Twins place Jake Odorizzi on 10-day IL, transfer Homer Bailey to 45-day IL

The Twins have placed RHP Jake Odorizzi on the 10-day injured list due to a chest contusion, reports Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic. He’ll be joined by Zack Littell, who’s dealing with elbow inflammation. Meanwhile, Homer Bailey has been transferred to the 45-day injured list after a case of tendinitis in his throwing arm landed him on the IL in early August. Righty Sean Poppen and lefty Danny Coulombe were added to the active roster.

Odorizzi was forced out of Friday night’s matchup with the Royals in the fourth inning after sustaining a line drive to the chest off the bat of Alex Gordon. Per Statcast, the ball was hit at 103.2 mph off the bat, and Odorizzi would later tell reporters that he was having some trouble moving around and catching his breath.

It’s a tough break for Odorizzi, who was making just his third start of the season after dealing with an intercostal strain earlier this year. He has struggled to get going in 2020, surrendering nine runs in 10 innings and allowing a home run in each of his starts.

Hopefully, several days of rest will allow Odorizzi to get back to full health without having to spend more than the requisite 10 days on the shelf.

But with Odorizzi out of commission for the time being and Bailey’s injury keeping him out of action for longer than expected, the Twins might be pressed to more aggressively pursue starting pitching in the days leading up to the Aug. 31 trade deadline. Minnesota shouldn’t be in panic mode with Randy Dobnak showing some potential and Michael Pineda not far off a return from suspension, but an upgrade certainly couldn’t hurt. We’ll have to wait to see which names are available and just how active the trade market is, but the Twins are one of the teams that could benefit most from an additional starter.