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July 28: INF Jose Miranda exits game with head contusion after being struck in helmet by pitch
Miranda sustained a head contusion and exited the game when he was struck in the helmet by a pitch from Tigers opener Alex Faedo in the first inning of Sunday's series finale at Comerica Park. The Twins announced following his exit that Miranda passed the club's preliminary concussion testing, and manager Rocco Baldelli said after the game that they felt Miranda's condition amounted to "pretty good news," though they'll continue to evaluate him for 24 hours.

"Overall, we might have avoided something very serious," Baldelli said. "So we’ll take that and keep an eye on him."

It appeared as though the chin flap of Miranda's helmet took the brunt of the force from a 95.2 mph fastball from Faedo that ran up and in on Miranda's head area, but the Twins' third baseman still remained down on the dirt around home plate for some time before he exited the game alongside Baldelli and head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta. He was making only his second appearance since he was reinstated from the 10-day IL on Saturday following his recovery from a back strain.

July 27: INF Jose Miranda (low back strain) reinstated from 10-day injured list; INF Edouard Julien optioned to Triple-A St. Paul
Miranda was en route to a career year before going on the injured list on July 14 after he experienced back tightness while taking grounders during pregame warmups in San Francisco. Considering the glut of third basemen on the Twins' roster (Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee and Willi Castro can also play the hot corner), there's an expectation that Miranda will see a good amount of time at first base and designated hitter to supplement his playing time.

"It was hard because I was feeling very good at the plate," Miranda said. "The good part is that it was the All-Star break, so I could have a couple of days off and didn’t miss a lot of games."

The Twins opted to make room by sending down Julien in what manager Rocco Baldelli described as a "pretty straightforward move," with the hope that more consistent plate appearances with Triple-A St. Paul will help the 25-year-old find more consistency in his plate approach and help him damage hittable pitches with more consistency.

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10-DAY/15-DAY INJURED LIST

SS Carlos Correa (right plantar fasciitis)
Expected return: August
Correa continued work on the treadmill, foot and ankle exercises and swing drills without any complaints on July 27 and was expected to progress to hitting and throwing progressions and "low-level" plyometric exercises on July 28, according to an update from a team spokesperson.

Correa was placed on the 10-day IL on July 20, as the Twins began the second half of the season. Correa received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection in his right heel, where he is experiencing plantar fasciitis in the opposite foot from the lingering issue that held back his production throughout the 2023 season. He said on July 22 that he hopes to not miss more than another week or two.

"We had a lot to learn from last year and the left foot when it happened," Correa said. "We don't want to make the same mistake and play through it. So going on the IL is what's best for the team, and then get healthy and finish strong." (Last updated: July 28)

LHP Kody Funderburk (left oblique strain)
Expected return: TBD
Funderburk said he felt his oblique seize up while playing catch before the Twins' July 20 game against the Brewers, with the pain described as being more toward his back area. The club placed the left-hander on the 15-day IL on July 21, and he was hopeful that he could return in time to contribute in some way for September and October, though he expressed a potential very early timeline of six to eight weeks for similar injuries. (Last updated: July 22)

RHP Chris Paddack (right forearm strain)
Expected return: TBD
Paddack was placed on the 15-day injured list on July 20 after experiencing tightness in his elbow while throwing during the All-Star break that restricted his full range of motion. MRIs of the area revealed that there were no issues with the twice-surgically repaired UCL in Paddack's right elbow, and Paddack simply felt grateful for the notion that they had seemingly caught the arm issue early before it potentially progressed to another more serious ligament injury.

There's no timeline for Paddack's recovery, but he indicated that he expects to pitch again in 2024 and wondered if this issue could perhaps have contributed to the dead arm and shoulder troubles that had sent him to the IL in early July.

"I gained a little bit of hope when I saw the ligament was attached, secured and looked strong in there; just had a little bit of fluid in there, flexor pronator, right there on the forearm strain,” Paddack said. Read more > (Last updated: July 21)

INF Kyle Farmer (right shoulder strain)
Expected return: Late July
Farmer had been dealing with his shoulder issue for "a long time" before being placed on the IL retroactive to July 11, manager Rocco Baldelli said. The injury got to the point where the Twins felt it was better to shut Farmer down in order to get him back to full health. Baldelli said Farmer could miss more than the 10-day minimum, which includes the team's days off during the All-Star break. (Last updated: July 12)

OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (right thumb sprain, No. 3 on Twins Top Prospects list)
Expected return: TBD
Rodriguez began a rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League on July 6. He had been in his first game back from a hand injury that had kept him out of action for a week when he appeared to sprain his thumb on a slide into second base on a double to left-center field as part of a 2-for-2 return to the lineup on June 5. He was placed on the Minor League 7-day IL with the injury on June 7. (Last updated: July 6)

1B/OF Alex Kirilloff (back issues)
Expected return: TBD
Kirilloff's worsening soreness and pain in his lower back and associated nerve issues down his leg ultimately sent him to the IL instead of an optional assignment to Triple-A St. Paul.

Kirilloff underwent an MRI exam on May 26 and had initially been playing through the unspecified back issues, with the Twins treating it as one of the dings that most players play through without issue as part of a long season. However, manager Rocco Baldelli and Kirilloff said on June 18 that the player had not fully communicated the extent of the worsening injury.

Kirilloff said he was confident the issue would not require surgery but will not know more until getting a second opinion. (Last updated: June 18)

60-DAY INJURED LIST

RHP Justin Topa (left patellar tendinitis)
Expected return: Possibly August
Topa began a rehab assignment with Single-A Fort Myers on July 23, throwing a scoreless inning as part of a combined no-hitter by the Mighty Mussels. He continued with a scoreless frame for Triple-A St. Paul on July 26, when he threw 16 pitches, struck out a batter, walked another and induced a double play grounder. His sinker was up to 92.9 mph, still two ticks below his 2023 average with Seattle.

"I feel really optimistic after last night," Topa said on July 24. "[The knee] wasn't even in my mind. It was just focused on pitching. When it gets to that point, especially the rehab process, as long and as tedious as it can be, once you can kind of eliminate that thought of, 'Oh, are you going to feel something here on this pitch' -- once you can eliminate that and focus on pitching -- it's a good thing."

An MRI of Topa's left knee revealed a 25% torn left patellar tendon after soreness flared during his initial rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on May 5. After a second opinion from a doctor, Topa received a platelet-rich plasma injection in the knee with the hope it would allow him to avoid surgery, leading to a six-week shutdown. Topa began the season on the IL due to soreness and inflammation related to left knee tendinitis that had lingered throughout 2023. (Last updated: July 27)

RHP Daniel Duarte (right elbow strain)
Expected return: Not this season
Duarte underwent right elbow surgery on May 8, performed by Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas. He had Tommy John surgery on his right arm 10 years ago. This surgery will either be a total replacement of the graft in his elbow or the installation of a brace to support the current structure.

According to head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta, Meister said he wouldn’t know which until he began the procedure. Either way, Duarte is facing a long recovery. He was transferred to the 60-day IL on April 22. (Last updated: May 8)

RHP Anthony DeSclafani (right elbow strain)
Expected return: Not this season
DeSclafani underwent season-ending flexor tendon repair surgery with Dr. Keith Meister on March 29. He attempted two ramp-ups in Spring Training but had both halted by elbow soreness, at which point he and the Twins sought a consultation with Meister.

There was no UCL involvement, meaning DeSclafani did not need Tommy John surgery, but the flexor tendon surgery also involves a 13-month recovery timeline. (Last updated: March 30)

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