The Twins have placed shortstop Carlos Correa on the seven-day concussion injured list. He and outfielder Byron Buxton collided while attempting to make a catch yesterday and both players entered concussion protocol. Per Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune, Buxton is still in the protocol and there won’t be an update before tonight’s game starts. Infielder/outfielder Ryan Fitzgerald has been selected to take Correa’s place on the roster. To open a 40-man spot, right-hander Michael Tonkin has been transferred to the 60-day injured list. Dan Hayes of The Athletic was among those to relay the moves.
In yesterday’s game, Cedric Mullins lofted a pop-up to shallow center field, as seen in this video from MLB.com. Correa drifted out to get it while Buxton charged in. Buxton tried to call off Correa at the last second but Correa wasn’t able to get out of the way. The two collided with both appearing to take a knock on the head. Both were removed from the game and placed in concussion protocol.
It’s unclear how long Correa is expected to be out but his health obviously take priority in a situation like this. The Twins have Brooks Lee at shortstop tonight and he could see regular time there for now. Willi Castro is also an option but he’s in left field tonight, helping to cover on the grass while Buxton and Harrison Bader are both banged up.
Though it’s not under the most pleasant of circumstances, Fitzgerald gets to the majors for the first time, just ahead of his 31st birthday. He has been grinding in the minors for a while, making his professional debut back in 2018.
He’s never really been on the prospect radar but is having a great season. He has taken 148 Triple-A appearances so far this year, drawing a walk in 12.8% of those while only striking out 19.6% of the time. He has four home runs and a .328/.426/.528 line, which translates to a 154 wRC+.
What also probably appeals to this Twins is his defensively versatility. In his minor league career, he has played every position outside of the battery. In addition to Correa and Buxton, the Twins are also working around minor injuries to Bader and Ty France, though the latter is in the lineup tonight. Whatever happens, Fitzgerald should be able to help them out.
As for Tonkin, this doesn’t change much about his status. He has been on the 15-day injured list since the start of the season due to a rotator cuff strain and his 60-day count can be backdated to that initial placement. That means he can technically be reinstated as soon as late May. He started a rehab assignment in the middle of April but that was recently shut down, per Hayes. As of that May 11th update, Tonkin had just experienced a setback due to tendinitis in his right bicep and was set to receive an anti-inflammatory injection.
Photo courtesy of Mitch Stringer, Imagn Images
That’s so crazy!
That sucks Twins fans, these guys were starting to heat up too…
They’re still hot…
Pitching has just north of a 2 era in the last 12 games
Apologies, I meant Correa and Buxton were starting to heat up.
Brooks plays better at SS than 2B. His natural position. He’s no Carlos but he has been a butcher at 2B this year. One silver lining to this.
Twins fans can’t have nice things…
everything ended when Kirby woke up blind in one eye
I’d never wish for injuries on any player…
But maybe it will shake him up so he remembers how to hit again.
Man, less than four full years on, Carlos Correa was and is clearly worth 13 years/$350M or 12 years/$315M etc. etc……
Shocked they both lasted this long into a season before near IL placements.
It really sucks to see guys extremely talented and productive who if healthy for their entire career probably end up in the hall of fame. Guys like David Wright, to a lesser degree Eric Chavez. Still some hope for Correa as hes only 30 or so but it does suck to see careers done in by injuries.
The only thing that will be less surprising is when Buxton goes on the IL, as well.
Sucks for Correa and the Twins’ win streak. Speedy recovery! Same for Bux!
out of all the players in all of baseball to bop into each others heads, its these guys
At least it wasn’t a 3-way with Royce Lewis.
the more I think about this, the hotter it sounds
Hope nobody gets Jason Bayed!
Maybe it’ll reset him back to the halcyon daze of 2017.
As a Tigers fan, it’s still unfortunate that their Minnesota) main guys get hurt like clockwork.
Damn. I was just thinking a couple days ago whatever suit of armor they’re wrapping Buxton in, they had better keep it up. What a horrible way for this to go.