Twins' Brock Stewart: Left outing with knee injury
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Stewart left Saturday's spring outing after two batters due to a "slight pull" behind his left knee, Phil Miller of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports. He's set for further tests Sunday, but downplayed the severity of the injury.
The good news is that it isn't related to his arm as Stewart finished the 2024 season on the injured list after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder in August. Given Stewart's lengthy injury history, it wouldn't be surprising for the Twins to play it safe with his return and have him begin the season on the injured list.
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Twins' Brock Stewart: Exits with undisclosed injury
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Stewart left Saturday's spring training outing against Atlanta after two batters due to an apparent injury. He was unable to continue pitching after retiring a batter and walked off with a trainer under his own power.
His specific injury wasn't immediately clear, but given his lengthy injury history this is an ominous sign. Stewart finished the 2024 season on the injured list after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder last August, but was on track to be ready for Opening Day before this setback.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Heating up in leadoff spot
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Wallner went 3-for-5 with two home runs and battled leadoff again in Friday's spring training split-squad win over the Rays. He has five home runs with a .970 OPS this spring.
It looks like Wallner will be the leadoff hitter against right-handed pitching, as he's batted at the top of the lineup all spring. He'll likely sit against most left-handed pitchers. He could hit more than 30 home runs if he can improve against lefties and avoid prolonged slumps.
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Twins' Chris Paddack: Looks sharp in return
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Paddack gave up two earned runs over four innings with six strikeouts and no walks in Friday's split-squad win over the Rays. He has a 5.59 ERA with nine strikeouts and no walks this spring.
Paddack left his previous start Saturday with a head contusion after a liner deflected off his glove, but he never entered the concussion protocol. He looked back to full strength and the injury doesn't look like an issue for Opening Day. While Paddack hasn't had the best numbers this spring, he's had decent strikeout totals and appears set to begin the season as the Twins' No. 4 starter.
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Twins' David Festa: Spring struggles continue
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Festa gave up six runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and two walks in Friday's loss to Baltimore. He has an 11.91 ERA and 11:3 K:BB in 11.1 innings this spring.
Festa is competing with Chris Paddack, Simeon Woods Richardson and Zebby Matthews for the final two spots in the rotation. He's been performing the worst of the four in spring training and looks set to begin the season at Triple-A at this point.
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Twins' Chris Paddack: Starting Friday
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Paddack (head) is starting Friday's split-squad game against the Rays.
The right-hander departed his previous start Saturday with a head contusion after a liner deflected off his glove, but he never entered the concussion protocol. Paddack has underwhelmed in his two spring outings with four runs allowed and a 3:0 K:BB over 5.2 innings, but he still appears on track to win a job at the back end of Minnesota's rotation.
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Twins' Justin Topa: Throws bullpen session
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Topa (shoulder) threw a bullpen session Tuesday, the Minnesota Star Tribune reports.
Topa left last Wednesday's game due to right shoulder tightness. He said the move was largely precautionary, and he did not require an MRI. Topa expects to throw again Friday. While he's making progress in his recovery, it's not clear if he'll be ready for Opening Day.
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Twins' Payton Eeles: Out after knee surgery
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Eeles will begin the season on the Triple-A injured list after undergoing offseason surgery to address a cartilage issue, the Minnesota Star Tribune reports.
Eeles signed with the Twins for $500 out of an independent league last year and then rose quickly from Low-A to Triple-A during the season. He hit .307/.435/.497 with 12 home runs and 41 stolen bases between three levels and hit .299 with a .919 OPS at Triple-A. It was the first season in the minors for the Cedarville University graduate, so he could be a late bloomer at age 25 if healthy.
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Twins' Kaelen Culpepper: Sidelined with hamstring injury
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Culpepper was scratched from Saturday's prospect showcase roster because of a hamstring injury, the Minnesota Star Tribune reports.
He is expected to be ready for the start of the minor-league regular season, however. Culpepper hit .242/.330/.394 with three home runs between Low-A and High-A last season in just 26 games after signing with the Twins. The 21st overall pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft has a strong hit tool, but he lacks impactful power or speed.
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Twins' Zebby Matthews: Sharp in return from hip injury
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Matthews (hip) threw three scoreless innings with five strikeouts and one walk in Wednesday's spring loss to Boston. It was his first outing since he suffered a strained hip during a Mar. 6 outing. "He probably had the sharpest outing that we've seen all spring," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Matthews exited his spring start last week due to what appeared to be an ankle injury but turned out to be a hip strain, but it sounds as though he'll be ready for the start of the regular season. He's battling for the fifth starter job but is likely to begin the season at Triple-A St. Paul as Simeon Woods Richardson and Chris Paddack (head) still appear on track to win the No. 4 and No. 5 starter roles.
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Twins' Huascar Ynoa: Healthy start to spring
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Ynoa retired both batters he faced Monday and has thrown 2.2 scoreless innings with two strikeouts and a walk this spring.
Ynoa missed the 2023 season after Tommy John surgery and then missed considerable time in 2024 while tending to elbow inflammation and a shoulder injury. He did finish last year healthy, however, as he was able to make six rehab appearances at Triple-A in September. He'll likely be moved to a relief role at Triple-A St. Paul to begin the season.
The Twins optioned Cartaya to minor-league camp Tuesday, Phil Miller of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.
Cartaya has gone 1-for-7 at the plate this spring while also trying to learn a new pitching staff after being acquired via trade from the Dodgers over the offseason. The 23-year-old will share catching duties at Triple-A St. Paul this season with Jair Camargo.
Twins' Willi Castro: Lined up to see bulk of 2B reps
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The Twins are currently likely to give most of the playing time at second base to Castro, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
As Hays notes, there's a decent chance the defensively versatile Castro will be needed elsewhere to cover for an injury, whether that's by Opening Day or at some point later on. However, the Twins are healthy right now on the position-player side, and if that holds, Castro appears lined up to see most of the reps at second base. Brooks Lee, Edouard Julien and Mickey Gasper are also competing for playing time at the keystone.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Trending toward making roster
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Julien appears to likely to win a spot on the major league roster even with Brooks Lee having a strong spring, Matthew Leach of MLB.com reports. Julien is hitting .273 (6-for-22) with a home run and three walks in eight games this spring.
Julien is competing with Lee for the starting second base job with Willi Castro also likely to get time at the position. Julien could also get time at first base as well. Julien has struggled in the field this spring (two errors at 2B, one at 1B), however. At this point it's still not clear what the Twins plan to do at second base, but Julien remains in the mix to win a roster spot and could still find playing time against right-handed pitching.
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Twins' Pablo Lopez: Not worried about spring struggles
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Lopez gave up four runs with two strikeouts and three walks over three innings in Monday's loss to Philadelphia. "Despite those long, taxing innings, my stuff was still there," Lopez told the Minnesota Star Tribune.
He has a 9.35 ERA this spring with seven walks in eight innings, but does have 10 strikeouts. There's likely little concern for his spring stats as a veteran who is likely working on specific pitches. He's already been named Minnesota's Opening Day starter and is healthy as the regular season approaches.
Lee went 1-for-3 with his second home run of the spring in Sunday's loss to Baltimore. He's hitting .308 (8-for-26) in nine spring training games.
Lee is competing with Edouard Julien for the starting second base job this spring with Willi Castro also likely to get time at the position. Lee is outperforming Julien so far this spring at the plate, and Julien has struggled in the field (two errors Sunday). However, Minnesota's plans for second base and Lee's role aren't clear at this point.
