Twins without Correa, Paddack to begin second half

MINNEAPOLIS -- Though there was some hope that the extended All-Star break would do the banged-up Twins some good, their second half started with two more injury setbacks, with both Carlos Correa (right plantar fasciitis) and Chris Paddack (right forearm strain) heading to the injured list ahead of Saturday’s 8-4 loss in 12 innings to the Brewers at Target Field.

While the Twins’ recent spate of injury attrition to their lineup did continue, there was some expectation from manager Rocco Baldelli that Correa wouldn’t need an extended stint away from the team -- and it doesn’t seem that any of Minnesota’s current lineup injuries figure to impact the club for an extended period.

“We don’t necessarily have a timeline right now,” Baldelli said. “We don’t think it’s going to be several weeks to a month. We think it’s going to be shorter than that. But we don’t have anything specific that we can throw out there.”

Similarly, there was a lack of timeline regarding the recovery process for Paddack, who felt tightness and a lack of range of motion on Thursday, during the All-Star break, after he went through his normal routine on Wednesday.

He was immediately worried about the possibility of a third injury to the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in the elbow, on which he has already undergone two Tommy John surgeries, but an MRI revealed only a forearm strain. Despite the lack of immediate detail as the Twins wait for Paddack to recover, the right-hander indicated he expects to return to the mound this season.

“I’d be lying to y’all if I said I wasn’t worried,” Paddack said. “When the doctor diagnosed me after the MRI, I kind of knew what I was looking at. I’ve been over a couple MRIs in my career so far, and obviously, [I] know what a good MRI looks like versus bad. I gained a little bit of hope when I saw the ligament was attached, secured and looked strong in there.”

Correa was not at Target Field on Saturday as he rested at home following a platelet-rich plasma injection on the heel -- the opposite from the left heel that experienced severe plantar fasciitis to disrupt his 2023 season -- and will be in a boot for “a couple days,” Baldelli said. Once Correa resumes baseball activity, the Twins should have a better sense for his timeline.

One thing to monitor as part of this recovery, though, is that Correa had noted ahead of the All-Star break -- when the injury first flared up -- that he likely hadn’t taken as much time off the field as he should have last season to deal with that plantar fasciitis, leaving him a shell of his typical self on the field as he played through pain.

The Twins will clearly miss Correa’s bat -- he hit .308/.377/.520 with 13 homers and 16 doubles in 75 first-half games as he was named to the AL All-Star team -- but they remain covered at shortstop in his absence.

Fellow All-Star Willi Castro figures to get most of the reps at shortstop for the time being, with No. 2 prospect Brooks Lee also having played shortstop for the vast majority of his Minor League career. That’s not to mention Kyle Farmer, who is also on the IL with a right shoulder strain.

“Having Correa, Willi Castro, Brooks Lee and Kyle Farmer -- when he’s healthy -- all of these options to play shortstop, specifically, it’s not the same thing as having people that can play third or second,” Baldelli said.

But when Correa is ultimately ready to return, the Twins’ roster could be getting crowded if their current injury situation tracks.

Jose Miranda (low back strain) is eligible to return on Sunday, but will need extra time as he ramps up his swinging -- though he could perhaps return without a rehab assignment. Royce Lewis (right adductor strain), meanwhile, has been swinging and running for nearly two weeks, he said, and Baldelli noted that Lewis could be headed on a rehab assignment this coming week.

With the time off for the All-Star break seeming to have boded well for both Ryan Jeffers (foot) and Byron Buxton (elbow), who were both back in the starting lineup on Saturday, not all the news was bad -- and if the Twins can navigate this upcoming stretch with much of their lineup still intact, the reinforcements might not be too far away.