The Minnesota Twins' already challenging season just got a whole lot tougher. The team has placed their standout pitcher, Taj Bradley, on the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his right pectoral muscle.

Bradley, 25, has been nothing short of a bright spot in an otherwise dim campaign for the Twins. Through his first eight starts, he posted a stellar 2.87 ERA and a 4-1 record, striking out 52 batters over 47 innings. That's a strikeout rate of 10 per nine innings—exactly the kind of swing-and-miss stuff that makes a pitcher a fan favorite. In fact, during his second start of the season against the Kansas City Royals, Bradley made history by becoming the first Twins pitcher to hit 100 mph on the radar gun since pitch tracking began in 2008. That's the kind of heat that gets a crowd on its feet.

But injuries have been piling up for Minnesota's pitching staff. Bradley joins Mick Abel (right elbow inflammation) and Pablo López (Tommy John surgery) on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Joe Ryan left his last start with right elbow soreness after facing just two batters, though he's scheduled to start on Saturday against the Cleveland Guardians.

To fill Bradley's spot on the roster, the Twins called up Travis Adams from Triple-A. The 26-year-old has had a rough start to his season, posting a 9.00 ERA in five appearances for St. Paul after recovering from a right triceps strain. He allowed six runs and nine hits over six innings. Adams did appear in 18 games for the Twins last season, but finished with a 7.75 ERA, allowing 39 hits and striking out 31 in 33 2/3 innings.

This isn't Bradley's first brush with a pectoral injury. Back in 2024, when he was with the Tampa Bay Rays, a right pectoral strain kept him out for a month. He returned to make 25 starts and throw 138 innings that season, so there's hope he'll bounce back again. The Twins acquired Bradley from the Rays at last season's trade deadline in exchange for reliever Griffin Jax.

As of Saturday, the Twins sit dead last in the AL Central with a 16-23 record, 4.5 games behind the first-place Guardians. They've lost three straight and seven of their last nine. For a team already struggling to find its footing, losing their top arm is a tough blow—but if there's any silver lining, it's that Bradley has shown he can come back from this before.