LATEST NEWS

Aug. 15: CF Byron Buxton (right hip inflammation) placed on 10-day IL; INF Edouard Julien recalled from Triple-A
Buxton, who tweaked his hip in the series against the Royals, is on track to have the minimum stay on the IL, manager Rocco Baldelli said.

“We just understood that he wasn’t going to be back for a few more days,” Baldelli said. “There’s some other players that are probably also going to need to be off at some point over the next handful of days. We just can’t play short for almost a week in order to do that.”

Buxton is batting .275 with 16 home runs and 49 RBIs. In 63 games with the Twins this season, Julien is batting .204 with seven home runs.

Aug. 15: RHP Ronny Henriquez recalled from Triple-A; RHP Louie Varland optioned to Triple-A
Henriquez will be making his fourth stint with the Twins this season. He’s pitched well of late at Triple-A St. Paul, posting a 2.61 ERA with four walks and 13 strikeouts over 10 1/3 innings in six appearances, including two starts, since July 25.

Varland allowed three runs on eight hits with one walk and three strikeouts over six innings in his start vs. the Royals on Wednesday.

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10-DAY/15-DAY INJURED LIST

SS Carlos Correa (right plantar fasciitis)
Expected return: TBD
Correa ran for the first time in a week on Aug. 15, head trainer Nick Paparesta said. Correa has been hitting, throwing and fielding, but running is the final step before he can progress to a rehab assignment.

“We need to get it to where he’s comfortable running on a daily basis, not having the soreness the next day and then we kind of go from there and build off that,” Paparesta said.

“Once you see him out there running a lot, you know we’re in a pretty good spot. We are just waiting right now to see how he does in response to yesterday.”

Correa was placed on the 10-day IL on July 20, as the Twins began the second half of the season. Correa received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection in his right heel, where he is experiencing plantar fasciitis in the opposite foot from the lingering issue that held back his production throughout the 2023 season. (Last updated: Aug. 16)

RHP Joe Ryan (right shoulder strain)
Expected return: TBD
It's unclear if Ryan will pitch again this season after a second opinion by Dr. Neal ElAttrache confirmed the initial diagnosis of a Grade 2 teres major strain in his right arm area, head trainer Nick Paparesta said on Aug. 16.

“Joe is going to be down for a period of time that we discussed earlier, weeks probably, and we’ll kind of reassess him at that point in time,” Paparesta said. “You don’t want to say the season’s over at any point in time, so we’ll wait and see how things go once we get a chance to look at him again.”

Paparesta added that ElAttrache’s confirmation of the initial diagnosis should provide Ryan with a little bit of “comfort factor.”

Ryan pulled himself from the Twins’ Aug. 7 series finale against the Cubs after he felt pain during a third-inning battle with Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. Ryan is 7-7 with a 3.60 ERA in 23 starts with the Twins this season. (Last updated: Aug. 16)

OF Byron Buxton (right hip inflammation)
Expected return: End of August
Buxton tweaked his hip against the Royals on Aug. 12 and is expected to have the minimum 10-day stay on the injured list, according to Twins manager Rocco Baldelli.

Head trainer Nick Paparesta added on Aug. 16 that Buxton’s injury appeared to be from scar tissue from a previous injury in 2022. Buxton had a cortisone injection and the hope is that it’ll improve through the weekend.

“He was able to do some exercises and work in the pool,” Paparesta said. “We’re kind of heading in the right direction. He was having discomfort sitting. It would lead you to believe he needs a little time for the other medications to kick in." (Last updated: Aug. 16)

RHP Chris Paddack (right forearm strain)
Expected return: TBD
Paddack was placed on the 15-day injured list on July 20 after experiencing tightness in his elbow while throwing during the All-Star break that restricted his full range of motion. MRIs of the area revealed that there were no issues with the twice-surgically repaired UCL in Paddack's right elbow.

Paddack has played catch a couple of times but will undergo another MRI on Aug. 27 before progressing beyond that, head trainer Nick Paparesta said.

“We’re not moving much past where we’re at right now for a little while until we get the next scan and make sure that fluid is out of there,” Paparesta said. (Last updated: Aug. 16)

INF Brooks Lee (right biceps tendinitis)
Expected return: TBD
Lee is expected to start throwing this week, possibly on Aug. 17, head trainer Nick Paparesta said.

Paparesta went on to say the plan is for Lee to start swinging from the right side and then progress to the left side on Aug. 18 or 19 “depending on how the throwing is going.”

Lee went to the IL on Aug. 9, the same day he received a cortisone injection. (Last updated: Aug. 16)

LHP Kody Funderburk (left oblique strain)
Expected return: TBD
Funderburk said he felt his oblique seize up while playing catch before the Twins' July 20 game against the Brewers, with the pain described as being more toward his back area. The club placed the left-hander on the 15-day IL on July 21, and he was hopeful that he could return in time to contribute in some way for September and October, though he expressed a potential very early timeline of six to eight weeks for similar injuries. (Last updated: July 22)

OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (right thumb sprain, No. 3 on Twins Top Prospects list)
Expected return: TBD
Rodriguez began a rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League on July 6. He had been in his first game back from a hand injury that had kept him out of action for a week when he appeared to sprain his thumb on a slide into second base on a double to left-center field as part of a 2-for-2 return to the lineup on June 5. He was placed on the Minor League 7-day IL with the injury on June 7. (Last updated: July 6)

60-DAY INJURED LIST

RHP Justin Topa (left patellar tendinitis)
Expected return: TBD
Topa had a little bit of soreness after playing catch back-to-back days and the organization is going to “slow him down a little bit,” head trainer Nick Paparesta said.

“We don’t have an imminent date for his return,” Paparesta said.

Topa had made five scoreless rehab appearances for Triple-A St. Paul from July 26-Aug. 7 before being pulled off his rehab assignment on Aug. 10.

An MRI of Topa's left knee revealed a 25% torn left patellar tendon after soreness flared during his initial rehab assignment with St. Paul on May 5. After a second opinion from a doctor, Topa received a platelet-rich plasma injection in the knee with the hope it would allow him to avoid surgery, leading to a six-week shutdown. Topa began the season on the IL due to soreness and inflammation related to left knee tendinitis that had lingered throughout 2023. (Last updated: Aug. 16)

RHP Brock Stewart (right shoulder strain)
Expected return: 2025
Stewart underwent successful season-ending arthroscopic shoulder cleanup surgery on Aug. 13 with Dr. Timothy Kremchek in Cincinnati, which will carry a 5-6 month recovery timeline that he hopes will put him on track to return for a full Spring Training next season.

“They went in and cleaned out the whole joint for him. Everything looked good in there, the rotator cuff and labrum,” head trainer Nick Paparesta said. “A lot of aggressive stretching for him moving forward, but Kremchek was really happy with what he saw on the inside as far as long-term health.” (Last updated: Aug. 16)

1B/OF Alex Kirilloff (back issues)
Expected return: TBD
Kirilloff's worsening soreness and pain in his lower back and associated nerve issues down his leg ultimately sent him to the IL on June 13 instead of an optional assignment to Triple-A St. Paul. Though he had progressed back to taking some fielding drills by late July, he was transferred to the 60-day IL on July 30.

Kirilloff underwent an MRI exam on May 26 and had initially been playing through the unspecified back issues, with the Twins treating it as one of the dings that most players play through without issue as part of a long season. However, manager Rocco Baldelli and Kirilloff said on June 18 that the player had not fully communicated the extent of the worsening injury.

Kirilloff said he was confident the issue would not require surgery but will not know more until getting a second opinion. (Last updated: July 30)

RHP Daniel Duarte (right elbow strain)
Expected return: Not this season
Duarte underwent right elbow surgery on May 8, performed by Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas. He had Tommy John surgery on his right arm 10 years ago. This surgery will either be a total replacement of the graft in his elbow or the installation of a brace to support the current structure.

According to head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta, Meister said he wouldn’t know which until he began the procedure. Either way, Duarte is facing a long recovery. He was transferred to the 60-day IL on April 22. (Last updated: May 8)

RHP Anthony DeSclafani (right elbow strain)
Expected return: Not this season
DeSclafani underwent season-ending flexor tendon repair surgery with Dr. Keith Meister on March 29. He attempted two ramp-ups in Spring Training but had both halted by elbow soreness, at which point he and the Twins sought a consultation with Meister.

There was no UCL involvement, meaning DeSclafani did not need Tommy John surgery, but the flexor tendon surgery also involves a 13-month recovery timeline. (Last updated: March 30)

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