Twins’ injured list bulging at the seams

John Shipley, Pioneer Press
·3 min read

The Twins on Tuesday placed Trevor Larnach on the 10-day injured list after he was diagnosed with pneumonia. He joins 10 teammates on the IL, an impressive collection that includes key players such as second baseman Jorge Polanco, right fielder Max Kepler and right-handed pitcher Kenta Maeda.

Injuries to key contributors derailed last season late, knocking the Twins out of contention in the American League Central over about two weeks in September. Minnesota entered Tuesday night’s game against San Francisco at Target Field 2-5 in its previous seven games.

Sick with the flu for several days, Larnach was seen by a doctor on Tuesday.

“We’ll see how he is in a few days,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “There was no way he was going to be playing any time in the near future. We need to get him off his feet and let him rest for a couple days.”

Matt Wallner was recalled from St. Paul, and the outfielder was available off the bench. Over six big-league games in April, Wallner, 25, was hitless in 11 at-bats. In 30 games with the Saints, he hit .271 with four home runs and 16 runs batted in.

Larnach hit .215 with four doubles, two triples, five home runs and 27 RBIs in 39 games with Minnesota.

“When he comes back, he’s going to need a couple of days to build back up and feel like a normal human being again before we put him on the field,” Baldelli said.

Star counts

Not on the injured list but unavailable on Tuesday was shortstop Carlos Correa, who has a bruised left heel that has been bothering him for days.

“He continued to feel it more, so we’re just going to treat it now and see how he is as the day goes on,” Baldelli said.

Maeda and reliever Caleb Thielbar, the go-to lefty in the bullpen before straining an oblique, aren’t expected back any time soon. Each threw a bullpen session on Tuesday but were expecting at least one more session before leaving for a rehab assignment.

“I didn’t throw for eight or 10 days, so I need time to build the arm back up,” Thielbar said. “Today’s bullpen was 85 percent-ish, so I still need to throw more. It’s probably not going to be a quick rehab.”

Maeda, who rehabbed from Tommy John surgery all last season, is on the IL with tiredness in his right arm. In four appearances this season, he is 0-4 with a 9.00 earned-run average.

Maeda threw about 35 bullpen pitches on Tuesday and expects to throw another bullpen session on Friday.

“I feel like I just need one more bullpen session and then I’ll be ready to throw off the mound,” Maeda said through an interpreter. “Velo-wise, everything was there today. I felt really good. Ball was coming off my hand very well.”

Right-hander Tyler Mahle, acquired at the trade deadline last season, had Tommy John surgery on Monday in Dallas after being sidelined last season by a shoulder issue. A free agent at the end of this season, he is 3-2 with a 3.64 ERA in nine starts for Minnesota.

Putting on the brakes

Out since May 7 with a hamstring injury, Kepler said Monday he is progressing well and could return as early as this week, but Baldelli squelched that optimism on Tuesday.

“I’m not positive about the rehab part of his plan, if he’s going to be going on one or not, but it’s been a little longer than we thought,” Baldelli said. “I mentioned that before; we weren’t anticipating this long of a break. But he’s not built up to being full speed at this point yet.”

Briefly

Byron Buxton extended his streak for reaching base safely to a career-high 23 games when he hit a two-run homer in the first inning Tuesday off Giants starter Alex Cobb. The Twins’ DH was 0 for 3 in Monday’s 4-1 loss but was hit by a pitch.

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