Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Twins Rumors

Twins Reinstate Luis Arraez, Option Jose Godoy, Transfer Chris Paddack to 60-Day IL

By | at

The first-place Twins made a flurry of moves this afternoon, the team announced, including reinstating infielder Luis Arraez from the COVID IL and optioning catcher Jose Godoy to Triple-A St. Paul. They also appointed right-hander Cole Sands as the 27th man for today’s game against the Astros (allowed as a result of the suspension of last night’s Twins-Astros tilt in the fourth inning) and transferred right-hander Chris Paddack, who’s been out since Tuesday with elbow inflammation, to the 60-day IL.

Arraez, who’d been out since Friday, had gotten off to a hot start to the season, slashing .301/.378/.370 while logging significant time at first, second, and third. He’ll return to his role as manager Rocco Baldelli’s super-utility man, though he could also serve as the Twins’ primary first baseman with Miguel Sano set to miss a significant chunk of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He’s shared time there with top prospect Jose Miranda and outfielder Alex Kirilloff since Sano hit the IL.

Given the relatively short duration of Arraez’s absence, perhaps the more significant news in Minnesota is Paddack’s transferral to the 60-day injured list, which could signal that the recently acquired righty will undergo a second Tommy John surgery — as had been feared since his departure in the third inning of Sunday’s game against the A’s. This hasn’t been confirmed, though the timing is ominous: Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported yesterday morning that the former Padre would get a second opinion by today. Regardless, Paddack will now be on the shelf until at least July — and quite likely until at least next year. In 22 1/3 innings across five starts prior to the injury, Paddack posted a 4.03 ERA (1.73 FIP) for a Twins staff already without Bailey Ober, Dylan Bundy, and Kenta Maeda.

Sands, selected out of Florida State by the Twins in the fifth round of the 2018 amateur draft, has mostly started in the minors. While he’s off to a rough start to the season at Triple-A St. Paul, he did turn in a strong 2021, logging 80 1/3 innings with a 2.46 ERA and solidly more than a strikeout per inning for Double-A Wichita. The call-up marks his second stint in the majors this year; he covered two innings (and allowed two earned runs) in an early May blowout of the Rays.

Godoy, who made his big-league debut with the Mariners last year, appeared in only a single game for the Twins. The 27-year-old backstop will return to Triple-A to serve as injury cover Ryan Jeffers and Gary Sanchez.

Twins Select Yennier Cano

By | at

The Twins announced they’ve selected reliever Yennier Cano onto the big league roster. Southpaw Danny Coulombe was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left hip impingement in a corresponding move. To open space on the 40-man roster, Minnesota transferred reliever Jhon Romero from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Minnesota signed Cano out of Cuba in June 2019, when the 6’4″ righty was already 25 years old. He’d had some professional experience in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, but he nevertheless began in the low minors during his time in the farm system. Cano didn’t reach Double-A until last season, but he earned a bump to Triple-A by mid-June. He finished the season with the Twins’ highest affiliate in St. Paul, pitching to a 3.86 ERA in 51 1/3 innings over 30 appearances. Cano showed the ability to work multiple innings and induced ground-balls at a hefty 60.9% clip, but he also walked an alarming 12.8% of opposing hitters.

Over the offseason, Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin of FanGraphs slotted Cano the #38 prospect in the Minnesota organization, praising his surprising velocity (94-97 MPH) from a lower arm slot. Assigned back to St. Paul to open the 2022 season, he’s worked 12 innings of one-run ball. Cano has 14 strikeouts and a more manageable four free passes in that time, while he’s induced grounders on three-quarters of batted balls. That strong start earns Cano his first crack against big league hitters.

Minnesota grabbed Romero off waivers from the Nationals in Spring Training. He made four appearances during the season’s first couple weeks, allowing two runs in five frames. The right-hander landed on the injured list retroactive to April 20 due to biceps tendinitis. He’ll apparently require an extended recovery period and won’t be eligible to return until late June — 60 days from the time of his original IL placement.

Francys Romero first reported Cano’s forthcoming promotion last night.

Twins Place Carlos Correa, Chris Paddack On 10-Day IL; Select Mark Contreras, Jharel Cotton

By | at

The Twins announced that shortstop Carlos Correa and right-hander Chris Paddack have been placed on the 10-day injured list today. Correa’s placement (due to a right middle finger contusion) is retroactive to May 6, while Paddack’s placement with right elbow inflammation is retroactive to May 9.  Minnesota has selected the contracts of outfielder Mark Contreras and righty Jharel Cotton to replace Correa and Paddack on the active roster.

As reported earlier today, Correa needed more time to recover from the deep bruise suffered in Thursday’s game, and the shortstop hasn’t played since.  While Correa may have avoided serious injury, things seem more ominous for Paddack, who has a history of elbow problems.  Paddack is still considering his next step, and another surgery hasn’t been ruled out.

Royce Lewis will take over for Correa at shortstop, and Sonny Gray’s return from the injured list over the weekend means the Twins still have a full five-man rotation (plus Dylan Bundy on the COVID-related IL).  Minnesota is still missing a lot of key personnel on the injured list, so to improve that depth, Contreras and Cotton are joining the roster.

Cotton already appeared in two games with the Twins earlier this season, tossing two innings before being outrighted off the 40-man roster.  The former top-100 prospect is trying to revive his career after a number of injuries, and after posting a 3.52 ERA over 30 2/3 innings with the Rangers last season, Cotton was acquired by the Twins on a waiver claim back in November.

Contreras was a ninth-round pick for the Twins in the 2017 draft, and the UC Riverside product is now set to make his Major League debut.  The 27-year-old didn’t hit much in his first three pro seasons, but after not playing in 2020 due to the canceled minor league campaign, Contreras returned to action with a flourish, hitting well at Double-A and earning a promotion to Triple-A Rochester.  Over 497 plate appearances at Rochester over the last two seasons, Contreras has hit .246/.338/.492 with 23 homers, and 17 steals in 23 chances.

Both Contreras and Gilberto Celestino can play all three outfield positions, and Contreras is a left-handed hitting complement to Celestino’s righty bat.  Minnesota now has some flexibility with their outfield bench depth behind starters Max Kepler, Nick Gordon, and Byron Buxton, though with Buxton still day-to-day with a minor hip strain, the Twins can’t afford to lose yet another regular (especially a star like Buxton) when they’re already stretched thin.

Twins Expected To Place Carlos Correa On 10-Day IL

By | at

With Carlos Correa still hampered by a bruised finger, the Twins are likely to put Correa on the 10-day injured list prior to today’s game against the Astros, The Athletic’s Dan Hayes writes.  Correa has missed Minnesota’s last three games, and told Hayes and other reporters on Sunday that returning for today’s game wasn’t a “realistic” scenario.

Since Minnesota didn’t play yesterday, the hope was that Correa would make enough improvement on the off-day to line up a return for later in the week, but it seems like the Twins have just decided to be cautious and send the shortstop to the IL.  All things considered, a 10-day IL stint may be the best-case scenario, as there was initial concern that Correa had suffered a fracture.

Former first overall pick Royce Lewis has been handling shortstop duties in Correa’s absence, and will now get to bank more playing time in his first taste of Major League action.  While Lewis is more than just a stopgap option, the Twins likely wouldn’t have called him up this soon had the team not been hit with such a swath of injuries.  Correa will be the 11th Twins player on the injured list, and Byron Buxton is also day-to-day with a minor hip strain.

Minnesota does have a 40-man roster opening, so the club could fill Correa’s roster spot by selecting the contract of a player in the organization on a minor league contract.  Daniel Robertson, Curtis Terry, Elliot Soto, and Jake Cave are some of the names at Triple-A with MLB experience who would need to be added to the 40-man.

Chris Paddack Leaves Game With Elbow Inflammation

By | at

TODAY: “Surgery is on the table” for Paddack, Dan Hayes of The Athletic tweets, though Paddack is continuing to explore all options.

MAY 8: Twins starter Chris Paddack left today’s game due to inflammation in his right elbow.  Paddack pitched into the third inning, retiring the first batter and then allowing two hits before being pulled, following a mound visit from the team trainer.  Acting Twins manager Jayce Tingler told reporters (including Betsy Helfand of The St. Paul Pioneer Press) that Paddack started to feel some tightness in his elbow as he started his final frame of work.

More will be known once Paddack undergoes medical testing, but as Helfand notes, this particular injury is worrisome considering Paddack’s history of elbow issues.  The right-hander suffered a slight UCL sprain just last September that prematurely ended his 2021 season, and going further back, Paddack underwent a Tommy John surgery in 2016.  If the injury isn’t anything more than just inflammation, the Twins could still skip Paddack’s next start for precautionary reasons, or even put him on the 10-day injured list just to ensure that everything is completely fine.

For a club that had so many questions about its rotation heading into the 2022 season, the Twins now finds itself in a situation where they actually have more than enough depth to accommodate a short-term absence for Paddack.  Minnesota’s rotation has been a strength, with Paddack, Joe Ryan, Chris Archer, Sonny Gray, Bailey Ober (currently on the 10-day IL with a groin injury), and Josh Winder all pitching well to begin the year.  Dylan Bundy also seems to be on the verge of returning from the COVID-IL, so Bundy could slot right into Paddack’s rotation spot if Paddack is indeed sidelined.

Twins Place Trevor Larnach On Injured List

By | at

The Twins announced to various reporters, including Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, that outfield Trevor Larnach has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right groin strain. The move is retroactive to May 7. Catcher Jose Godoy has been recalled in a corresponding move.

The Twins have been fairly snakebit recently, with position players Kyle Garlick, Luis Arraez, Miguel Sano and now Larnach all heading to the injured list in the past week or so. There have also been other minor injuries to players that haven’t resulted in IL placements. (More on those in a moment.) Larnach made his MLB debut last year and struggled in his first taste of the big leagues, putting up a line of .223/.322/.350, 89 wRC+. His sophomore season has been a nice step forward so far, as he’s currently hitting .313/.365/.448. His strikeout rate is still quite high at 31.3%, but he’s still put up a wRC+ of 141 on the year so far. That progress will now have to be put on pause with this groin strain, though it doesn’t seem like it will be a length absence. Bench coach Jayce Tingler tells Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com that they’re hopeful he will only be out of action for about a week.

There’s even better news around the rest of the roster, though. Byron Buxton left yesterday’s game due to hip tightness, which was diagnosed as a low level strain, per Helfand. She notes that Buxton could return as soon as the Astros series, which begins on Tuesday. That will surely cause Minnesota fans to breathe a sigh of relief, as it seems they can avoid another big trough on the Buxton rollercoaster. In his career, he has frequently oscillated between flashes of brilliance on the field and extended stays on the injured list. So far this year, he’s hitting an incredible .278/.342/.722, producing a 211 wRC+. With Larnach on the shelf and Buxton temporarily unavailable, the club has an outfield of Max Kepler, Gilberto Celestino and Nick Gordon for today’s game.

In other good news, manager Rocco Baldelli tells Helfand that Luis Arraez and Dylan Bundy, both on the Covid-IL, are feeling better and flying back to Minneapolis today. The club will have an interesting decision to make once Bundy returns, as prospect Josh Winder has stepped into the rotation and has been excellent so far. Through his first 22 1/3 innings of MLB action, he has a 1.61 ERA, along with a 24.7% strikeout rate and 4.9% walk rate. With the activation of Sonny Gray yesterday, the club now has a rotation of Winder, Gray, Joe Ryan, Chris Archer and Chris Paddack. With Bundy returning, they could go for a six-man rotation or perhaps bump someone to a long relief role out of the bullpen. Bailey Ober could also re-enter the mix soon, as he went on the 10-day IL with a groin strain April 29.

Injury Notes: Cousins, Buxton, Wendelken

By | at

The Brewers placed Jake Cousins on the 10-day injured list on May 1 with what was described as a right elbow effusion, or a build-up of fluid within the elbow.  However, an MRI also revealed a “concern” with Cousins’ UCL, manager Craig Counsell told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy and other reporters, and a second opinion is being sought.

It makes for a very ominous situation for the 27-year-old righty, who seemingly came out of nowhere to post a 2.70 ERA and 35.2% strikeout rate (albeit with a 15.2% walk rate) over 30 innings out of Milwaukee’s bullpen.  Batters did a little more damage against Cousins this year, as he had a 4.50 ERA, 34.2% strikeout rate, and 13.2% walk rate in eight innings before heading to the injured list.

Some notes on other injury-related situations around baseball…

  • Byron Buxton left today’s 1-0 Twins victory over the Athletics due to tightness in his right hip, acting manager Jayce Tingler told reporters after the game.  Buxton is day-to-day with the injury, but even a seemingly minor issue has to be of concern given Buxton’s import to Minnesota’s lineup, and his long injury history.  Exactly one year ago today, the Twins placed Buxton on the 10-day IL with a right hip strain that cost the outfielder six weeks of action.  Buxton has a spectacular .278/.342/.722 slash line through his first 79 plate appearances of the season, adding nine homers and his usual great glovework in center field.
  • Diamondbacks right-hander J.B. Wendelken was reinstated from the COVID-related injured list, with righty Luis Frias heading to Triple-A in the corresponding move.  Wendelken has been out since April 28 due to a positive COVID-19 test.  Since the D’Backs claimed Wendelken off waivers from the A’s last August, the righty has a 4.33 ERA over 27 innings in an Arizona uniform, though with only a 15.31% strikeout rate.

Health Notes: Gray, Murphy, Flaherty, Soroka

By | at

The Twins announced this morning that Sonny Gray has been activated from the injured list to start today’s game against the A’s, with Cole Sands optioned out in a corresponding move. Gray has been out of action since April 16, when he left a start in the second inning due to a right hamstring strain. Acquired from the Reds as the Twins’ biggest rotation pickup of the offseason, Gray has made just a pair of starts with his new club. Despite his three-week absence, Minnesota has gotten excellent production out of their starting staff thus far. Twins starters rank sixth in MLB in ERA (3.12) and eighth in strikeout/walk rate differential (17.1 percentage points). Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Chris Archer, Chris Paddack and highly-regarded prospect Josh Winder each have an ERA of 3.26 or lower; Dylan Bundy is currently on the COVID-19 injured list, but the Twins could have an interesting call on how the rotation should be comprised once Bundy returns.

Some other injury updates around the league:

  • Mariners catcher Tom Murphy left last night’s game against the Rays after dislocating his shoulder on a tag attempt at home plate. After the game, skipper Scott Servais said Murphy will be out for a while (via Corey Brock of the Athletic). The team will presumably provide a more specific timetable in the coming days, but it’s all but certain he’ll head to the injured list before tonight’s contest. The M’s optioned Opening Day backstop Cal Raleigh to Triple-A last week, and it’s likely he’ll be recalled to pair with Luis Torrens behind the dish. Murphy had been off to an excellent start to the year, reaching base in 18 of his first 42 plate appearances.
  • Cardinals ace Jack Flaherty is set to throw a bullpen session before tonight’s game against the Giants, tweets Katie Woo of the Athletic. She notes that it’s Flaherty’s first bullpen work since he was shut down from throwing in Spring Training due to shoulder bursitis. It’s obviously a notable step in the righty’s recovery timeline, but manager Oli Marmol cautioned the club was prepared for a “pretty lengthy (rehab) progression” and still doesn’t have a target date for his return. Flaherty missed a month last season because of a shoulder strain (in addition to a longer absence on account of an oblique issue), so it’s wholly unsurprising the team is proceeding with caution. St. Louis has managed an impressive 3.15 rotation ERA — albeit with more pedestrian peripherals — in the absence of arguably their top starter.
  • Braves right-hander Mike Soroka hasn’t thrown an MLB pitch since August 2020, the result of successive Achilles ruptures that have sidetracked a fantastic start to his young career. The most recent of his surgeries occurred last June and came with an estimated year-long recovery timeline, and he opened this season on the injured list. Soroka remains on track in his rehab, he and manager Brian Snitker informed reporters yesterday (via Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Mark Bowman of MLB.com). The right-hander has thrown off a mound without issue around five times, and he’s soon to begin pitcher-fielding practice. The club is still hoping he can make it back to the majors shortly after the All-Star Break, and Toscano notes they’re not considering transitioning him to relief to expedite his return.

Twins To Promote Royce Lewis

By | at

Per a report from Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Twins will promote top prospect (and top overall pick in the 2017 draft) Royce Lewis today. He’ll likely take the roster spot of offseason signing Carlos Correa, who’s set to undergo a CT scan after clubhouse X-rays indicated a likely non-displaced fracture of his right middle finger — an injury not likely to keep him out for several months but that will likely require an IL stint. Should Lewis find his way into bench coach Jayce Tingler’s lineup (manager Rocco Baldelli is currently away from the team after testing positive for COVID), the Twins will be replacing one 1-1 (the Astros selected Correa first overall in the 2012 draft, one spot ahead of teammate Byron Buxton) with another.

It isn’t clear whether Baldelli, Tingler, and Twins’ front-office duo Thad Levine and Derek Falvey intend to keep Lewis in the majors after Correa returns — or, indeed, exactly how long Correa will be out — but it’s unlikely they’d have promoted him if they didn’t expect him to play every day, at least until their $105.3MM man returns. While he’s unlikely to maintain the same level of production in his first taste of the big leagues, Lewis’ red-hot start to the year in the International League may well indicate that he’s ready to meet the challenge. Through 107 plate appearances at Triple-A St. Paul, the 22-year-old is slashing a robust .310/.430/.563 with nearly as many walks (17) as strikeouts (20).

How he’ll react to the promotion remains to be seen, of course, but Twins fans will have high hopes for the club’s first top overall pick since Joe Mauer. While Correa ultimately landing in Minnesota was surprising for a number of reasons, Lewis’ presence wasn’t near the top of the list. Correa was and is widely expected to opt out of the final two years of his three-year guarantee to test the market again this winter (though that could change should his finger injury prove more serious than initial reports suggest), and Lewis hadn’t played an official game since 2019 after the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season due to the COVID pandemic and a February 2021 ACL tear that held him out of action for another full season. Indeed, that Lewis even opened the season in Triple-A was a bit surprising given he’d played only 33 games above High-A heading into the season.

Between the time missed and his relatively pedestrian numbers prior to the ACL injury (he slashed a combined .236/.290/.371 in 566 trips to the plate between High-A Fort Myers and Double-A Pensacola in 2019 before raking in the Arizona Fall League), Lewis had fallen somewhat precipitously down prospect lists. Baseball America, for instance, had ranked him the 9th-best prospect in the game ahead of the 2019 season, but he’d fallen to number 82 heading into 2022. The talent that led the Twins to take him first overall in 2017 clearly remains, though, and the toolsy shortstop will shortly get his first chance to prove he can hack it in the bigs — albeit a fair bit earlier than anyone would have expected as recently as a day ago.

Should Lewis prove himself capable of producing in the majors, it isn’t clear how the Twins will handle the infield logjam upon Correa’s return, though this would, of course, be something of an enviable problem to have. Lewis is unlikely to unseat Correa (by some metrics, including the 2021 Fielding Bible Awards, the best defensive shortstop in baseball) on a permanent basis, but he could likely shift to either second or third with relative ease, perhaps pushing Gio Urshela to first base (at least while Miguel Sanó recovers from recent meniscus surgery) or moving around the infield while others rotate in and out of the DH role. Regardless of how Lewis’ first taste of the majors pans out, though, Twins fans will surely be excited to get their first look at their likely shortstop of the future. But with their team holding an early lead in the AL Central, they’ll also hope to see him produce — particularly if Correa’s IL stint proves at all lengthy.

Twins Activate Alex Kirilloff

By | at

The Twins have activated corner outfielder Alex Kirilloff from the 10-day injured list, the team announced. They’ve also confirmed the previously-reported promotion of top prospect Royce Lewis to make his big league debut and recalled rookie right-hander Cole Sands. In corresponding moves, Minnesota placed Dylan Bundy and Luis Arraez on the COVID-19 injured list and optioned left-hander Jovani Moran to Triple-A St. Paul.

Kirilloff has been out of action for around three weeks after experiencing some inflammation in his right wrist. That was a worrisome development considering he’d had a surgery that ended his 2021 season on that joint last July. This latest injury didn’t turn out to be too problematic, however, and Kirilloff figures to step back into the everyday lineup.

A former first-round pick and top hitting prospect, Kirilloff tallied his first 231 big league plate appearances last season. He hit a slightly below-average .251/.299/.423, showcasing an intriguing combination of power and bat-to-ball skills but something of an overaggressive approach at the plate. Kirilloff has always been a bit of a free swinger, but the Twins are no doubt bullish on his ability to overcome a fairly low walk rate based on his excellent track record in the minors. He’s been limited to five games this season, with another recent top prospect Trevor Larnach getting the bulk of the work in left field while he’s been on the shelf.

There’s still a path for Larnach to get playing time at first base or designated hitter — or perhaps to kick Kirilloff to first and keep Larnach in left — with Miguel Sanó suffering a meniscus tear that required surgery. Arraez had been playing a fair bit at first, but he and Bundy tested positive for the virus yesterday. Minnesota had already called up top infield prospect José Miranda when Sanó landed on the IL, and Lewis became the next highly-regarded youngster to join the team.

Lewis’ reported promotion was spurred by fear that Carlos Correa would miss time after injuring his finger in last night’s game. Initial x-rays indicated the star shortstop might’ve suffered a fracture, but further testing today revealed only bruising and inflammation. Correa isn’t going on the injured list at the moment, but he’s not in tonight’s lineup. Lewis gets the nod at shortstop against the A’s.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top