Nathan to have MRI Monday.

[mntwinsfan]

Joe Nathan will have an MRI done on his pitching elbow Monday in Minneapolis. Joe left the game with tightness in his elbow. Here is hoping there is nothing wrong. There were bone spurs removed from his elbow not to long ago. Hopefully nothing was missed!

[DirtyKash]

Torn elbow ligament. He will decide on surgery and if that's the case, you can kiss his 2010 goodbye.

[Saber]

BREAKING: Joe Nathan has a torn UCL - HardballTalk - Baseball - NBC Sports

Just got out of the Twins clubhouse, where Joe Nathan, Ron Gardenhire and team trainers revealed that Nathan has a torn UCL. Your UCL, of course, is your ulnar collateral ligament, which is the ligament that made Tommy John famous and makes everyone else cringe. They're not certain if it's a full tear or a partial tear -- Gardenhire called it "significant" -- and Gardenhire says it's the sort of thing you can't tell until you get in and do surgery. Tommy John surgery.

[missionhockey21]

Wow, what a blow to the Twins... and any early fantasy drafters (I think they have started...)

[mntwinsfan]

Looks like John Rauch will become the closer for the Twins.

Nathan loss is huge. Looks like he will be gone for the entire season! I hope we start looking to add a proven closer. Rauch only has 26 career saves.

[bcshorts]

Huge blow for the Twins. I still think they're very capable of winning the AL Central, but a loss like this certainly lets teams like the White Sox and Tigers back into the mix unless a good closer surfaces.

[henks]

Bummer. Heard Buster Olney say Guerrier might get the nod as the Twins' closer.

[catman]

Guerrier or Rauch should be the guy in the 9th inning for the Twins, but I'm not sure they won't give Delaney and Slama a long look this spring. Both of them have great stuff and have closed games in the minors.

[missionhockey21]

What's Nathan's contract like beyond this year?

[henks]

I want to say he signed a 4 yr extension last year, or something similar to that. Could be wrong though.

[DirtyKash]

2010: $11.25 million
2011: $11.25 million
2012: $12.5 million club option with $2 million buyout
2013: free agent

Price of 2012 option increases by $500,000 each for 55 games finished in 2010, 55 games finished in 2011, and 110 games finished in 2010-11 combined

$25,000 for All-Star selection

Cot's Baseball Contracts: Minnesota Twins

[missionhockey21]

Ouch for 2011. The Twins should be reasonably well taken care of this season given the time he will spend on the DL... but if he comes back how many do after an injury like that... ouch. At least 2012 is a buyout, should he be unable to come back to form.

[henks]

I want to say this happened last year with Neshek. He had recently signed a contract and pop goes the elbow.

[Trendy Bastard]

Ouch is right. I hate to see guys with a ton of talent go down like that. Especially after handing him all that dough.

[mntwinsfan]

What about giving Smoltz the closer role? I know we would need to sign him.