Kyle Farnsworth says he was not criticizing cancer survivor Trey Mancini

Former MLB pitcher Kyle Farnsworth was torn apart on social media Monday for a tweet he sent that seemed to be directed at Trey Mancini. Of course, Farnsworth now claims he was not talking about the Baltimore Orioles star.

Farnsworth, who pitched 16 seasons in MLB, expressed his disbelief to learn a player had taken the day off due to “general soreness.”

So I just saw that a MLB player didn’t play today because of general soreness. Are you kidding me. It’s September. Everyone is sore. If you can’t play through soreness, you shouldn’t be playing the sport. SMH!

— Kyle Farnsworth (@24_7Farnsworth) September 6, 2021

Farnsworth was almost certainly talking about Mancini. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Mancini would not be available for Monday’s game against the Kansas City Royals because he was experiencing soreness in his calf. Mancini, of course, is playing this season despite undergoing surgery last year to remove a malignant tumor from his colon.

The backlash (some of which came from us) was predictable and well deserved. On Tuesday, Farnsworth tried to claim he was making a general observation and not directing his comments toward Mancini.

Let me clarify a tweet I posted yesterday. It was not directed toward Trey. His name was not mentioned in it. Cancer was not mentioned in it. It was directed to towards players who can’t play through soreness. There may be a fan that comes to see you play that day. And you arent

— Kyle Farnsworth (@24_7Farnsworth) September 7, 2021

No one is buying that. It’s more likely that Farnsworth was unfamiliar with Mancini’s story. The 29-year-old returned to huge cheers this season and is batting .262 with 21 home runs in 128 games. If he needs a day off from competing for the 43-93 Orioles, he certainly deserves it.

Farnsworth made a mistake. He would be better off owning it.