Minnesota Twins Veteran Undergoes Serious Emergency Surgery

On Friday night, the Minnesota Twins were back at Target Field for the first home series since their trade deadline fire sale, a return they celebrated with a 9-4 drubbing of the Kansas City Royals.

Immediately after dealing Correa, Paddack, Castro and most of their bullpen, the shocked and gutted MN Twins lost two straight against the Cleveland Guardians. But since then, this team doesn’t just look different on paper… their play and demeanor on the field is unrecognizable.

Friday’s win over the mediocre Royals, Minnesota’s third straight (4-1 in last five games), raised the Twins’ regular season record to 55-60. Every night that goes by, this entire roster — both old and new — seems to be playing looser and with more joy.

If you’ve been watching this latest stretch of optimism, you may have noticed that veteran catch Christian Vazquez hasn’t been around much, even after failing to draw trade interest at the deadline. On Friday, we found out why when he was placed on the MN Twins injured list.

Christian Vazquez dealing with serious shoulder infection

It’s unclear as to when the Twins catcher suffered the injury initially. That part is being overshadowed by some sort of infection that had gotted very serious and spread all the way up to Vazquez’ shoulder area.

According to initial Bobby Nightengale (Star Tribune) and Betsy Helfand (Pioneer Press), Vazquez will be on an IV and strong antibiotics “for a period of time”. Minnesota Twins manager called the overall ordeal “obviously serious in nature”. Thankfully, Vazquez and the Minnesota medical staff caught appear to have caught the infection just time.

Twins catcher Christian Vázquez was hospitalized for an infection in his left shoulder the Twins believe stemmed from a cut on his elbow. It was first brought to their attention on Tuesday night in Detroit and by Wednesday, Vázquez was having trouble raising his arm.

“It’s obviously serious in nature,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “When you deal with an infection that has now basically gotten his shoulder pretty swelled up and uncomfortable, you need to get it taken care of.”

Baldelli said Vázquez had a procedure on Friday to wash out the infection in his shoulder and will be on IV antibiotics for a period of time. The Twins do not have any sort of recovery timetable yet.

Pioneer Press

Jhonny Pereda was promoted to the active roster. If and when he makes a start it will be the first time in three years that the Minnesota Twins have put a name other than Christian Vazquez or Ryan Jeffers at the number “2” position in a starting lineup. Given Vazquez’s update on Instagram, it looks likely his season may be in jeopardy.

It’s scary how quickly infections can spread through the body, especially from an open wound. Vazquez plays a demanding position that, by nature, requires him to take a beating, which could play into his recover process. Nonetheless, it appears the veteran catcher is in good spirits after going under the knife.

Related: MN Twins Promote New Catcher With Veteran Injured

Unless they kick this winning stretch into high gear for the next two or three weeks, it remains unlikely the Minnesota Twins make the postseason, currently 11 games back in the AL Central division and 6.5 for the AL Wild Card (6th in line).

Tough end to a rough MN Twins tenure

With just 47 games remaining, no matter what happens with the 2025 team, it appears Christian Vazquez’ 2025 may be over. Across 256 games for the Twins, Vazquez has hit .212/.262/.305 with just 45 extra base hits (30 doubles, 15 home runs). His OPS+ is nearly half of the league average at 57. It’s been brutal to say the least.

Minnesota signed Christian Vazquez to a three-year, $30 million deal prior to the 2023 season. He had a clubhouse pedigree and multiple World Series rings under his belt. While offense wasn’t his calling card, the hope was that he could hold serve enough to make up for it with his defensive acumen.

Related: Reasons to Watch MN Twins Games Now That 2025 Playoff Dreams are Dead

The lack of offensive output doesn’t mitigate the impact Vazquez has had behind the plate or in the clubhouse. He is well-liked by teammates, and certainly props up a pitching staff. It’s a complicated way to generate fan appreciation, but that’s the legacy he will leave.

No matter what, wishing Vazquez a full recovery and a speedy return to the field is an easy thing to do.