Twins reliever Joel Zumaya to have Tommy John

Bad news for the Twins coming out of Fort Myers today: reliever Joel Zumaya, signed this offseason and expected to fill a crucial role in the bullpen, was diagnosed with a torn UCL in his throwing arm, and will undergo Tommy John surgery. The surgery will sideline Zumaya for the entire season.

The former Tigers flamethrower had a dominant rookie year of 2006, posting a 1.94 ERA while striking out 97 in 83 1/3 innings. It's been all downhill since, as he's thrown a total of 127 2/3 innings since, with a 3.73 ERA and 113 strikeouts. He didn't pitch at all in 2011 while recovering from elbow surgery in the summer of 2010 following this horrific injury. 

It's a huge loss for the Twins, who were going into 2012 with a bullpen headed by Matt Capps and a largely inexperienced crew. The season just got a little bit tougher in Minnesota. Zumaya was signed this offseason to a one year deal with $850,000.

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