Mahle healthy, ready to unveil new-look slider

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Tyler Mahle and the Twins have now had a full offseason to assess and evaluate what happened last fall -- why the club’s biggest acquisition at the Trade Deadline continued to deal with shoulder fatigue that limited him to four starts with Minnesota, and what could be done to prevent that.

To put it simply, it still seems like the Twins don’t know. But at this stage, all they can do is to embrace the sense that Mahle feels back to his normal self and hope that he can put the episode behind him en route to anchoring the top of Minnesota’s veteran-laden rotation.

“It sucked, but I mean, we’re here now, we’re healthy,” Mahle said. “So yeah, put that in the past and keep going.”

Mahle was originally supposed to be one of the earliest reports to Twins camp last week, but during his layover as he traveled from home in Southern California to Fort Myers, he got word that his wife, Ashley, would soon be entering induced labor. Two more cross-country flights and the birth of a baby boy later, Mahle was the final pitcher to arrive in camp -- in time for Thursday’s first workout for pitchers and catchers.

And the importance of this camp for the 28-year-old really can’t be understated.

Mahle can’t remember how many MRIs he had to sit through last fall as he went on the injured list twice while with the Twins for recurrences of the shoulder issues, which noticeably sapped velocity from his fastball during an Aug. 17 start against Kansas City and, later, again during his return to the mound during a Sept. 3 outing in Chicago, which shut him down for the season. He also missed time in July with a shoulder strain before his trade to the Twins.

But at no point did the imaging show anything abnormal, Mahle said, so he took time for rest and strengthening -- as he did during his 2018 rookie season, when Mahle felt something similar, he said. Outside of last season, he’s never spent time on the IL for arm issues as a professional. Mahle wonders if the shortened Spring Training last season and abrupt ramp-up due to the lockout last spring had to do with these most recent troubles.

“He feels fantastic,” president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. “I think [head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta] feels good about where his training is, feels good about what his arm care routines are.”

If anything were still abnormal, Mahle would have been able to tell during his offseason work at Driveline, the data-driven baseball performance facility, where he went at the recommendation of his agent to work on a more effective slider.

Mahle’s slider was hardly a factor for him last season, as he threw it only 11.4 percent of the time and allowed a .304 average and .413 slugging percentage off the pitch. He needs the new slider to improve against right-handed hitters, who posted a .783 OPS against him last season and a .747 OPS against him in his career.

“I've struggled with a breaking ball for so long,” Mahle said. “I couldn't find a grip that worked for me, mindset on where I need to be, mechanically, stuff like that, where my hand needs to be. Driveline fixed it right up and tailored it to the kind of pitcher I am. It has looked great. Hitters haven't seen it yet, so we'll see what they think.”

Mahle’s health will be an important pivot point for the rotation this season. The Twins felt strongly enough about his upside and ability to pitch deep into games that they traded three MLB Pipeline Top 30 prospects for him at last year's Trade Deadline, and he’s an impending free agent. Minnesota has Bailey Ober ready to step in as rotation depth, but the Twins felt Mahle can be a top-of-rotation arm who can take pressure off bullpens and an important arm for a playoff rotation.

Twins fans only saw one real glimpse of that in a six-inning scoreless start against the Angels last August. Mahle’s hope is that will become the norm -- and that the shoulder issues will prove to be a mysterious aberration.

“That was what I would hope I can do for this squad and this organization this year,” Mahle said. “That's what I expect to do, because I only got better this offseason. ... I think with what I have now, I think it's going to be a big difference.”