ATLANTA — The Minnesota Twins lost another reliever Tuesday when they placed right-hander Brock Stewart on the 15-day injured list with right elbow soreness.
The move came one day after the team announced that Jose De Leon will need a second Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. The right-handed reliever was placed on the 15-day IL on Sunday after hurting his elbow while warming up a day earlier.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said he hopes Stewart, one of the team’s top setup men, has a short stay on the IL. Baldelli said the team’s medical staff believes Stewart has tendinitis in his elbow, and there is “a reasonable chance we’ve sort of headed off this issue and it won’t be too long.”
Baldelli said Stewart will have tests to confirm the initial diagnosis. He said Stewart has “been kind of fighting through” soreness in the elbow for about a week.
Stewart is 2-0 with a 0.70 ERA and one save in 25 games while allowing only 15 hits in 25 2/3 innings.
Right-hander Oliver Ortega was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul.
Baldelli said no one pitcher will be asked to fill Stewart’s role in late innings. Baldelli said right-handers Jhoan Duran and Jordan Balazovic could pitch in more prominent roles.