Kenta Maeda. (Getty/Kyodo)

       NEW YORK (Kyodo) -- Minnesota Twins right-hander Kenta Maeda has had season-ending elbow surgery on his pitching arm in Dallas, manager Rocco Baldelli said Wednesday.

       According to Baldelli, the operation included placing an internal brace on Maeda's elbow, which could speed up his recovery from the typical 12-to-16 month timeframe to 9-to-12 months. Maeda will miss the rest of the 2021 season and likely most of the 2022 season.

       The 33-year-old Japanese started 21 games in 2021, his sixth season in Major League Baseball, going 6-5 and striking out 113 batters over 106-1/3 innings pitched.

       After four seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Maeda had a career year with the Twins in 2020. He finished second in voting for the American League Cy Young Award and raised the team's expectations heading into 2021, when he was named Opening Day starter.

       But he took a big step back when he was sidelined for three weeks in May with a hip strain and was placed on the injured list Aug. 23 with right forearm tightness.

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