Injuries & Moves: Buxton, Kirilloff to begin rehab assignments
LATEST NEWS
Aug. 28: RHP Bailey Ober optioned to Triple-A St. Paul; LHP Kody Funderburk selected from Triple-A St. Paul; RHP Oliver Ortega transferred to 60-day IL
In a surprising move, the Twins optioned Ober back down to Triple-A St. Paul despite his 3.67 ERA in 122 2/3 innings out of the Minnesota rotation this season and the fact that he'd been the club's most consistent starting pitcher for a large chunk of the season. He has thrown 140 1/3 innings this season across two levels, well past his previous career-high of 108 1/3 innings.
In his place, the Twins called up Funderburk for the first time to bolster their left-handed bullpen depth. Funderburk pitched to a 2.60 ERA in 52 innings across 37 appearances for Triple-A St. Paul this season. More >>
INJURY UPDATES
10-day IL and 15-day IL
DH/OF Byron Buxton (right hamstring strain)
Expected return: September
Buxton took live batting practice off right-hander Jorge Alcala on Aug. 29 and will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on Aug. 30. Buxton will start in center field and play roughly seven innings, marking his first appearance in center field since Aug. 22, 2022. He will get a day off on Aug. 31, and the Twins will evaluate next steps depending on how Buxton feels.
Buxton sustained the hamstring strain while legging out a double during the Twins' series opener on Aug. 1 in St. Louis. He was originally in the starting lineup on Aug. 2 but was scratched, and he did not make enough progress to play either that day or the next, with further examination revealing the strained muscle. More >> (Last updated: Aug. 29)
1B/OF Alex Kirilloff (right shoulder strain)
Expected return: September
Kirilloff took live batting practice off right-handed reliever Jorge Alcala on Aug. 29 at Target Field and will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on Aug. 30. The plan is for him to start at designated hitter for the first game of the rehab, then play first base on Aug. 31 then rest on Sept. 1. The Twins have not yet said how long the rehab assignment is expected to take.
Kirilloff went on the 10-day injured list on July 30 due to the shoulder injury he sustained while making a diving play in the field during a game earlier in the week. He underwent an MRI exam and received a cortisone injection in his right shoulder on July 31. (Last updated: Aug. 29)
UTIL Willi Castro (mild left oblique strain)
Expected return: Late August or early September
Castro began a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on Aug. 25 and played in his third rehab game on Aug. 29. Castro's wife is due with the couple's second daughter on Aug. 30, which will necessitate a paternity leave, and it is not yet clear if he'll be ready to immediately return to the Twins following that absence or if he'll need an additional rehab game.
He said he first felt the strain in his oblique while taking swings in the batting cage during the Twins' series in Philadelphia on Aug. 11-13, though it only impacted him when swinging right-handed. Castro was otherwise able to swing left-handed and throw without issues. As expected, he didn't need an extended period to recover. (Last updated: Aug. 29)
3B Jose Miranda (right shoulder impingement)
Expected return: TBD
Miranda started throwing again during the second week of August and was hitting off the tee as part of a four-week progression back into full action. He's hoping to get into games by September, but he was unsure if he would return to the Twins in 2023, noting that it would depend on where they were in the season and their roster needs.
An MRI exam confirmed the diagnosis of an impingement in Miranda's shoulder after he was scratched from the Twins' July 14 game against the A's with a flare-up of the shoulder soreness that has bothered him since Spring Training and caused his withdrawal from the World Baseball Classic. He received a platelet-rich plasma injection on July 17 and was shut down for three weeks before he began throwing activity. (Last updated: Aug. 15)
60-day IL
RHP Chris Paddack (Tommy John surgery)
Expected return: Late September
Paddack threw two innings of live batting practice at the Twins' Minor League complex in Fort Myers, Fla., on Aug. 25, and is expected to throw roughly 50 pitches across three innings of live batting practice in early September, according to head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta. Paddack said he expects to begin a formal rehab assignment with Single-A Fort Myers on Sept. 6, and if all goes well, he hopes to be ready for action on Sept. 22, if there's a role for him in the Majors. He said on Aug. 29 that he'd already discussed what that role could look like but wasn't ready to publicly announce it.
"I’m super excited," Paddack said. "I feel outstanding, I feel healthy, I feel strong, I feel explosive. I’ve learned, compared to the first go-around, this one is way better. All the I's are dotted and T's are crossed, and I’ve just got to continue to stay in stride. Everything has been going great." (Last updated: Aug. 29)
RHP Oliver Ortega (left lumbar strain)
Expected return: TBD
The Twins placed Ortega on the 15-day IL on Aug. 24, two days after he exited during the middle of a plate appearance in the seventh inning of the club's eventual loss to Milwaukee. They transferred him to the 60-day IL on Aug. 28. (Last updated: Aug. 28)
RHP Brock Stewart (right elbow soreness)
Expected return: September
Stewart threw a 15-pitch bullpen session at Target Field on Aug. 25, his first since he experienced a setback following his last bullpen on July 29, after which a recurrence of soreness in his right forearm resulted in his needing extra recovery time. He reported feeling good the next day and expects to throw his next bullpen on Aug. 28, and likely another after that. Stewart said his target return date to the Twins is Sept. 10 as a best-case scenario.
"I thought I was going to be back way sooner, so it’s been killing me, as you guys can imagine," Stewart said. (Last updated: Aug. 26)
OF/INF Nick Gordon (right tibia fracture)
Expected return: Possibly September
Gordon will begin some ground-based running activities during the second week of August, per head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta, but he likely won't build up until the end of August, and the Twins are anticipating Gordon working into game action again before the end of the season. (Last updated: Aug. 15)
RHP José De León (right flexor muscle strain)
Expected return: 2024
De León underwent successful Tommy John surgery on July 19 with Dr. Chris Camp, the Twins' medical director and director of high performance, after blowing out his elbow for the second time against the Tigers on June 24. He exited that game against Detroit before he even faced a batter, as he said he felt something akin to an "electric shock" in his right elbow on his final warmup pitch, causing him to drop his glove, immediately clutch his elbow and run off the mound.
Per the Twins, the procedure was a UCL reconstruction with an internal brace, which was also accompanied by an osteophyte removal, an ulnar nerve decompression and a flexor/pronator tendon repair. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list on Aug. 3. (Last updated: Aug. 3)
RHP Jorge Alcala (right radial stress fracture)
Expected return: TBD
The Twins are still hopeful that Alcala will return before the end of the season. As of a July 16 update, Alcala was continuing his throwing progression but had not yet gotten close to throwing off a mound, though he was getting closer to being able to throw on back-to-back days.
The Twins placed Alcala on the IL on May 16 after he was unable to participate in his throwing program without discomfort, and further tests revealed a stress fracture to the radius bone in his right forearm, an injury without much precedent among pitchers, according to head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta.
"I’m hoping he’ll be available towards the end of the season," president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. "We’re not ruling that out, but we don’t have a timeline yet." (Last updated: July 16)
RHP Tyler Mahle (Tommy John surgery)
Expected return: 2024
Mahle, who was removed from his start on April 27 vs. Kansas City with noticeably diminished velocity, underwent Tommy John surgery on May 22 with Dr. Keith Meister. The club’s original plan was to shut Mahle down for at least four weeks and seek a second opinion upon transferring him to the 60-day injured list.
The right-hander was acquired by the Twins from the Reds in a Trade Deadline deal last Aug. 2 and is set to become a free agent after this season. (Last updated: May 22)