Kepler, Adrianza progressing from injuries
MINNEAPOLIS -- With one week remaining in the regular season, the Twins are still looking for Max Kepler and Ehire Adrianza to get healthy, and the pair continued to show signs of progress in manager Rocco Baldelli's latest injury update on Sunday.
Kepler entered Saturday night's game as a pinch-runner, his first game action since Sept. 14, but is still not available to hit on a consistent basis. He has been swinging in the cage as he recovers from a rhomboid muscle strain in his left shoulder, and the plan is for the outfielder to hit off a velocity machine early this week.
With Byron Buxton sidelined for the postseason following season-ending shoulder surgery, Kepler's return would be the final major step for a Minnesota lineup that recently benefited from the newfound health of both Jake Cave and Marwin Gonzalez, who have provided a needed boost to the club's outfield depth.
In an encouraging step following a mild oblique strain, Adrianza felt good after he took swings on the field and did infield work on Saturday. Baldelli's reports from the session indicated that Adrianza looked to be nearing full strength, though the Twins' skipper couldn't yet make a commitment as to whether the infielder would return to the field before the end of the regular season.
"I don't know if he's close to being ready to play, but he looks good," Baldelli said. "And it's all been positive."
Alcala's debut not what he expected
Jorge Alcala certainly didn't imagine that his Major League debut would come with the bases loaded in the ninth inning of a game that was quickly slipping out reach for the Twins. But Minnesota needed a new arm, Alcala was available, and the rookie was called upon for two outs in Minnesota's 12-5 loss to the Royals on Saturday night.
"That’s not the way that you draw it up," Baldelli said. "But on the flip side, he’s been here a little while. We haven’t been able to get him in any of these games. That was a situation that made sense to get him into."
Alcala was summoned with one out in the ninth and the bases loaded after Trevor Hildenberger allowed a double, three singles and a walk to put the Twins in a tough position. Though Alcala was called up on Sept. 14, the right-hander hadn't pitched since Aug. 31, when he finished his season with Triple-A Rochester.
Alcala, ranked as Minnesota's No. 23 prospect by MLB Pipeline, had been working out at the Twins' facility in Fort Myers, Fla., before he got the call.
"My season was basically over, and then, all of a sudden, I'm at this level," Alcala said through team interpreter Elvis Martinez. "I was a little anxious and a little nervous, too, because of the situation with the bases loaded, but I tried to calm myself down and do my job."
The 24-year-old allowed an RBI single to Erick Mejia and issued a bases-loaded walk to Cheslor Cuthbert, but also induced two fly balls to left field to escape his first Major League inning without being charged with a run.
"I would have preferred that there was a base open somewhere for him to be able to come in and breathe a little bit, and kind of work with a situation like that," Baldelli said. "Unfortunately, he came in with the bases loaded and he still found a way to ... he found a way to throw strikes."
Lewis to maintain focus at shortstop following Arizona Fall League
Despite making appearances at third base and center field in the opening days of action in the Arizona Fall League, Royce Lewis will continue to focus on his development at shortstop next season, according to Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey.
Lewis, the Twins' top-ranked prospect and No. 9 overall on MLB Pipeline's Top 100, is a talented athlete who can fill in at center -- he made a highlight-reel catch at the wall on Thursday before he blasted a homer. The experience will add the option of playing outfield to Lewis' future skillset, but Falvey still sees him as a shortstop moving forward.
With Lewis having missed some time during Spring Training due to an oblique injury, the focus in the AFL is to get the 20-year-old more at-bats to continue his development at the plate. Lewis hit .236/.290/.371 with 12 homers and 22 steals across Class A Advanced Fort Myers and Double-A Pensacola.