The Twins announced this morning they’ve transferred utilityman Nick Gordon from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list. The move clears a spot on the 40-man roster for Royce Lewis, who has been reinstated from the 60-day IL. Minnesota also confirmed they’ve activated Max Kepler from the 10-day IL and optioned both Matt Wallner and Kyle Garlick to Triple-A St. Paul to clear active roster space.
Gordon fractured his right shin a little less than two weeks ago. The left-handed hitter fouled a ball off his leg during a loss to the Dodgers. Minnesota hasn’t provided specifics on the 27-year-old’s recovery timetable, but it’s now official he’s in for a lengthy absence. The transfer backdates to May 19, the date of Gordon’s initial IL placement. Nevertheless, it ensures he won’t be able to return until the third week of July at the earliest.
It has been a tough season for the former fifth overall pick. Gordon is hitting .176/.185/.319 over 34 games. Even before the leg injury, it had marked a disappointing follow-up to a solid .272/.316/.427 showing over a career-high 443 plate appearances last year.
Lewis officially returns one year to the day since his last MLB action. The former first overall pick tore the ACL in his right knee for the second time in as many seasons last May. The injuries have kept him to just 12 big league games to date, but the 23-year-old certainly still has time to emerge as a key contributor for Minnesota.
Dan Hayes of the Athletic chatted with Lewis and his mother Cindy about the physical and mental challenges associated with near-consecutive year-long rehab processes. Lewis has shown no signs of rust on a rehab stint with St. Paul, hitting .333/.371/.727 with four homers in 35 trips to the plate. He’s expected to log a decent amount of action on the left side of the infield. Carlos Correa is day-to-day with plantar fasciitis, while third baseman José Miranda struggled enough that the Twins optioned him a few weeks ago. Kyle Farmer has taken the bulk of third base reps since Miranda’s demotion.
Most injured team in Baseball
Royce Lewis will be fun to watch. He brings a lot of energy to each game and in a way is kind of a throwback type of player who hustles and does the little things.
Gordon I believe will put it all together again, but might be just a platoon type player against righties.
Correa also will get himself back on track. He always has been a bit of a slow starter. This is a bit worse than his usual, but he has too much talent to not right the ship and is too young to be facing a decline in performance.
Hoping we see Brooks Lee as well. That kid is a special talent.
Hard to not be excited by the next core coming up in Lewis, Lee, Julien, Kiriloff, Larnarch, Ober, Ryan, and Duran. I believe all will be All Star to quality contributors for years to come.
Those young players you listed will be indeed a breath of fresh air, which is more than you can say for Garlick.
Dang, now theyre down to only 3 so-so utility players.
Don’t follow the team but must have one hell of a bench to send Wallner down as his stats seem great in small sample
They have to many Nick Gordon’s on the team Correa, kepler,buxton, and kiriloff
Gordon was very highly touted, but it seems like he’ll never pan out to what the organization believed.
Matt Wallner goes 6-6 with 2 BB’s, and a HR in two games prior to being sent to AAA
What more do they need to see? He is from TC, drafted twice by the MN Twins Organization, has an absolute rocket for an arm. Hits moonshots. His OB% in AAA this year in over .400. His OB% in MLB this year is over .500
What MORE could he do? He should be their regular RF. Clear the way.
I agree. Stupid to demote him. DFA someone who isn’t going gangbusters at the moment.
I think the notion with Wallner is that he IS part of the future and still needs more seasoning at AAA. He is strikeout prone. But with Kepler, Larnach, Kiriloff (to a degree), Gallo, Taylor, Castro and Buxton (sometime?), where was Wallner going to get the at-bats? I believe Kepler is going to be traded this season, but you would probably still have Gallo in front of Wallner right now. Next year is when to expect Wallner to be on the roster on a more permanent basis.
Then to think about Brooks Lee and where does he fit in? At the moment, I think Lewis will remain the 3B, Correa at SS and then Polanco at 2B. Will Brooks Lee be a better 2B than Julien? The roster is shaping up to be a good for more than a few years.
I see Wallner went 3-5 with a 2B, 3B, and a HR in AAA yesterday.
I don’t agree that he needs more seasoning.
Meanwhile, the Twins lose 1-5 in Houston. Lots of the Twins looked like they could use some more seasoning.
Lewis big time today! I hope he stays healthy!