Minnesota Twins Injured List Gains an Outfielder + Willi Castro Update

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Matt Wallner, Willi Castro - Minnesota Twins
Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins won their second-straight game on Wednesday, a 5-4 series-deciding victory in extras vs the New York Mets. David Festa pitched well again, Harrison Bader was game MVP, Byron Buxton had a day and Ty France hit the walk off hit.

Now, the 7-12 Twins will get a day of rest on Thursday, before starting a new series down in Atlanta vs the Braves on Friday. Unfortunately, there was plenty of bad news to go along with their victories on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Matt Wallner to Minnesota Twins injured list; Willi Castro hurt too

In game two of their three-game set vs the other New York team on Tuesday evening, Minnesota lost Carlos Correa (wrist) and Matt Wallner (hamstring) to injuries. Neither was in the starting lineup on Wednesday afternoon, but Correa did make a late-game appearance as a defensive replacement at shortstop. After the win, Wallner was placed on injured reserve.

To make matters worse, do-it-all utility 2024 All-Star Willi Castro left Wednesday’s win with “tightness in his right oblique” that manager Rocco Baldelli believes to be a minor injury. Of course, we’ve all heard that way too many times to feel any sort of comfort regarding Castro’s future availability.

Unlike Correa and Wallner, the Twins won’t miss the -39 defensive runs saved that Willi Castro brings to the table, but they will miss his versatility and competency at just about any defensive position you play him at. So far this season, Castro — who’s hitting .206 with 1 HR, 4 RBI and a .609 OPS in 63 at bats — has played 2B, 3B, SS, LF and even pitcher.

Related: Talented Twins Reliever Starts Up Latest Return Attempt

Losing leadoff hitter Matt Wallner to the injured list will hurt the Twins all over. Batting .263 with 7 runs and 3 RBI (.847 OPS), the Forest Lake, MN native was leading the 2025 squad in WAR (0.7) through 18 games, prior to suffering his hamstring injury. Not only that, but he had also proven himself as a very solid defensive option in RF.

Carlos Correa injury seems less concerning…

Thankfully, it doesn’t seem like Carlos Correa is in the same boat as Wallner. The wrist injury that forced the Minnesota Twins’ $35 million man out of the lineup today is something that has apparently bothered Correa from time to time, throughout his career.

“Since last year, I’ve been dealing with it. But we did an MRI last year, too, on it, and it didn’t show anything too serious. It’s just about keeping it strong and making sure that it’s stable, just strengthening it. And I just felt, like, a tweak on the swing-and-miss, and then when I hit the foul ball, I felt pain in the area. But get it checked out, get an MRI tomorrow. It shouldn’t be anything too serious.”

Carlos Correa (via The Athletic)

Baldelli believes he’ll be able to play through this time around and it was a good sign that he was able to play defense Wednesday instead of following his teammate to the injured list. Now, we’ll wait anxiously to see if the 3x All-Star returns to the starting lineup on Friday, in Atlanta.

Related: Minnesota Twins Sign Another Depth Reliever to Minor League Deal

Swinging a bat with a bad wrist is much different than playing defense. If he is going to be in the batting order, though, the Minnesota Twins need Carlos Correa — who is batting an abysmal .164 through 61 at bats, with 5 runs, 4 RBI and a brutal .473 OP — to be a lot better.

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