Twins Notes: Stewart, Topa, Lewis

The Twins are baseball’s hottest staff, as yesterday’s 5-2 win over the Crimson Sox prolonged Minnesota’s successful streak to 11 video games.  A victory in the present day would tie the fourth-longest streak in Twins/Senators franchise historical past — a 17-game streak in 1912 is the group’s total longest successful streak, whereas the Twins’ 15-game streak in 1991 is their longest stretch of consecutive wins since shifting to Minnesota in 1961.

Whereas the magic of the Rally Sausage has seemingly made the Twins unstoppable, loads of harm issues stay, together with a pair of latest gamers becoming a member of the injured checklist on Friday.  Along with Byron Buxton being sidelined with proper knee irritation, the Twins additionally positioned right-hander Brock Stewart on the 15-day IL because of tendinitis in his throwing shoulder.  Stewart’s placement is retroactive to Might 2, and left-hander Kody Funderburk was known as up from Triple-A within the corresponding transfer.

Sending Stewart to the IL was a little bit of a precautionary measure, as supervisor Rocco Baldelli instructed Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and different reporters.  Stewart’s shoulder has been bothering him for every week, and “that is us actually attempting to get forward of one thing and never attempting to let it get down the street the place he’s lacking a major time period,” Baldelli stated.  “He’s nonetheless throwing the ball very well….But it surely doesn’t really feel the way in which it must really feel proper now.”

It’s comprehensible that the Twins would watch out given Stewart’s checkered harm historical past.  He missed all of 2021 recovering from Tommy John surgical procedure, threw solely 14 minor league innings in 2022 after coming back from rehab, after which missed three months of the 2023 season with elbow soreness.

After posting a 6.05 ERA over 105 2/3 MLB innings with the Dodgers and Blue Jays from 2016-19 after which not getting any large league motion within the subsequent three seasons, Stewart’s restricted work with the Twins has been excellent.  The righty posted an 0.65 ERA and 35.8% strikeout charge over 27 2/3 innings for Minnesota final season, and had an 0.68 ERA and a 32.7% Ok% in his first 13 1/3 frames in 2024.  Although an unsustainably excessive 99.5% strand charge and an uninspiring 10.6% stroll charge are pink flags, the 32-year-old Stewart has seemed like a wholly totally different pitcher throughout his time in Minnesota, and a giant bullpen weapon if he can keep wholesome.

Stewart’s efficiency helped the Twins’ bullpen not miss a beat when Jhoan Duran and Caleb Thielbar began the season on the IL, however now that each pitchers are again in motion, the aid corps will take one other hit because of Stewart’s personal absence.  Justin Topa has additionally but to pitch in 2024 because of proper knee tendinitis, and although Topa has made three Triple-A outings, chief baseball officer Derek Falvey instructed Helfand and firm that Topa will “take a bit extra time with the rehab project” earlier than activation.

“[Topa] hasn’t felt at 100% but.  He hasn’t felt like he’s actually the place he must be, however he’s progressing properly,” Falvey stated.  “We don’t need to rush that.  We need to ensure that he’s again and feeling good and feeling like he can execute the pitches he needs to execute.”

In different harm information, Royce Lewis up to date reporters (together with The Athletic’s Dan Hayes) on the standing of his restoration from the quad pressure that has saved him out of the Twins’ lineup since he left partway via the membership’s first sport of the season.  Exams have revealed that the pressure is therapeutic at a ordinary tempo, and Lewis has been in a position to improve his baseball actions to incorporate some operating and fielding work, in addition to 80 swings within the batting cage.

As Hayes notes, the preliminary expectation was that it will take Lewis roughly eight weeks to return to motion, although no timeline was ever absolutely established as a result of unsure nature of quad accidents usually, and the severity of Lewis’ pressure.  Whereas it will appear as if Lewis is making stable progress, he admitted to some frustration over “the psychological problem” of attempting to work via the rehab course of with out having a goal date in place.

“I’ve simply bought to maintain persevering with to attend,” Lewis stated.  “The toughest factor just isn’t having a timeline….When you haven’t any thought and you’re feeling so good, it’s probably the most difficult rehab I’ve ever had.”

Jose Miranda and Kyle Farmer have gotten the majority of enjoying time at third base with Lewis out, and Willi Castro has additionally seen some motion on the scorching nook although he needed to step into common shortstop responsibility when Carlos Correa was on the IL.  Miranada has hit properly whereas Farmer has struggled badly on the plate, and with Correa again and Castro now in a position to chip in additional ceaselessly at third base, the Twins ought to hopefully have the ability to make do on the place till Lewis is ready to return.