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Jorge Polanco

Twins To Reinstate Jorge Polanco, Option Edouard Julien

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The Twins are activating second baseman Jorge Polanco from the 10-day injured list before tomorrow’s matchup with the Guardians, manager Rocco Baldelli told the team’s beat (relayed by Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press). Rookie infielder Edouard Julien will be optioned to Triple-A St. Paul in a corresponding transaction.

Polanco spent barely over the minimal time on the shelf after being diagnosed with a left hamstring strain. The abbreviated absence is good news for Minnesota with the switch-hitting infielder off to a nice start to the year. Polanco carries a .284/.327/.484 line with four home runs through his first 101 plate appearances. It’s right in line with the above-average offensive production Polanco has offered in each of the prior three full seasons. He’s a .270/.337/.460 hitter since the start of the 2019 season.

While he’s been out, the Twins have given the bulk of the second base reps to Julien. The Auburn product has emerged as one of the game’s more intriguing offensive prospects with huge minor league numbers. Julien is hitting .210/.296/.435 in his first 72 trips to the plate against big league arms. He’s popped four home runs and walked seven times but he’s already gone down on strikes on 25 occasions.

Second base was the clearest path to everyday playing time for Julien with Polanco on the shelf. It’s understandable the Twins would look to get him regular reps in St. Paul rather than assuming a multi-positional bench role in the short term. The Twins have Willi Castro, Donovan Solano and Kyle Farmer as versatile infield options behind the primary group of Joey Gallo, Polanco, Royce Lewis and Carlos Correa.

Twins Place Jorge Polanco On 10-Day Injured List

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The Twins placed second baseman Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain.  The placement is retroactive to May 18.  Infielder Edouard Julien has been called up from Triple-A to take Polanco’s spot on the active roster.

Polanco had to be removed from Wednesday’s game after hurting his hamstring while trying to beat out a grounder.  Today’s move sends Polanco back to the injured for the second time this season, as he didn’t play his first game until April 21 since the Twins were taking a cautious approach with a lingering knee injury.  Polanco’s 2022 campaign was ended in early September by left knee inflammation, and he didn’t play much in Spring Training since he continued to feel some soreness.

The silver lining is that Polanco has performed well when he’s been able to play, as he has a .284/.327/.484 slash line and four home runs over his 101 plate appearances.  While obviously a small sample size this early, Polanco’s 124 wRC+ matches his career best over a full season.  A .343 BABIP has played a big role and his strikeout/walk rates are both below average, but Polanco’s .369 xwOBA is also higher than his .349 wOBA.

With Nick Gordon also sidelined with a shin fracture, Minnesota’s infield depth has been thinned, but the Twins do have options to replace Polanco at least in the short term.  Donovan Solano and Willi Castro can each get some time at the position, or Kyle Farmer could be moved over from third base if Solano or Castro get a start at the hot corner.  Julien will also be in the mix in his second MLB call-up, as he hit .222/.276/.444 in 30 PA during his first appearance in April.

In the bigger picture, losing Polanco for at least 10 days is another blow to a Twins team that has had trouble both staying healthy and delivering consistent offense.  Carlos Correa and Christian Vazquez are among the Twins hitter who have yet to really get going at the plate, though Minnesota is still in first place in the AL Central thanks largely to an excellent rotation.

Twins To Place Nick Gordon On Injured List With Shin Fracture

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Twins utilityman Nick Gordon was diagnosed with a fractured right shin after fouling a ball off his leg during today’s loss to the Dodgers, tweets Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com. He’ll be placed on the 10-day injured list and seems likely to be out well beyond the minimal stint.

Gordon’s 2023 campaign began with an injury scare. He suffered a right high ankle sprain in Spring Training but recovered quickly enough to avoid a season-opening IL stay. He’s had a slow start from a performance perspective, though, hitting only .176/.195/.319 over 93 trips to the plate. It has been a disappointing follow-up to a productive .272/.316/.427 showing in a career-high 443 plate appearances for the former fifth overall pick.

Manager Rocco Baldelli has bounced Gordon around the diamond. He’s seen a decent number of innings at each of center field, left field and second base. With Byron Buxton working as a designated hitter as part of Minnesota’s efforts to keep him healthy, the lefty-swinging Gordon has gotten the strong side of a platoon arrangement with right-handed Michael A. Taylor in center field of late.

Gordon’s injury figures to open more playing time for the glove-first Taylor in center field. He’s off to a .231/.286/.404 start to his Twins’ tenure. Donovan Solano and Willi Castro can play multi-positional infield roles off the bench. That could take on particular importance considering second baseman Jorge Polanco also came out of today’s game with an injury.

Polanco told reporters postgame he has a mild strain of his left hamstring (relayed by Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press). The team will reevaluate after tomorrow’s off day to determine whether he might require an IL stay. The switch-hitting infielder lost some time at the start of the season rehabbing from a 2022 knee issue. He’s been off to a quality .284/.327/.484 start since returning.

Gordon wasn’t the only Minnesota player to foul a ball off his leg this afternoon. Outfielder Joey Gallo had an early departure after hitting one off his own shin. He said after the game that x-rays were negative but noted there was quite a bit of swelling in the area (Helfand link). He’s presently day-to-day and figures to test things out again on Friday. Gallo missed a bit of time due to an intercostal strain but he’s already slugged 10 homers after signing a one-year free agent deal over the winter.

Twins Reinstate Jorge Polanco

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The Twins announced a series of roster moves today, with infielder Jorge Polanco reinstated from the injured list and right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson recalled from Triple-A. In corresponding moves, righty Jorge Alcalá and infielder Edouard Julien were optioned to Triple-A. The Polanco-Julien swap was reported by Twins Farm Report on Twitter prior to the official club announcement.

Polanco, 29, is in tonight’s lineup, batting fifth and playing second base. This will be his first major league game since August of last year. He was placed on the injured list in early September due to left knee inflammation and wasn’t able to return. As this year’s Spring Training ramped up, everything seemed aligned for him to make the Opening Day roster, but he was eventually slowed down in the middle of March with what chief baseball officer Derek Falvey called “normal soreness.” That ultimate led to an IL-placement on Opening Day, but he’ll now slot back into the Minnesota lineup for the first time in almost eight months.

He began his career as a shortstop and didn’t get especially strong marks for his glovework but showed encouraging offensive abilities. By the end of 2018, he had appeared in 288 games and struck out in just 16.2% of his plate appearances while demonstrating a bit of power with 23 home runs. His .272/.329/.420 batting line amounted to a wRC+ of 100, indicating he was exactly league average in that time.

The Twins clearly believed that Polanco would grow into something more, as they then signed him to a five-year, $25.75MM extension with a couple of club options. Polanco has since proved them right, hitting 75 home runs over the past four seasons, one of which was the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. His .270/.337/.459 line in that time amounts to a wRC+ of 117. He’s since moved to second base in deference to stronger shortstop defenders like Andrelton Simmons and Carlos Correa.

Polanco is now in the final guaranteed season of that extension, though it seems likely that those options will be picked up. The 2024 option is valued at $10.5MM with a $1MM buyout, making it a net $9.5MM decision. The 2025 option is worth $12.5MM with a $750K buyout, making it a net $11.75MM decision. Those are reasonable salaries for a potent bat at an up-the-middle position.

While Polanco has been out of action this year, most of the playing time at second base has gone to Julien, Nick Gordon and Kyle Farmer. Julien will now go back to the minors to get regular work down there. Farmer went on the IL last week after getting hit in the face by a fastball from Lucas Giolito. Though the incident looked quite scary on the broadcast, Farmer managed to avoid any fractures and was mostly limited to dental injuries. He told Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press today that he still has to get four root canals next week but has started doing baseball activities like hitting off a tee and taking ground balls.

Twins Place Joey Gallo On Injured List

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The Twins placed Joey Gallo on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 8, shortly before tonight’s matchup with the White Sox. The first baseman/outfielder is dealing with a right intercostal strain.

It doesn’t seem all that serious, as Gallo was participating in drills this evening. He told reporters he felt he was “in a good spot” physically tonight, though the club has evidently decided to proceed with caution (via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com). That’d seem to suggest there’s a good chance he won’t require much or any more time than the minimal week off.

Gallo signed a one-year free agent deal last offseason. The Twins were hoping he could bounceback from a tough year and a half split between the Dodgers and Rangers. The two-time All-Star opened his Minnesota tenure with a fantastic week. Gallo has five hits (including three home runs) and a pair of walks over his first 20 plate appearances as a Twin.

A Gold Glove caliber outfielder, Gallo has primarily played first base with Minnesota. That’s because Alex Kirilloff opened the year on the injured list as he rehabs from last year’s season-ending wrist procedure. It seems both Kirilloff and second baseman Jorge Polanco are closing in on their season debuts, however. They’re each on rehab assignments with Low-A Fort Myers and should return to the majors within the next week or two.

Minnesota is playing tonight’s game a man down. They didn’t make a corresponding roster move today, although it’s possible they turn to one of their top prospects tomorrow. Aaron Gleeman of the Athletic notes that Edouard Julien was yanked from tonight’s game for Triple-A St. Paul shortly after Gallo’s IL placement was announced. Julien, ranked by Baseball America as the sport’s #97 overall prospect, was added to Minnesota’s 40-man roster last offseason. The Auburn product hit .300/.441/.490 in Double-A last season and is off to a .276/.417/.517 start in eight games in St. Paul.

Jorge Polanco, Alex Kirilloff To Start Season On Injured List

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The Twins will open the season with second baseman Jorge Polanco and corner outfielder/first baseman Alex Kirilloff on the 10-day injured list, tweets Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. Recent reports had suggested that was under consideration for both players, neither of whom has gotten into a Spring Training game.

Both players finished the 2022 campaign on the shelf. Polanco was hampered by a left knee issue that cost him the season’s final month. The organization doesn’t seem overly concerned — president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said a couple weeks ago that Polanco might be ready for Opening Day — but symptoms have lingered into exhibition play and kept him from ramping up as expected. He’ll at least require a week and a half into the regular season to be ready for meaningful game action.

Kirilloff’s injury might be more worrisome considering his history. The 25-year-old has battled problems with his right wrist for the past couple seasons. His 2021 campaign was cut short when he underwent surgery to repair a ligament tear. That didn’t put the issue to bed, as he felt continued discomfort and required a second surgery last August. That ended his season prematurely again and Falvey suggested earlier this month that Kirilloff has been behind schedule as he builds back.

Minnesota has a fair amount of position player depth types who could step into larger roles early in the season. Utility player Nick Gordon has plenty of second base experience. He suffered a high ankle sprain earlier in the spring but has since played five games after a two-week absence. He seems on track to be on the Opening Day roster. The Twins also signed veteran infielder Donovan Solano to factor in at first and second base and have veteran Kyle Farmer as a multi-positional option off the bench.

Kirilloff had been the favorite for the season-opening first base job. That could now fall to Solano and Joey Gallo, who could step in from his expected corner outfield role. That would likely open a roster spot for left fielder Trevor Larnach, particularly since the Twins are planning to play Michael A. Taylor regularly in center field to keep Byron Buxton at designated hitter early on.

Jorge Polanco May Begin Season On Twins’ Injured List

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The Twins have “been having some internal discussions” about Jorge Polanco’s status for Opening Day, chief baseball officer Derek Falvey said, since Polanco has yet to play in any Spring Training games.  Left knee soreness brought a premature end to Polanco’s 2022 season, so the Twins opted to bring the second baseman along slowly this spring, allowing him to get back to full strength in his knee before taking to the field.

However, this process has taken a little longer than either Polanco or the Twins would’ve liked.  “We’ve had [Polanco’s knee] looked at, to make sure we’re in a good place with him, a couple of times this spring,” Falvey told the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Phil Miller and other reporters.  “He’s been slowed a little bit, just a little.  But we wanted to make absolutely certain there is nothing wrong….There has been no setback.”

That being said, Falvey added that Polanco is simply “running out of days” to get a necessary amount of games under his belt before Minnesota opens its season on March 30.  While Polanco has taken part in some live batting-practice sessions and come away with just some “normal soreness” in his knee, the veteran surely requires some in-game reps to get himself fully prepared for his 10th MLB season.

Polanco had never been placed on the Major League injured list prior to last June, when he missed just over the minimum 10 days due to a bad back.  The more pressing concern arose later in the season when Polanco’s left knee began to bother him, and August 27 ended up the infielder’s final game of the 2022 campaign.

As Falvey noted, there doesn’t appear to be anything structurally wrong with Polanco’s knee, so there isn’t any fear of a more serious injury.  But, the lingering soreness is surely an annoyance to Polanco after a full offseason of rest and rehab, and his bothersome knee could now cost him more regular-season time.

While Polanco had been a stranger to the IL, he does have an injury history, as he underwent relatively minor ankle surgeries following both the 2019 and 2020 seasons.  Polanco played through pain for most of the 2020 season, and his desire to stay on the field cost him production-wise, as he hit only .258/.304/.354 over 226 plate appearance during the shortened season.  In the last two years, Polanco has looked far better (.256/.332/.465 in 1089 PA) at the plate, and surely he is hoping to get his knee issue behind him rather than risk struggling through another injury-hampered year.

If Polanco does have to miss time, the Twins do have a good amount of second base depth to cover the position for at least a short-term absence.  Nick Gordon and new acquisitions Kyle Farmer and Donovan Solano can all play multiple positions, giving Minnesota some versatile options coming off the bench.

Twins Notes: Buxton, Polanco, Gordon, Miranda, Kirilloff, Rotation

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Chief baseball officer Derek Falvey met with reporters (including Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park) today at the Twins’ spring camp, and provided several injury updates.  The news is particularly good for Byron Buxton and Jorge Polanco, as Falvey said both players are on track to be in the lineup on Opening Day.

“Relying on our medical folks on what they think are the best next steps…but they’re still telling us that [Opening Day is] in play barring anything changing.  And both guys’ feedback has been positive,” Falvey said.

Buxton underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in September, while Polanco didn’t play after August 27 last season due to knee inflammation.  Polanco tried to return in September, but was shut down during a minor league rehab assignment when his left knee continued to feel sore.  With an eye towards both these injuries, the Twins have been slowly easing Buxton and Polanco into spring activity, restricting both players to live batting practices and backfield workouts rather than any game action.  It isn’t yet clear when either player might make their Spring Training debut, but it seems as though the club doesn’t feel Buxton or Polanco will need too many at-bats to get sharp.

A little over a week after suffering a high ankle sprain during a Grapefruit League game, Nick Gordon has started running and hitting, Falvey said.  Naturally any kind of high ankle injury is a concern, but it would seem that Gordon might have landed on the low end of the “wide range of outcomes” manager Rocco Baldelli mentioned last week when discussing possible recovery timelines.  The Twins will be cautious with Gordon but, if all continues to go well, he might also be on target for Opening Day without the need for a season-opening stint on the injured list.

Jose Miranda is also making good progress in his recovery from a sore shoulder, as Falvey said the infielder has started a throwing program.  While Miranda’s shoulder forced him to withdraw from Puerto Rico’s World Baseball Classic team, it hasn’t kept him entirely off the field in Spring Training, as Miranda has still been able to play as a designated hitter.  With just under three weeks to go until Opening Day, Miranda seems on pace to recover in time to take his planned role as Minnesota’s regular third baseman.

Amidst all these positive updates, however, the news isn’t quite as good for Alex Kirilloff.  In comparison to Buxton and Polanco, Kirilloff is “probably the one that’s a little bit behind our schedule,” Falvey said, noting that “it’s kind of a tolerance thing on a daily basis for him” as Kirilloff works his way back from wrist surgery.

Kiriloff made his MLB debut in 2021, and the former top prospect has thus far hit .251/.295/.398 over 387 Major League plate appearances over the last two seasons.  Unfortunately for Kirilloff, each of those seasons was prematurely ended by surgeries on his wrist.  As The Athletic’s Dan Hayes wrote last month, Kirilloff’s surgery last August was particularly “drastic,” with the intention of correcting Kirilloff’s wrist problem once and for all.  As such, the Twins are taking their time with Kirilloff, holding him out of games and even out of live-pitching sessions, if Kiriloff feels he is only up to work in the batting cages.

With all of these position-player health issues facing the Twins, the pitching staff has been a comparatively lesser concern, as Minnesota’s rotation candidates have by and large looked both healthy and in good form during their spring outings.  It has gotten to the point that Falvey said the team is weighing the possibility of a six-man rotation.

“That wasn’t our plan as we entered camp,” Falvey said.  “It still, I wouldn’t say, is our plan, but there’s at least a conversation we’ve been having internally about how that could work and what it would mean for the bullpen, how would we navigate that.  Some of it will be health-dependent, but we’re open to the conversation maybe more now than I was a month ago.”

A six-man rotation would create a spot for Bailey Ober to get some MLB starts, as Ober would join the projected rotation of Pablo Lopez, Tyler Mahle, Kenta Maeda, Joe Ryan, and Sonny Gray.  The Twins aren’t likely to finalize any rotation plans until after Lopez returns from the WBC, but a six-man rotation would give more rest to Mahle and Maeda as they return from injuries.  It would also help Minnesota navigate a pretty busy early schedule, as the club has only two off-days in the month of April.

Twins Notes: Lewis, Polanco, Kirilloff, Miranda

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The Twins were leading the American League Central division for much of 2022. However, injuries mounted throughout the season and the Guardians surpassed them for good in September, eventually finishing 14 games ahead of Minnesota. Better health and depth will be key for the Twins if they are to have better results this year, and the club even went so far as to hire a new head athletic trainer, getting Nick Paparesta to jump over from the A’s. “I think he’s going to have a huge impact,” manager Rocco Baldelli told Dan Hayes of The Athletic recently. “I’m not just confident of it — I know he’s going to have a huge impact in what goes on inside those doors.”

One of the players whose health will be in focus in 2023 is Royce Lewis. The first overall selection in the 2017 draft, he’s long been considered one of the best prospects in the league. However, he struggled a bit in 2019 and then saw the minors wiped out by the pandemic in 2020. That was followed by a lost season in 2021 as he was diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in February, requiring season-ending surgery. He got things back on track nicely in 2022, hitting .313/.405/.534 in 34 Triple-A games and .300/.317/.550 in his first 12 major league games. Unfortunately, he tore the ACL in his right knee a second time in June, wiping out what remained of that season.

There were times this season that it seemed Carlos Correa would sign with the Giants and then Mets, leaving the future shortstop job open for Lewis to retake once healthy. However, Correa’s deals ended up getting scuttled by disagreements with those clubs about his physical and he wound up back with the Twins. His new deal comes with six guaranteed seasons and he could stick around for four more years via vesting options. While he might eventually move off shortstop at some point, it seems Lewis is blocked from that position for the foreseeable future. To help get into the lineup more last year, he played a little bit of outfield and third base in the minors, as well as some outfield in the majors. He tells Hayes that he would prefer to play on the infield but is open to time in the outfield again.

It likely won’t be an issue for a while, since his surgery was initially estimated to require a 12-month recovery period, meaning he likely won’t return until midway through the upcoming season. Though Lewis doesn’t have an update on his timeline, he did start hitting three weeks ago. Whenever he does return, he will be looking to crack an infield that should consist of Correa at short, Jorge Polanco at second, José Miranda at third and Alex Kirilloff at first.

There are some injury concerns elsewhere in that mix. Correa, of course, has a checkered injury past and the issues with the Giants and Mets raise questions about how his health will develop in the future. Polanco, meanwhile, was limited to 104 games last year by a pesky knee issue that eventually put him on the injured list for good in early September. He has declared himself to be healthy for the upcoming campaign, telling Hayes “I’m trying to really be out there playing, playing hard, letting the young guys know that I’m here to play hard. I want to set an example for them. I just want to be part of it.” Despite the nagging issue last year, he still hit 16 home runs and walked in 14.4% of his plate appearances for a batting line of .235/.346/.405 and a wRC+ of 119.

As for Kirilloff, the former first round draft pick has been dealing with persistent wrist issues, with each of his past two seasons ended by surgery. He’s back to swinging a bat now but is still sore. “They cut my bone so there’s definitely some aches and stuff to go along with that, but from a pain standpoint it feels good,” he says. “I think they’re expected to go away. I think anytime you break your bone it can take a lot longer than expected to heal. From my understanding, it gets to that certain point where it’s healed enough to do whatever you need to do and then it keeps healing for a while after that.”

He’s produced monster numbers in the minor leagues but the wrist issues have seemingly hampered him in the big leagues so far. Since starting 2019 in Double-A, Kirilloff has hit .305/.378/.484 in 574 minor league plate appearances for a wRC+ of 143. But in 387 major league appearances thus far, he’s slashed just .251/.295/.398 for a 91 wRC+. The club declined an option on Miguel Sanó and traded Luis Arraez to the Marlins, leaving the first base job wide open for Kirilloff if he’s healthy enough to take it.

Another player who could be in the mix at first is Miranda, though he seems to be ticketed for the third base job after Gio Urshela was traded to the Angels. Miranda made his debut last year and spent more time at first with Urshela across the diamond, but he can now go back to third, where he spent more time in the minors. His first season in the show went quite well, as he hit 15 home runs and batted .268/.325/.426 for a wRC+ of 117. He apparently felt worn down late last year and has been on a new workout program and diet, trying to eat more chicken and vegetables in lieu of sweets. “He looks sexy,” Correa said about Miranda. “You see that body? He looks sexy. He looks really good. He looks in shape, he looks ready to work.”

Nick Gordon and Kyle Farmer will be on hand to give the club some infield depth, though Lewis will also be trying to get back on the field and into the mix. His odds of helping the team here are probably better than their crowded outfield mix of Byron Buxton, Joey Gallo, Max Kepler, Michael A. Taylor, Trevor Larnach, Gilberto Celestino and Matt Wallner, with Gordon and Kirilloff potentially in the mix there as well. It’s possible that a trade thins out the outfield depth chart a bit, but it remains packed for now, with just two weeks to go until Spring Training.

Twins Place Jorge Polanco On IL, Select Jermaine Palacios

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The Twins announced that they have placed infielder Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list due to left knee inflammation, retroactive to August 31. To take his place on the active roster, they selected the contract of infielder Jermaine Palacios. To open a spot for Palacios on the 40-man roster, catcher Ryan Jeffers was transferred to the 60-day IL.

Polanco, 29, has been dealing with this knee issue for a while, having last played on August 27. IL placements can be retroactive but only to a maximum of three days. Minnesota’s primary shortstop for much of his career, Polanco has slid over to second base for the past couple of campaigns, yielding to Andrelton Simmons last year and Carlos Correa here in 2022. His bat has been just as productive as ever this year, as he’s hit 16 home runs and is slashing .235/.346/.405 on the season. That production is 20% better than league average, by measure of wRC+, just shy of his career best wRC+ of 124, outside of a five-game cameo in 2014.

With Polanco on the shelf, Nick Gordon has been manning the keystone this week. For the season, he’s hitting .279/.322/.440 for a wRC+ of 118. That should allow the club to avoid a significant downgrade on the infield, though it means Gordon is subtracted from an outfield mix that has lost Byron Buxton and Alex Kirilloff to the IL in the past month. The Twins are just a single game behind the Guardians in the Central division and four games back of the Blue Jays for the final Wild Card spot in the American League.

Palacios, 26, briefly made his MLB debut earlier this year when selected as a “substitute” while Correa was on the COVID IL. He got into eight games before being returned to the minors. He’s played 101 Triple-A games and hit .283/.341/.462 on the year for a wRC+ of 112. Defensively, he’s played primarily shortstop but also spent some time at each of the other infield positions as well as the outfield corners, giving the club some extra depth all around.

As for Jeffers, this move is largely a formality as he has been out of action since mid-July due to a thumb contusion. He will now be ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement, which would be mid-September. He recently resumed baseball activities but hasn’t yet started a rehab assignment and was targeting a late September return to action.

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