The Twins completed two games on Wednesday without three key contributors. It sounds as if they won’t have to play too much longer without all three, as each has made positive strides towards a return.
Shortstop Carlos Correa, who suffered a concussion when he collided with Byron Buxton last Thursday in Baltimore, is feeling better, with head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta calling his symptoms “basically all gone.” Buxton, also dealing with a concussion as a result of the collision, is “a little bit behind Carlos,” Paparesta said. But Buxton was expected to begin baseball activities on Wednesday.
And Matt Wallner, who has been out since mid-April with a hamstring strain, started a rehab assignment on Wednesday night in St. Paul, serving as the Saints’ designated hitter.
Paparesta said they had Wallner lined up to play in St. Paul through the weekend and then they will assess whether he will travel with the Saints to Omaha or if he is ready to returnto the Twins. While the Twins would like to see Wallner play in back-to-back games before a return — and ideally back-to-back games in the field, if possible — the path back from a concussion is a little less mapped out.
Correa has been hitting, throwing and taking ground balls. He had an evaluation scheduled with Dr. David Olson on Wednesday, Paparesta said. Before both he and Buxton come off the injured list, they will need to pass an ImPACT Test (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing).
When players enter the league, they are asked to take the neurological exam as a baseline test. Post-brain injury, players will take the test again and the scores will be evaluated off each other to determine if they are safe to return.
“We’re still a few, a couple days away from that just as far as the procedures and protocols that we need to get done, but from a baseball standpoint, we’re in a good spot,” Paparesta said of Correa.
Unlike Correa, who has never suffered a concussion before, Buxton has a history of concussions. He suffered one in 2019 and another a season later after being hit by a pitch. Having a history of concussions makes a person more susceptible to suffering another one or worse injuries upon getting one, Paparesta said.
“He’s taking a little bit longer to move progressively, but (Wednesday), we’re going to start some baseball stuff with him, which is a great sign,” Paparesta said. “We’ll just see every day how he responds to that.”
While Correa left Thursday’s game immediately and was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list the very next day, the Twins took a little bit longer to make a decision with Buxton, who also has a history of migraines.
“We wanted to be smart about making sure we weren’t pushing him to the IL if it was just his migraine or if it was actual symptoms from his concussion,” Paparesta said. “And we determined that, at that point in time, it was symptoms from his concussion (and) it was best to place him on the IL.”
Briefly
A day after playing U.S. Bank Stadium with Post Malone, singer Jelly Roll was at Target Field on Wednesday afternoon. He went into the Twins’ clubhouse in between games and was briefly on the field before the second game. … Mickey Gasper was brought over to serve as the 27th man for the second game on Wednesday. He did not play. … Luke Keaschall, out with a forearm fracture, is “showing some signs of calcification, which is exactly what we’re looking for,” Paparesta said. “We don’t have any bridging of that yet to show that the bones have healed and that we’re ready to start any true baseball stuff.” Keaschall was transferred to the 60-day injured list and can’t return until late June at the earliest.
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