volume only if the innings/total strikeout structure allows you to profit on a truncated outing—if the book prices him for 5-5.5 innings, a 4-inning performance with 4-5 K could still hit your line. García's removal from the roster suggests the team views Bradley as immediately available for a full workload, but conditioning data from a 1.2-inning outing is thin.