Injuries & Moves: Funderburk to IL; Miranda back to swinging
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July 21: LHP Kody Funderburk (left oblique strain) placed on 15-day IL; RHP Ronny Henriquez recalled from Triple-A St. Paul
Manager Rocco Baldelli was unsure of when Funderburk had sustained the injury, but indicated it was impacting the area of the left-hander's oblique more toward his back. He did not pitch on July 20, and had last taken the mound on July 12, before the All-Star break. In a corresponding move, the Twins recalled Henriquez for his third stint with the team this season.
July 20: SS Carlos Correa (right plantar fasciitis), RHP Chris Paddack (right forearm strain) placed on 10-day IL; UTIL Austin Martin activated from 10-day IL, INF Edouard Julien recalled from Triple-A St. Paul
Correa received a platelet-rich plasma 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, and is expected to miss a matter of weeks. Paddack experienced tightness in his elbow while throwing during the All-Star break, manager Rocco Baldelli said.
Baldelli did not announce who will start in Paddack's rotation spot when the slot comes up on Wednesday, but the Twins will play down a pitcher for the time being, with both Martin and Julien added to give the Twins plenty of depth on the position side, where they remain depleted with the absence of three big bats (Correa, Royce Lewis and Jose Miranda). Read more >
10-DAY/15-DAY INJURED LIST
INF Jose Miranda (low back strain)
Expected return: Shortly after the All-Star break
Miranda hit flip tosses in the batting cages on July 21, and will progress to running on July 22, after which the Twins will continue to evaluate his progress and make further determinations on his timetable -- including whether or not he'll eventually need a rehab assignment.
Miranda had been scratched ahead of the Twins' July 12 game in San Francisco after feeling his back tighten up while taking pregame grounders, he said. (Last updated: July 21)
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, and Paddack simply felt grateful for the notion that they had seemingly caught the arm issue early before it potentially progressed to another more serious ligament injury.
There's no timeline for Paddack's recovery, but he indicated that he expects to pitch again in 2024 and wondered if this issue could perhaps have contributed to the dead arm and shoulder troubles that had sent him to the IL in early July.
"I gained a little bit of hope when I saw the ligament was attached, secured and looked strong in there; just had a little bit of fluid in there, flexor pronator, right there on the forearm strain,” Paddack said. Read more > (Last updated: July 21)
LHP Kody Funderburk (left oblique strain)
Expected return: TBD
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli didn't have specifics about how Funderburk sustained the oblique strain, described as being more towards the left-hander's back area, when the club placed Funderburk on the 15-day IL on July 21. (Last updated: July 21)
SS Carlos Correa (right plantar fasciitis)
Expected return: TBD
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 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, and is expected to miss a matter of weeks.
Correa missed the final two games before the All-Star break, as he underwent an MRI that confirmed that he had plantar fasciitis.
“We don’t necessarily have a timeline right now,” manager Rocco Baldelli said on July 20. “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.” (Last updated: July 20)
3B Royce Lewis (right adductor strain)
Expected return: Early August
Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said on July 3 that Lewis sustained a Grade 2 strain to his adductor, though Lewis wasn't down for long, as he said he had been running and hitting since the second week of July, when the Twins left for their road trip through Chicago and San Francisco to end the first half. He took batting practice and ran on the field with his teammates on July 20, and could be headed on a rehab assignment sometime during the week of July 22, manager Rocco Baldelli said.
Lewis was injured during the Twins' game against the Tigers on July 2. He ran gingerly to second base after hitting a double in the third inning, and was removed from the game in the sixth inning. (Last updated: July 20)
INF Kyle Farmer (right shoulder strain)
Expected return: Late July
Farmer had been dealing with his shoulder issue for "a long time" before being placed on the IL retroactive to July 11, manager Rocco Baldelli said. The injury got to the point where the Twins felt it was better to shut Farmer down in order to get him back to full health. Baldelli said Farmer could miss more than the 10-day minimum, which includes the team's days off during the All-Star break. (Last updated: July 12)
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)
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 instead of an optional assignment to Triple-A St. Paul.
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: June 18)
60-DAY INJURED LIST
RHP Brock Stewart (right shoulder tendinitis)
Expected return: Late July
Stewart began a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on July 9, and made his most recent outing with the Saints on July 19, the third appearance of that rehab stint. He struck out five, walked two and allowed one run across those three outings.
Stewart received a platelet-rich plasma injection on May 13 after feeling a pinch in his shoulder, which he began to experience during his April 25 outing against the White Sox. He was moved to the IL on May 3, retroactive to May 2. (Last updated: July 20)
RHP Justin Topa (left patellar tendinitis)
Expected return: TBD
Topa progressed to throwing bullpen sessions after a follow-up checkup with Dr. Timothy Kremchek, a Cincinnati-based orthopedic surgeon.
An MRI exam of Topa's left knee revealed a 25 percent torn left patellar tendon after soreness flared during his initial rehab assignment with Triple-A 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. He said he’s been pleased with his progress once he resumed activity.
"After a couple weeks, I started some new movement stuff -- trying to get the range of motion back. I started to do some weight lifts and workouts and stuff like that,” Topa said. “It was definitely a different feeling than the first time -- a lot better. So, it’s one of those things where it kind of fluctuates each day, but you introduce new stuff early on, introduce some new movements and stuff, different variations of squatting, stuff like that, to see how it reacted, see if it lingered. But it’s been feeling really good up to this point.”
Topa began the season on the IL due to soreness and inflammation related to left knee tendinitis that had lingered throughout 2023. (Last updated: July 5)
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)