What Are the Return Timetables for Injured Twins Stars?

[Nick Nelson]

Here's what you need to know about estimated timelines for Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, Jhoan Durán and more.

Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson, Brad Rempel, Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports

The Twins have been without several key players in the early going, and it's clearly taken a toll on their performance. While their season spirals and the team tries to stay above water, fans are eagerly awaiting the return of injured stars, with hopes that reinforcements and help rejuvenate this wayward club.

Anthony DeSclafani is down for the season due to elbow surgery, and unfortunately we learned on Saturday that reliever Daniel Duarte will be joining him in that boat. But elsewhere, important roster fixtures are making progress and tracking toward getting back on the field.

Based on the recent updates and the latest known timelines, here's a rundown of expected returns for players who are currently sidelined. 

Max Kepler: Within days

Kepler fouled a ball off his knee on Opening Day, tried to play through it for a bit (fruitlessly) before being placed on the injured list on April 9th. Although his IL assignment ran a bit past the minimum 10-day window, it does appear Kepler is very close to returning. He started a rehab stint with the Saints on Thursday, starting at DH, and then played right field there on Friday.

Aaron Gleeman wrote in The Athletic that Kepler could return from his knee contusion "as soon as Sunday or Monday." Said Rocco Baldelli, "“I think it’s close. I need him to tell us he’s ready before we can make any calls, though."

Kepler's season was off to a horrible start, with one hit in 20 at-bats, so he'll be looking to hit the ground running and turn things around quickly.

Jhoan Durán: 1-2 weeks

When the Twins announced at the end of spring training that their closer had been diagnosed with "moderate oblique strain," it was grim news. Oblique injuries can take a long time to properly heal, especially for a pitcher with such explosive torque as Durán, so this had the makings of a multi-month injury.

As it turns out, Durán seemingly healed very quickly. He reported being pain-free over a week ago, and took a big step in his progression on Friday when he threw live on-field batting practice at a chilly Target Field. 

 

It sounds like the right-hander came out of that session feeling good, so a rehab assignment is now in the cards. That could get underway in the coming week, which would put Durán in line to potentially be activated as soon as next weekend. He'll significantly power up a bullpen that's been pretty good in his absence.

Justin Topa: Early May

Bothered by a knee issue that cropped up in late spring, Topa is slightly behind Durán but not far. Topa is reportedly scheduled to throw live batting practice at Target Field on Tuesday, with a rehab to follow if all goes well. He might make it back before the end of April. Topa doesn't fit the billing of "injured star" like others on this list, but pitching staff will welcome any quality depth it can get.

Carlos Correa: Early May

Correa and the Twins dodged a bullet when a scary-looking side injury suffered on April 12th was deemed to be a relatively minor intercostal strain. That's certainly less bad than an oblique scenario, as outlined above, but it didn't mean the shortstop was looking at the 10-day IL minimum, either. These kinds of soft-tissue injuries needed to be treated carefully regardless.

There have been no concrete updates on Correa, suggesting that he's still letting the inflamed muscles calm down before getting back to action. I've heard nothing to hint at a setback or prolonged timetable, but Correa is still probably a couple weeks out at least. Out of everyone on this list, it's pretty clear that Correa's absence is being felt most, other than maybe the next guy.

Royce Lewis: June

On Opening Day, Lewis suffered a significant quad strain while running the bases, extinguishing an energetic spark that this team hasn't been able to recapture since. Lewis received a platelet-rich plasma injection to promote healing, but from the jump, it was understood that he was looking at a lengthy recovery that could span close to half the season. 

Lewis is nowhere near returning as we speak, but his timetable seems to be trending on the positive side. Head trainer Nick Paparesta shared with reporters on Saturday that Lewis has "started some baseball activity" and could start running within the next week. 

 

It's important to note that Lewis is still in the early stages of ramping up, and the Twins are going to exercise every precaution as they ease him back. An aggravation of the quad would be potentially devastating, and must be avoided at all costs. 

The Twins will still be without their ascendant young third baseman for the foreseeable future, meaning the mission is to stay afloat and remain relevant until he returns. So far it's not going great, but hopefully the more imminent returns of Kepler, Durán and Correa can help right the ship.

View full article

[CRF]

This team needs ALL three of those guys back, and 100% healthy...as soon as possible. We're a complete mess without them. 

[twinssporto]

These injuries make me crazy, especially to our core group of guys.

Makes me appreciate the Lou Gehreg and Cal Ripken feats even more....

 

 

[jorgenswest]

Camargo will go back down with Kepler’s return. Meanwhile Martin, Larnach and Miranda get more time to earn their spot in this roster.

Any update on the return to AAA of Brooks Lee?

[Doctor Gast]

The return of Duran is really appreciated to make a difference in some wins, Same with Correa to make a great difference in the INF & help out the offense that'll create more wins. When Lewis finally returns, then we can really make a big push. Kepler won't make much difference. If I had to choose between Kepler & Martin, I'd pick Martin hands down.

[yeahyabetcha]

1 hour ago, Doctor Gast said:

The return of Duran is really appreciated to make a difference in some wins, Same with Correa to make a great difference in the INF & help out the offense that'll create more wins. When Lewis finally returns, then we can really make a big push. Kepler won't make much difference. If I had to choose between Kepler & Martin, I'd pick Martin hands down.

My hope would be Kepler, Martin and Larnach could all be in the starting lineup on a regular basis.  

[Doctor Gast]

3 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

Camargo will go back down with Kepler’s return. Meanwhile Martin, Larnach and Miranda get more time to earn their spot in this roster.

Any update on the return to AAA of Brooks Lee?

They are keeping a tight lip on Lee, I don't like that.

[NotAboutWinning]

Kepler looks just as lost at the plate in AAA. Doesn't seem like getting him back is going to improve the team.

[jorgenswest]

40 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

They are keeping a tight lip on Lee, I don't like that.

Found Dan Hayes reported 5 days ago he is still in rest/recovery phase. 

Edited April 20, 2024 by jorgenswest
Changed to reflect an update from Dan Hayes

[Mike Sixel]

40 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

They are keeping a tight lip on Lee, I don't like that.

Nothing on Jenkins either? I've been asking for three weeks....

[mikelink45]

Kepler has not exactly set the league on fire during his rehab - is their reason to belief he will be better when he returns?

[jorgenswest]

3 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Kepler has not exactly set the league on fire during his rehab - is their reason to belief he will be better when he returns?

Isn’t he hitting .400 with  2 strikeouts and 3 walks in 13 plate appearances?

The numbers probably don’t mean anything other than he isn’t striking out half the time but I don’t get what you are seeing. Perhaps you have been to the games which would be way more meaningful than watching on MILB or certainly looking at stats.

edit: of his 8 balls in play 4 have an exit velocity over 100 MPH

[mikelink45]

18 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

Isn’t he hitting .400 with w strikeouts and 3 walks in 13 plate appearances?

The numbers probably don’t mean anything other than he isn’t striking out half the time but I don’t get what you are seeing. Perhaps you have been to the games which would be way more meaningful than watching on MILB or certainly looking at stats.

edit: of his 8 balls in play 4 have an exit velocity over 100 MPH

Those are not the stats. Agate when I went on to St. Paul saints site. If he's doing that well great

[jorgenswest]

6 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

Those are not the stats. Agate when I went on to St. Paul saints site. If he's doing that well great

I followed the game today. I knew he was doing OK, hitting balls with good velocity and not striking out very often. Wallner, unfortunately, struck out four times today. 

[RpR]

3 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Kepler has not exactly set the league on fire during his rehab - is their reason to belief he will be better when he returns?

He went 3 for 5 today, the 20th of Aprill while Wallner went 0 for 6 with 4 Ks.

Wallner did hit a home run yesterday.

[TopGunn#22]

The guy on the current roster I'm least impressed with is Margot.  When guys start getting healthy just DFA Margot and keep Austin Martin up.  Larnach has actually looked better swinging the bat, albeit a very small sample size. 

If you were throwing darts at a dart board with Twins players on it, the worst guys to have hurt, and thus, hit with a dart, would be Lewis, Correa and Duran.  (Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan as well).  Now that I've jinxed Lopez and Ryan I hope I'm not going to become persona-no-grata on TD.  Buxton is a constant source of frustration.  The headline of the article "Why is Byron Buxton swinging and missing?" could just as easily have a post script "Because that's what he does!"  

[mikelink45]

8 hours ago, RpR said:

He went 3 for 5 today, the 20th of Aprill while Wallner went 0 for 6 with 4 Ks.

Wallner did hit a home run yesterday.

Thank you.  If Kepler is ready to follow up the end of last year and not the beginning of this year or last year he will contribute a lot.  

Wallner is a puzzle, but only because I route for Minnesota players.  His big swing is good when it connects, but connections have to be more often.  Right now I like Kepler, Buxton, Kiriloff as the three OFs. But if Kepler sinks into non-production, Magot is not a regular  and maybe Martin is.  But we cannot afford both Buxton and Kepler hitting poorly.

[JD-TWINS]

14 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

They are keeping a tight lip on Lee, I don't like that.

Lee unknown details  -  agreed, not good.

How about Wallner? Still hitting zero?

Was hoping to hear of an actual TWO hit game for Kepler at AAA before they bring/let him back on the Big Club. Can’t add another .100 hitter to the starting line-up without him showing some signs of coming around!

 

[Jeff K]

16 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

The return of Duran is really appreciated to make a difference in some wins, Same with Correa to make a great difference in the INF & help out the offense that'll create more wins. When Lewis finally returns, then we can really make a big push. Kepler won't make much difference. If I had to choose between Kepler & Martin, I'd pick Martin hands down.

I fully agree; however, the outfield is so thin, we need both of them.

[Major League Ready]

1 hour ago, TopGunn#22 said:

The guy on the current roster I'm least impressed with is Margot.  When guys start getting healthy just DFA Margot and keep Austin Martin up.  Larnach has actually looked better swinging the bat, albeit a very small sample size. 

If you were throwing darts at a dart board with Twins players on it, the worst guys to have hurt, and thus, hit with a dart, would be Lewis, Correa and Duran.  (Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan as well).  Now that I've jinxed Lopez and Ryan I hope I'm not going to become persona-no-grata on TD.  Buxton is a constant source of frustration.  The headline of the article "Why is Byron Buxton swinging and missing?" could just as easily have a post script "Because that's what he does!"  

It's Santana for me.  We will give up some defense, but I would rather see Miranda stay and Santana go.  That said, Margot would be the next to go.  At least it looks like we got a good prospect as part of the Margot deal.  Roncon's OPS is now over 1.000.

[akmanak]

Should of traded Kepler in the off-season while his stock was up. He isn't good regardless of what he did last year. 

[Otaknam]

Duran’s return will be irrelevant if the strikeout inclined offense doesn’t start producing. And it’s beginning to look like Lewis is injury prone like Buxton, and he is the new face of the franchise. Yikes! 

[wabene]

Gads Wallner is a mess, I feel bad for the young man. Chin up. 

Kepler is playing for some tall Euros this year, he better bring his A game.

[Centerfield]

What’s status of Walker Jenkins?

[wabene]

34 minutes ago, akmanak said:

Should of traded Kepler in the off-season while his stock was up. He isn't good regardless of what he did last year. 

I had the same thought this off-season about your first sentence. As to your second sentence, I think it's safe to say that nobody knows what we will get from Max.

[terrydactyls]

I'm hoping Duran gives the team an energy injection in about a week.  And that Correa does the same two weeks after that.  And then Lewis returns in June and energizes the team just as he did last year.  And as long as I'm day dreaming, how about:

Larnach keeps hitting.

Martin keeps hitting.

Lee gets healthy faster than anticipated.

Margot and Santana get released.

Did I go too far?

[wabene]

22 minutes ago, terrydactyls said:

Margot and Santana get released

A fellow can dream.

[darin617]

20 hours ago, NotAboutWinning said:

Kepler looks just as lost at the plate in AAA. Doesn't seem like getting him back is going to improve the team.

3 for 5 the other day. If that's being lost and I can't until he's up to speed by your standards.