The Twins will place infielder/outfielder Luis Arraez on the seven-day concussion injured list, manager Rocco Baldelli told Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and other reporters. They’re recalling infielder Nick Gordon to take the open roster spot.
Arraez suffered the injury Monday during the Twins’ win over the Rangers on an awkward slide into home plate (video here via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com). That occurred in the third inning, but Arraez didn’t exit until after the sixth. The Twins replaced Arraez in left field with Jake Cave.
Although unheralded compared to some of the Twins’ other hitters, Arraez has done nothing but produce for the club since he debuted in 2019. Dating back to then, Arraez has batted .324/.392/.420 in 590 plate appearances, overcoming a lack of power (five career home runs, .095 ISO) by making contact at a superb 91.9 percent clip. It has been more of the same this season for the 24-year-old, who has hit .291/.398/.372 with 14 walks and 11 strikeouts over 103 PA.
Along with continuing to provide above-average work at the plate in 2021, Arraez has already totaled at least eight appearances at three defensive spots (left, second and third). The Twins have Cave and Kyle Garlick as left field options off their bench, Jorge Polanco at second, Josh Donaldson at third and Willians Astudillo as a reserve infielder.
that’s rough. one of the best pure hitters in baseball.
Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.
Arreaez has to be one of the more underrated players in the MLB. He doesn’t strikeout, still draws walks at a decent rate and hits a ton of line drives. His LD% is about 30%.
Hopefully Gordon really steps up and seizes this opportunity. Judging by his social media pages, he wants to be a (really bad) rapper instead of a baseball player, so he really has to put in the effort.