Injuries & Moves: Buxton doing fine after HBP exit
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July 24: OF Byron Buxton doing fine after exiting game due to hit-by-pitch
Though Buxton underwent a lengthy examination from manager Rocco Baldelli and athletic trainer Masa Abe after he was struck in the right forearm by a pitch in the seventh inning of the Twins' 5-4 victory over the Phillies on Wednesday, Baldelli announced after the game that X-rays revealed no fractures in Buxton's arm. A cheerful Buxton said that he'd initially lost all feeling in the hand, but he was using the hand relatively normally in the postgame clubhouse and said he planned to play moving forward.
"It ain’t broken, so I’m good," Buxton said. "Normally, that’s what happens, so I’m always on the positive side when nothing crazy happens."
July 24: RHP Brock Stewart reinstated from 60-day IL; RHP David Festa recalled from Triple-A St. Paul; RHP Ronny Henriquez optioned to Triple-A; INF Diego A. Castillo DFA'd
The back end of the Twins' bullpen is finally whole again, with Stewart active for the first time since May 1, before he missed 70 games with right shoulder tendinitis. That unites him with Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax to give manager Rocco Baldelli more options in late innings, with Henriquez optioned back to Triple-A following his outing on Tuesday night.
The Twins also brought up Festa to fill the rotation spot vacated by Chris Paddack's IL placement, restoring their balance between position players and pitchers by moving Castillo off the 40-man roster, though they have hope the 26-year-old infielder could remain with the organization.
10-DAY/15-DAY INJURED LIST
INF Jose Miranda (low back strain)
Expected return: Potentially July 26
Miranda successfully went through pregame work at Target Field on July 23 and began a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on July 24, hitting third and playing third base. If all goes well, he could be on track to rejoin the Twins by the start of their road trip on July 26.
Miranda was scratched ahead of the Twins' July 12 game in San Francisco after feeling his back tighten up while taking pregame grounders. (Last updated: July 24)
3B Royce Lewis (right adductor strain)
Expected return: Potentially July 26
Lewis began a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on July 23, hitting second and playing third base as he went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. He was in the lineup again on July 24 at designated hitter. There's some thought that the relatively less severe nature of his injury could allow him to return by the start of the Twins' road trip on July 26, if all goes well.
Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said on July 3 that Lewis sustained a Grade 2 strain to his adductor, though Lewis wasn't down for long, as he said he'd been running and hitting since the second week of July, when Minnesota departed for its road trip through Chicago and San Francisco to end the first half. He took batting practice and ran on the field with his teammates on July 20.
Lewis was injured during the Twins' game against the Tigers on July 2. He ran gingerly to second base after hitting a double in the third inning, and was removed from the game in the sixth inning. (Last updated: July 24)
SS Carlos Correa (right plantar fasciitis)
Expected return: August
Correa was placed on the 10-day IL on July 20, as the Twins began the second half of the season. Correa received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection in his right heel, where he is experiencing plantar fasciitis in the opposite foot from the lingering issue that held back his production throughout the 2023 season. He said on July 22 that he hopes to not miss more than another week or two.
Correa was in the clubhouse on July 22 with an immobilizing boot on his right foot, which he said would remain on for "a couple more days." He said he's still been working through his weight room routine, but he wasn't sure if he'd resume baseball activity immediately after removing the boot.
"We had a lot to learn from last year and the left foot when it happened," Correa said. "We don't want to make the same mistake and play through it. So going on the IL is what's best for the team, and then get healthy and finish strong." (Last updated: July 22)
LHP Kody Funderburk (left oblique strain)
Expected return: TBD
Funderburk said he felt his oblique seize up while playing catch before the Twins' July 20 game against the Brewers, with the pain described as being more toward his back area. The club placed the left-hander on the 15-day IL on July 21, and he was hopeful that he could return in time to contribute in some way for September and October, though he expressed a potential very early timeline of six to eight weeks for similar injuries. (Last updated: July 22)
RHP Chris Paddack (right forearm strain)
Expected return: TBD
Paddack was placed on the 15-day injured list on July 20 after experiencing tightness in his elbow while throwing during the All-Star break that restricted his full range of motion. MRIs of the area revealed that there were no issues with the twice-surgically repaired UCL in Paddack's right elbow, and Paddack simply felt grateful for the notion that they had seemingly caught the arm issue early before it potentially progressed to another more serious ligament injury.
There's no timeline for Paddack's recovery, but he indicated that he expects to pitch again in 2024 and wondered if this issue could perhaps have contributed to the dead arm and shoulder troubles that had sent him to the IL in early July.
"I gained a little bit of hope when I saw the ligament was attached, secured and looked strong in there; just had a little bit of fluid in there, flexor pronator, right there on the forearm strain,” Paddack said. Read more > (Last updated: July 21)
INF Kyle Farmer (right shoulder strain)
Expected return: Late July
Farmer had been dealing with his shoulder issue for "a long time" before being placed on the IL retroactive to July 11, manager Rocco Baldelli said. The injury got to the point where the Twins felt it was better to shut Farmer down in order to get him back to full health. Baldelli said Farmer could miss more than the 10-day minimum, which includes the team's days off during the All-Star break. (Last updated: July 12)
OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (right thumb sprain, No. 3 on Twins Top Prospects list)
Expected return: TBD
Rodriguez began a rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League on July 6. He had been in his first game back from a hand injury that had kept him out of action for a week when he appeared to sprain his thumb on a slide into second base on a double to left-center field as part of a 2-for-2 return to the lineup on June 5. He was placed on the Minor League 7-day IL with the injury on June 7. (Last updated: July 6)
1B/OF Alex Kirilloff (back issues)
Expected return: TBD
Kirilloff's worsening soreness and pain in his lower back and associated nerve issues down his leg ultimately sent him to the IL instead of an optional assignment to Triple-A St. Paul.
Kirilloff underwent an MRI exam on May 26 and had initially been playing through the unspecified back issues, with the Twins treating it as one of the dings that most players play through without issue as part of a long season. However, manager Rocco Baldelli and Kirilloff said on June 18 that the player had not fully communicated the extent of the worsening injury.
Kirilloff said he was confident the issue would not require surgery but will not know more until getting a second opinion. (Last updated: June 18)
60-DAY INJURED LIST
RHP Justin Topa (left patellar tendinitis)
Expected return: Possibly August
Topa began a rehab assignment with Single-A Fort Myers on July 23, throwing a scoreless inning as part of a combined no-hitter by the Mighty Mussels. He hopes to progress to an outing with Triple-A St. Paul in the coming days, perhaps as soon as July 26.
"I feel really optimistic after last night," Topa said. "[The knee] wasn't even in my mind. It was just focused on pitching. When it gets to that point, especially the rehab process, as long and as tedious as it can be, once you can kind of eliminate that thought of, 'Oh, are you going to feel something here on this pitch' -- once you can eliminate that and focus on pitching -- it's a good thing."
An MRI of Topa's left knee revealed a 25% torn left patellar tendon after soreness flared during his initial rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on May 5. After a second opinion from a doctor, Topa received a platelet-rich plasma injection in the knee with the hope it would allow him to avoid surgery, leading to a six-week shutdown. Topa began the season on the IL due to soreness and inflammation related to left knee tendinitis that had lingered throughout 2023. (Last updated: July 24)
RHP Daniel Duarte (right elbow strain)
Expected return: Not this season
Duarte underwent right elbow surgery on May 8, performed by Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas. He had Tommy John surgery on his right arm 10 years ago. This surgery will either be a total replacement of the graft in his elbow or the installation of a brace to support the current structure.
According to head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta, Meister said he wouldn’t know which until he began the procedure. Either way, Duarte is facing a long recovery. He was transferred to the 60-day IL on April 22. (Last updated: May 8)
RHP Anthony DeSclafani (right elbow strain)
Expected return: Not this season
DeSclafani underwent season-ending flexor tendon repair surgery with Dr. Keith Meister on March 29. He attempted two ramp-ups in Spring Training but had both halted by elbow soreness, at which point he and the Twins sought a consultation with Meister.
There was no UCL involvement, meaning DeSclafani did not need Tommy John surgery, but the flexor tendon surgery also involves a 13-month recovery timeline. (Last updated: March 30)