Forecasting the Many Injuries in the Twins Organization

[Theodore Tollefson]

There are a lot of players hurt across all levels of the Twins organization, but many of them will still return to play in 2024. Let's break down 19 players, from Low-A to the majors, who are expected to return to their teams before the season is over.

Image courtesy of © Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Injuries are a constant problem for every big-league franchise, and a constant part of the narrative for the Twins. From Royce Lewis and Brock Stewart on the big-league roster to Walker Jenkins and José Rodríguez with Low-A Ft. Myers, injuries have marred the first quarter of the year for the whole organization.

Some of these players could be returning to their respective teams soon, but others will require substantially more time. Here’s a breakdown of every injured player in the Twins organization who is expected to come back this year. 

Twins 40-Man Roster and 60-Day Injured List
It’s well known Anthony DeSclafani and Daniel Duarte are out for the season, but one of the remaining two men on the Twins' 60-day injured list could be back soon as a long relief option for the bullpen.

Josh Winder
Josh Winder has been on a rehab assignment since the end of April, as he works his way back from a right shoulder injury that had him shut down before any other Twin in Spring Training. He made two rehab outings with Ft. Myers before being transferred to the Saints on May 7.

Winder’s outings have not had encouraging outcomes, as he’s allowed at least one earned run in each of his five rehab outings. He’s worked a total of 8 ⅔ innings over his five appearances and allowed nine earned runs, accumulating an ERA of 9.35. He has, at least, recorded 12 strikeouts in his five outings, with a whiff rate of 18.6%. 

Winder can be activated from his rehab assignment as early as May 28, but his outings are resulting in less-than-favorable numbers; it’s possible he could be optioned to remain in St. Paul once activated.

Zack Weiss
The other man on the 60-day IL who could be returning before the All-Star break is Zack Weiss. Our last update on Weiss's teres major strain came May 14, when Twins head trainer Nick Paparesta informed Twins beat reporters that Weiss had been throwing from 75 feet, but not off a mound.

Weiss has been shelved since March 1, but if his next steps are steady, there’s a likelihood he can begin a rehab assignment sometime in the middle of June.

Twins 40-Man Roster, 10 or 15-Day Injured List Players
Royce Lewis
There's no one Twins fans are more excited to get back, and Lewis might not be as far away as once feared. His stint on the 10-day IL has taken as much time as expected when he landed there with a quadriceps injury, but he could join the St. Paul Saints for rehab as early as their next series in Rochester, New York, beginning the day after Memorial Day.

Lewis’s absence has been felt of late in the lineup, as the Twins just broke out of a seven-game losing skid born mostly of offensive incompetence. There’s no guarantee he’ll return to form immediately upon return, but Mr. Grand Slam will have plenty of opportunities to flash his brilliance as summer rolls around.

Justin Topa
Justin Topa is still listed as being on rehab assignment with the St. Paul Saints, but with the slight tear in his right knee and a six-week setback, he'll be recalled from it. The Twins have a full 20 days from the last time Topa was out on the mound to take him off rehab assignment. 

His last rehab outing came on May 5 against the Louisville Bats. He only threw one inning and allowed one hit with a strikeout, but his fastball velocity was still down around 92 MPH. With the setback sidelining him for the next six weeks, Topa figures not to actually join the big-league bullpen until after the All-Star break.

If all goes well from Topa’s plasma cortisone shot and next rehab assignment, he could be a de facto trade deadline addition to the relief corps.

Brock Stewart
Stewart has been absent from the Twins bullpen since May 2 with right shoulder inflammation, and the hope had been that he might start his own rehab assignment around this time. Alas: setbacks.

Stewart has yet to throw a baseball at all, as Dan Hayes of the Athletic reported, meaning his return timeframe could be longer than (for instance) Lewis’s. If that is the case, it could be the middle of June (or later) when Stewart finally makes his return to the Twins bullpen.

Triple-A Injuries
Jair Camargo
Twins fans haven’t heard much about Camargo of late, and that’s because has been out since May 1 with a right forearm contusion. He had played in 17 games up to that point between the St. Paul Saints and Minnesota Twins, and had decent numbers at the plate in Triple-A, posting a .263/.354/.474 triple slash, along with three home runs and 13 runs batted in.

The Saints have not been without catchers in Camargo’s absence, as he is one of four on their roster. But his absence has been felt much more in the lineup, as the Saints offense has a Triple-A-worst .219 batting average. Camargo has missed three weeks of play, and there is no clear timeframe of how soon he will be activated to rejoin this meek Saints lineup.

Brooks Lee
The long-awaited update arrived early this week: Lee is, indeed, beginning a rehab assignment with the Florida Complex League Twins, and is on his way back to Triple-A. So far, Lee has only accumulated one hit in eight at-bats, but his level of comfort in his back while playing takes precedence over results.

There’s no clear indication yet on whether he’ll rejoin the St. Paul Saints on their current two-week road trip in upstate New York, or wait until they return to CHS Field to begin the month of June. If the Twins front office wants to take their time with Lee, he will probably spend some more time in Ft. Myers with the Mighty Mussels before joining the Saints.

Matt Canterino
It was another unfortunate setback for Matt Canterino this spring, when he began the season on the IL with a right rotator cuff strain in camp. Fortunately, there was a good update on the status of his health back on May 14, by MLB.com Twins reporter Do-Hyoung Park.

Canterino is throwing from 90 feet, and as long as all goes well, he could start his rehab assignment by the start of June. He missed all of 2023 recovering from Tommy John surgery and looked relatively healthy to begin Spring Training. When he begins his rehab assignment, it’ll be the first time he’s pitched in a professional game since July 30, 2022. 

Jeff Brigham 
Brigham looked good in two games during the Saints' first week of the season. But as he tried to complete a second inning of work against the Nashville Sounds, something felt off after hitting their right fielder Chavez Young with a pitch.

Brigham exited that game with a left oblique strain, and was placed on the IL the following day, Apr. 6. His estimated timetable for return remains unknown, but the Saints' bullpen has been one of their stronger units.

Brent Headrick 
Brent Headrick started his 2024 season in the Saints rotation and looked really solid in his first two starts. He had a 2.08 ERA in 8 ⅔ innings of work and struck out 15 batters while only walking three. Following his second start on April 6 against the Nashville Sounds, he suffered a left forearm flexor strain.

Headrick was shut down on Apr. 8, and is anticipated to need a significant amount of time before he can be activated from the 60-day IL. While there’s no clear timeframe on his return, his return in 2024 is not ruled out. Late July or early August feel like the right target ranges for a comeback, but if this injury doesn't respond to rest, surgery could be a lurking risk.

Double-A Injuries
Cory Lewis
One of the biggest names in the Cedar Rapids Kernels pitching rotation was Cory Lewis, who garnered national interest for using a knuckleball to round out his arsenal. However, he has yet to throw a pitch in 2024, as he began the season on the IL with a right shoulder impingement.

There have been few updates on his health since the Wind Surge’s Opening Day on Apr. 5, but he’s still expected to be in their starting rotation before the 2024 season is over. 

Cody Laweryson
Cody Laweryson has been shut down since Apr. 10 with an undisclosed injury. The 26-year-old from Bingham, Maine spent all of last season in the Saints bullpen and pitched in only one game this season before being shut down.

Sean Mooney
Sean Mooney is another of many Twins minor-league pitchers who began the season on the injured list. He has been out since Mar. 20 recovering from right rotator cuff surgery. The surgery takes anywhere from four to six months to fully heal, and there is no indication on where Mooney currently lands in that timeframe, but he has yet to be ruled out for 2024. 

High-A Injuries
Gabriel Gonzalez
The Twins’ top prospect acquisition in the Jorge Polanco trade has been out since May 8 with a lower back strain. He had a solid first 20 games with the Kernels before being placed on the IL posting a .265/.315/.456 line. 

The setback is expected to be minimal for the 20-year-old outfielder, and he could return to the Kernels lineup as early as this weekend if all goes well in his recovery.     

Danny De Andrade
De Andrade took a bad roll on his left ankle playing shortstop for the Kernels on May 16. The following day, the Kernels placed him on the 7-day injured list with a left ankle sprain.

De Andrade’s time frame for return is currently unknown. He had played in 29 games before his injury and hit .243/.333/.359, along with two home runs and 19 runs batted in. 

Connor Prielipp
The unfortunate narrative of injuries has stuck with Prielipp since the Twins drafted him in 2022. He has only made two starts, two months apart from each other in 2023, and began the 2024 season on the IL as he still recovers from an internal brace placement last July.

He isn’t expected to resume baseball activities until June at the earliest, following last summer's procedure. While there is no clear update on his timeframe of return, the hope is that he'll finis the summer in the rotation somewhere in the lower half of the Twins system. 

Low-A Injuries
Walker Jenkins
The run of bad luck with the health of Twins top prospects continued with Jenkins. In the second inning of the Mussels' first game, he pulled his hamstring trying to catch a fly ball in center field. 

Fortunately, he’s begun a rehab assignment alongside Lee in the Florida Complex League. He’s only played in one game on Monday, and went 0-4 at the plate. The setback is a bummer to Jenkins's season, but he will still be back with the Mighty Mussels before the dog days of summer.

José Rodríguez
The injury to Rodríguez is recent, as he went down with a right thumb contusion on Fri., May 17. While his numbers haven’t been eye-popping in 33 games, he has one of the biggest hits in the Mighty Mussels' season so far: he hit a walk-off grand slam on May 7 to give the Mussels the 8-7 win over the Dunedin Blue Jays.

Thumb contusions can take six weeks to recover from, putting his ETA to return to the Mussels lineup at the beginning of July.

Carlos Aguiar
Aguiar has been out since Apr. 20 with a right intercostal strain. The 22-year-old outfielder was hitless in three games with the Mighty Mussels before going down with his injury.

The typical time for an intercostal strain to heal is anywhere from three to seven weeks. It has been nearly five weeks since Aguiar suffered the strain, making it likely he could still need another two before his return.

There are many more injured Twins players and prospects who could be out for the remainder of the season. But for these 19 players, the campaign probably isn't over, and the franchise will be relieved to get them back when they can.

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[ladrossetwin]

appreciate the update

[IndianaTwin]

Agreed, thanks for the update. 

One game is about as small of a sample size as one can get, but it's interesting that for Lee, it was at shortstop. I'll be curious to see how that plays itself out as Lewis prepares to return, Miranda playing well and Julien struggling compared to a year ago.

It wouldn't be popular, but he seems like one of their biggest trade chips.

[gman]

Doesn't appear as if Prielipp will get a lot of mound time this year, but hopefully enough to stabilize and with good health his career can take off next year. I'd like to see Canterino in the Twins bullpen late in the year. Hopefully Stewart makes it back by the end of June.

I'd like to see Lee be available for the Twins lineup by the allstar break or shortly there after. Lewis can't make it back soon enough.

 

[Doctor Gast]

Lewis back for the NYY game would be wonderful.

1 hour ago, gman said:

Doesn't appear as if Prielipp will get a lot of mound time this year, but hopefully enough to stabilize and with good health his career can take off next year. I'd like to see Canterino in the Twins bullpen late in the year. Hopefully Stewart makes it back by the end of June.

I'd like to see Lee be available for the Twins lineup by the allstar break or shortly there after. Lewis can't make it back soon enough.

 

You share my sentiments, It'd be nice to see what Prielipp has, finally

[jmlease1]

nice to have an injury update covering the entire system in one place. not so nice to have it be such a lengthy list!

looking forward to seeing a few guys come off it like Jenkins, Lee, and Lewis (x2).

[BH67]

In recent years the Twins have continually exceeded the average seasonal number of major-league club games lost to injury. I'm curious if this pattern is amplified with respect to each club's top 20 minor league prospects.

[Patzky]

3 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

nice to have an injury update covering the entire system in one place. not so nice to have it be such a lengthy list!

looking forward to seeing a few guys come off it like Jenkins, Lee, and Lewis (x2).

Lee and Jenkins raked today, both with two hits and Jenkins 3 RBI 

[CRF]

Injuries? Just rub the "Winner-Schnitzel" on any injury, and it'll be miraculously healed!

[Rosterman]

Always scary when your "third" catcher is on the injury list in the minors, especially when already taking a 40-man spot, which means you HAVE to have a roster spot for an add if one of the BIG TWO hit the IL.

The Twins could but Topa, Lewis (still), or even Stewart on the 60-day. WInder needs to come off, and will probably be optioned to the minors. The Twins currently do have an open spot on their 40-man.

[JD-TWINS]

I hope you are correct with Lewis - just considering “when” for the near-term means he’s pretty healthy at this point. Great news. Couple more weeks is just fine to get him right at the plate in St. Paul.

Stewart by “sometime in June” seems plausible - not very soon if he hasn’t played catch, at all, yet.

Interested in Lee’s progress/prrformance once back in St. Paul - will be interesting to see what position he’s playing there.

[saviking]

You would think that was a week 16 injury report for an NFL team ...