Twins Get Good News on Kenta Maeda Injury Update

The 2021 MLB season hasn't been kind to the Minnesota Twins. With a 15-28 record, the Twins are firmly at the bottom of the AL Central, trailing the first-place Chicago White Sox by 11.5 games. It's safe to say that Minnesota would welcome any sort of good news in a season that's been full of the opposite.

One piece of good news that the Twins have gotten is that starting pitcher Kenta Maeda won't be out of the lineup for as long as it was feared. In fact, he's returning to the rotation in time for a series against the Cleveland Indians this weekend.

Kenta Maeda Injury Update

Maeda has been out of the Twins lineup since hurting his groin in a 7-6 loss to the Oakland Athletics on May 16. It was feared that his injury may have landed him on the Injured List, however, that's clearly not the case. Instead, his early return is in time to help the Twins try to make up some ground on the Indians, who are 9.0 games ahead of them in the division.

However, if Maeda is going to help the Twins turn their season around, he's going to have to pitch better than he has in 2021. Through eight starts, the 33-year-old righty has a 2-2 record, along with a career-worst 5.26 ERA. He's also walked 10 batters, which is the same amount he had at the end of last season but in 29.0 fewer innings.

Despite their record, the Twins have surprisingly high odds to win the World Series, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Their odds currently sit at +4500, which ranks them 18th-best in the MLB.

It might be a long shot, but if Minnesota wants to get back into the playoffs, the Twins will need Maeda and the rest of the pitching staff to start playing much better.

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