Baker out for the season, attention turns to Marquis, Hendriks and Swarzak

The Twins have announced that starter Scott Baker will miss the 2012 season to surgically repair his right elbow. The flexor pronator tendon in his elbow needs to be fixed, and the recovery time for such an operation is six months.

With Baker down for the season, the Twins will have to find another starter to rely on. Minnesota has started the season with a four man starting rotation, but that will soon change to five as the schedule condenses and Jason Marquis returns to the team. Marquis is scheduled to pitch for Class AA New Britain Thursday night, then return to the 25 man roster.

Baker’s loss could be Liam Hendriks’ gain. The Australian right-hander is back with the team after missing his first scheduled start with food poisoning. But

Hendriks could get another shot at starting when the Twins host the Rangers on Sunday. But Ron Gardenhire doesn’t want to look that far ahead, so the start could go to Anthony Swarzak, who filled in for Hendriks last Sunday. General manager Terry Ryan says Hendriks and Swarzak give the team “something to work with.”