Injuries & Moves: Varland recalled in relief role; Sands optioned
LATEST NEWS
Byron Buxton heads to 10-day IL (right hamstring)
MINNEAPOLIS -- Byron Buxton’s challenging 2023 season continued with another placement on the 10-day injured list, this time with a right hamstring strain, ahead of Friday’s series opener against the D-backs. The expectation is that the injury, which is believed to have stemmed from an eighth-inning double during Tuesday’s game
Twins top pitching prospect Prielipp to have UCL surgery (source)
OAKLAND -- Left-handed starter Connor Prielipp, the No. 3 prospect in the Twins’ organization per MLB Pipeline, will undergo surgery on his left ulnar collateral ligament on Monday with Dr. Keith Meister, a source said on Friday. The club has not confirmed the news. The full extent of the procedure
Jorge López 'thankful' to be able to take time for mental health
MINNEAPOLIS -- Jorge López was grateful for the chance to step away from game action for his mental health -- and the veteran reliever is equally grateful to be back on the Twins’ roster when he was activated from the injured list on Tuesday after missing the minimum 15 days.
What Lewis (oblique strain) on the IL means for Twins
MINNEAPOLIS -- Royce Lewis said the oblique strain felt like someone thrust a knife into his back -- and it only got worse and worse as he ran down the line to first base. Still, he wanted to stay in the game, and given how the last two years have
Twins 'pretty broken up' about De León's arm injury
DETROIT -- Twins reliever José De León exited Saturday night’s game against the Tigers with what appeared to be a serious arm injury sustained while throwing his warmup pitches after the Twins summoned him from the bullpen in the top of the eighth inning. Though the Twins will wait for
Buxton not closer to playing CF, will stay in DH role
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins have been very, very consistent about one thing since they made the decision to use Byron Buxton as their full-time designated hitter instead of their center fielder: If he were healthy enough to play the outfield, he would be out there. He’s simply not healthy enough
Polanco's injury an omen for struggling Twins' bats
ST. PETERSBURG -- Here’s how things are going for the Twins: They strung together three well-hit balls in the first inning for the kind of sustained rally they haven’t seen in many days -- but Jorge Polanco’s 107.8 mph line drive up the middle, destined for the outfield turf, caromed
HBP sends Buxton to IL with rib contusion
ST. PETERSBURG -- The Twins’ plan to keep Byron Buxton healthier by limiting him to designated hitter had been paying off -- but once again, a hit-by-pitch mishap has sidelined the dynamic star. The Twins placed Buxton on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday (retroactive to Saturday) with a left
Mahle has Tommy John surgery, potentially ending Twins tenure
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Tyler Mahle saga in Minnesota has come to the toughest conclusion possible for both player and team. The Twins announced on Monday that Mahle successfully underwent Tommy John surgery. The Twins had high hopes when they traded three Top 30 prospects to the Reds to acquire Mahle
Kirilloff finishes rehab, optioned to Triple-A
MINNEAPOLIS -- Given how the last few years have gone injury-wise for these Twins, there have been some very unfamiliar situations for manager Rocco Baldelli and his group this season, as they try to map out how to squeeze too many healthy players onto a roster. Weird, right? Baldelli had
Mahle out four weeks with right arm strain
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins have barely had a chance to see a fully healthy and effective Tyler Mahle since they parted ways with a significant prospect haul at last season’s Trade Deadline to bring the right-hander into the rotation -- and it looks like they’ll need to wait a while
Twins place Maeda on 15-day IL (triceps)
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Twins announced Saturday that they have placed right-handed pitcher Kenta Maeda on the 15-day injured list with a right triceps strain (retroactive to Thursday). Maeda, who exited his start on Wednesday afternoon against the Yankees after three-plus innings pitched, has started four games for the Twins
Maeda may need a 'reset' after leaving start with arm injury
MINNEAPOLIS -- Kenta Maeda threw his 72nd pitch of the afternoon, and when catcher Christian Vázquez started to throw the ball back to the mound, Maeda held up both hands, signaling him to stop. For the second time, head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta emerged from the Minnesota dugout -- and
Maeda suffers ankle contusion, 'lucky to avoid a major injury'
BOSTON -- Considering the way Kenta Maeda was walking, smiling and cracking jokes after Thursday’s game, it would have been tough to tell that he’d been writhing on the grass in pain just two hours earlier. He and the Twins felt fortunate after their 11-5 loss to the Red Sox
'Some sort of miracle' Farmer not worse after struck in face by fastball
MINNEAPOLIS -- Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was visibly shaken after the game. Catcher Ryan Jeffers said the team just wanted to get the game over with after seeing another player get injured. Wednesday’s 3-1 win against the White Sox at Target Field was a costly one for a Minnesota team
Kirilloff (wrist), Polanco (knee) to begin season on IL
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Two of the Twins’ key hitters have run out of time to build up for the regular season. Neither Alex Kirilloff (recovery from right wrist surgery) nor Jorge Polanco (left knee soreness) will be ready to join the Twins by Opening Day, and the expectation is
Polanco (knee) doubtful for Opening Day; who steps up?
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Jorge Polanco might not be ready to start the regular season on time, Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey announced Sunday. The club had previously been optimistic that its starting second baseman would be active for Opening Day despite a conservative approach to his buildup
'He's feeling good': Buxton returns to game action
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- While the Twins continue to barrel toward Opening Day -- already just two weeks away -- Byron Buxton must feel like the regular season is never going to arrive. While his Major League teammates lost 2-0 to the Rays during a split-squad game at Hammond Stadium
Comeback on, Lewis 'just excited to play' -- and learn
LAKELAND, Fla. -- All Royce Lewis has been able to do for a large part of two straight years is sit out, build up and watch from the sidelines -- with a tantalizing cameo in the Majors to motivate him even more. So, now that he’s able to take part
Maeda battles extra challenge in scoreless outing
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Consider Kenta Maeda’s two scoreless innings in his Thursday start against the Rays to be even more impressive because, per Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, every Tampa Bay hitter that stepped to the plate had the opportunity to know exactly what pitch was coming. According to the
Miranda withdraws from Classic with right shoulder soreness
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Twins infielder Jose Miranda will withdraw from the roster of Team Puerto Rico for the upcoming World Baseball Classic due to right shoulder soreness that is preventing him from playing the infield, manager Rocco Baldelli announced on Wednesday. Though Miranda will continue to see Spring Training
Pitching prospect Balazovic out with broken jaw
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Twins pitching prospect Jordan Balazovic will be delayed in his buildup for the 2023 season after sustaining a broken jaw due to being struck in an off-site altercation on the night of Feb. 11 in Fort Myers, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey announced on Saturday.
On the mend, Paddack gets 3-year extension with Twins
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins gained additional clarity around a building block of their starting rotation, when they agreed to a three-year contract extension with right-hander Chris Paddack, the club announced on Wednesday. Paddack is expected to miss the majority of the 2023 season as he continues his recovery from his
With batting title in sight, Arraez forced to sit with hamstring pain
CHICAGO -- Luis Arraez wants to earn his batting title and play it through to the finish. But after he went all-out from second to home while scoring on a single in Detroit on Saturday, he got up gingerly and was clearly feeling the effects of the left hamstring pain