Correa's injury 'a gut punch' as Twins piece their puzzle together

DETROIT -- Eleven games into the season, the Twins’ lineup is already down two of its cornerstone stars.

This time, it was Carlos Correa, who was diagnosed on Saturday with a mild right intercostal strain after he struck out on a check swing in the third inning of Friday’s series-opening 8-2 loss against the Tigers, clutched his right side and immediately exited the game -- and considering both the state of the health and productivity of this Minnesota offense, a Correa injury was the last thing the Twins needed.

But a day later, he was placed on the 10-day injured list. The Twins recalled catcher Jair Camargo and selected right-handed pitcher Matt Bowman from Triple-A St. Paul. To make room on the roster for Bowman, right-hander Michael Tonkin was designated for release or assignment.

Manager Rocco Baldelli’s feelings were decidedly not good, as he expressed rather bluntly.

“It doesn’t feel good right now,” Baldelli said on Friday. “It feels kind of like crap at the moment.”

A Twins offense already without Royce Lewis -- lost on Opening Day for likely at least two months to a severe quad strain -- had already struggled to begin the season, and Correa had been one of its few bright spots, slashing .306/.432/.444 with a team-leading 11 hits.

Correa said he’d already been feeling a bit congested and tight due to a sickness he’s had for the last week, which aggravated a bit when he made a diving stop and took swings during Friday’s game.

“What sucks the most is this is the first April in my career that I’ve felt good,” Correa said. “I feel like this is going to be my feel and my swing, this was going to be it for the whole year. And it happens, but at least it’s there. Hopefully it’s nothing too long and I can get back in there soon.”

Even beyond that, Correa had provided an immense lift with his defense at shortstop, most prominently on display in his game-changing throw home to nail Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday and again on Friday evening, when he robbed Gio Urshela of a hit with that diving snag of a line drive in the second inning.

Correa did not have any details from his MRI results on Saturday, when he noted that the strain was “definitely not playable” but still allowed him to breathe without pain, which would not have been the case with a more severe strain.

“It's tough,” Byron Buxton said. “It's pretty frustrating. The communication we have, the work we put in together, and then for something like this to happen, it sucks. It's like a gut punch. Especially when we have the injury history the way that we have, and the only thing we want to do is play and help this team win.”

That’s what the Twins are likely losing -- and their reserve depth is running perilously low.

Brooks Lee, the organization’s No. 2 prospect and ranked No. 18 overall by MLB Pipeline, would almost certainly already have been in the Majors had he not been sidelined by a back strain to begin the season. Jose Miranda and Austin Martin are already up, replacing Lewis and Max Kepler (knee contusion).

Trevor Larnach is on a rehab assignment as he recovers from turf toe, and the Twins could really use him, but Baldelli indicated it wouldn’t be fair to Larnach to rush him back.

So, that’s about it for the first line of defense that the Twins hoped would be plenty to carry them through this season, so they’ll need to dig even deeper.

“It’s tough,” Correa said. “It’s part of the game, though. It’s what we signed up for. There’s going to be tough times. There’s going to be really good times. You’ve got to stay level-headed through it all and keep battling to try to get back with your teammates and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

That left only corner infielder Yunior Severino and highly touted outfield prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez (ranked No. 3 in the organization, No. 40 overall) as the healthy options remaining on the 40-man roster -- at least, until Larnach completes his rehab assignment with Class A Fort Myers.

Despite his red-hot start with Double-A Wichita, Rodriguez was not called up because this is a short-term opening until Larnach is healthy and the Twins are reluctant to disrupt player development. Severino, meanwhile, has gotten off to a tough 3-for-38 (.079) start with Triple-A St. Paul.

The Twins don’t necessarily have a need for Camargo as a third catcher, but that could get Ryan Jeffers more at-bats at designated hitter in the short term -- and Camargo has held his own with an .825 OPS in St. Paul.

In the meantime, Willi Castro will slide into the starting shortstop role, with Kyle Farmer and Miranda available to see time at third. Edouard Julien may very well get his wish of playing second base every day as the Twins figure out a way to piece their puzzle together as various pieces keep falling off the table.

This phase won’t last forever. Larnach will be healthy soon, at least, and Kepler’s knee shouldn’t take him long to heal.

But Lee isn’t yet close to being healthy, Lewis is even further away and obliques can be notoriously troublesome as the Twins await further word on Correa.

But it’s early, and they’ll have to manage -- and ask guys to step up.

“We’re going to show up and work hard and be able to play, and hopefully we’re looking up and we learn something interesting and positive about several guys in that clubhouse right now,” Baldelli said.