Donaldson faces live pitching; injury updates

Josh Donaldson has progressed to hitting against live pitching and playing in intrasquad games at the Twins' alternate training site in St. Paul, Minn., as the former MVP third baseman continues his long recovery from a right calf strain sustained at the end of July.

The Twins have been hesitant to place any public timeline on Donaldson's recovery throughout the process, and president of baseball operations Derek Falvey acknowledged Tuesday that the club has been conservative with Donaldson's return to the field due to his history with calf injuries, which cost him significant chunks of both the 2017 and '18 seasons.

"This has all been part of the calendar and the plan in terms of his next steps," Falvey said. "Each day, we wait for the next day to see how he responds, see how he feels. At this point, he's tracking really well. There's no reason to think anything is off course here."

Donaldson hasn't played since the July 31 injury. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli had initially expressed hope that it would be a short-term issue for Donaldson, but the club later placed the veteran third baseman on the 10-day injured list on Aug. 7 as the injury persisted.

Falvey expects to have a further update regarding Donaldson's condition following this series, when the Twins travel to Detroit and Donaldson has had a chance to play in some more intrasquad games at CHS Field.

"He has had a history with, at one point in time, maybe rushing it back a bit to try and get on the field as quickly as possible, and because of that, we want to make sure he gets as much time in as possible," Falvey said.

Other updates

• Tyler Clippard (right elbow contusion) had "another really good day" at the ballpark on Tuesday, manager Rocco Baldelli said. Clippard had a successful session of playing catch with special assistant LaTroy Hawkins and said to coaching staff afterward that he felt well enough to pitch in Tuesday night's game.

• Michael Pineda (suspension) had his fastball working at 94 mph in his most recent rehab appearance in St. Paul, and he has been his usual self with the high strikeout and low walk count while pitching against the top prospect and depth players at that site. He remains stretched out to a starter's workload and appears to be on track to seamlessly transition into the Major League rotation once he is eligible for reinstatement on Aug. 31.

• Zack Littell (10-day IL, right elbow inflammation) returned to the Twin Cities from Kansas City following his injury during Friday night's game and is on track to return following the minimum 10-day stint on the IL, according to Falvey. There was some initial level of concern after Littell exited in the middle of an outing with what appeared to be an elbow issue, but the initial findings and self-reporting appear to indicate it's not a severe issue.

• Jake Odorizzi (10-day IL, chest contusion) remains with the Twins on this current road trip and is steadily feeling better, according to Falvey. He has bruising and general soreness but is working to improve to the point where he can throw at full strength -- though he's not there yet.

• Byron Buxton (10-day IL, left shoulder inflammation) felt much improved on Monday and Tuesday, Falvey said, and is swinging a bat and continues to progress well. Buxton has been experiencing soreness in his surgically repaired shoulder this season and aggravated it on his game-winning slide into home plate last Tuesday against Milwaukee, though there don't appear to be any issues with the labrum.

• Cody Stashak (10-day IL, lower back inflammation) is recovering on the slower side and experienced some soreness on Monday ahead of a planned recovery day on Tuesday. Stashak hasn't pitched since Aug. 11 and had reportedly dealt with the back issues throughout the season.

• Mitch Garver (10-day IL, right intercostal strain) hasn't yet progressed to the rehab element of his process and is still focused on recovery as he continues to get treatment for the strain suffered in his right side on a swinging strikeout last Wednesday. He'll likely need more than the minimum stint on the IL.

• Homer Bailey (45-day IL, right biceps tendinitis) was shut down again after he experienced persistent soreness following a bullpen session last week at Target Field. The Twins are focused more on arm care routines and not a throwing program, but they will aim to have Bailey ramped up for a return sometime around the Sept. 13 date when he's eligible to be activated off the IL.

• Nick Gordon (COVID-19) has finally cleared the intake protocol and will soon begin a rehab-type assignment at the club's Minor League facility in Fort Myers, Fla., though Falvey cautioned that it would likely be a multi-week process to progress from conditioning to baseball activities.