Twins prospect Matt Canterino undergoes season-ending shoulder surgery

Twins right-hander Matt Canterino has undergone season-ending surgery to “tighten” ligaments in his throwing shoulder, as relayed by Phil Miller of the Star Tribune.

It’s a brutal blow for the 27-year-old hurler, who will now miss a third consecutive season after last pitching during the regular season back in 2022. A second-round pick by the Twins back in 2019, Canterino has been nothing short of dominant during his professional career but has been had his career thrown off the rails by injury woes. After posting a sterling 1.44 ERA in seven starts down the stretch during his draft year, Canterino missed the entire 2020 season (like all minor leaguers) due to the cancelled minor league season that year.

Upon returning to action in 2021, the right-hander was once again dominant with a sensational 0.78 ERA but made just six starts due to a forearm injury. He returned to action in 2022 and picked up right where he had left off, with a 1.83 ERA and a 34.8% strikeout rate in his first taste of Double-A action, but that 2021 forearm issue resurfaced and he ultimately required Tommy John surgery. That led him to miss the entire 2023 campaign, and in 2024 he was sidelined the entire year due to a rotator cuff strain. He pitched a scoreless inning during Spring Training this year but was shut down earlier this month due to a shoulder strain, which has now required him to go under the knife once again.

It’s a devastating turn of events for Canterino and deeply frustrating for the Twins, particularly given the right-hander’s obvious and immense talent when healthy enough to take the mound. While he’s been limited to just 85 innings in his minor league career, those innings could hardly have been more impressive. He’s posted a lifetime 1.48 ERA during his professional career while striking out a sensational 39.2% of opponents. His 10.5% walk rate is certainly elevated, but that issue is masked by Canterino’s overpowering stuff and an impressive ability to keep the ball in the park. He’s surrendered just three home runs throughout his MiLB career despite his fly ball-heavy approach, and it’s easy to imagine him finding success at Triple-A and even in the majors with his impressive repertoire so long as he can eventually stay healthy enough to use it.

Canterino is currently on the 40-man roster, which means the Twins could theoretically place him on the 60-day injured list to open up a 40-man roster spot should they need to at some point this year. With that being said, doing so would mean that Canterino will accrue big league service time this year despite not having made his MLB debut. Alternatively, Canterino can be placed on the minor league injured list, where he would not accrue MLB service time but would count against the club’s 40-man roster.