On paper, it looked like the perfect place for Minnesota to begin the second half of their regular season, especially as Twins players and coaches try their best to convince team president Derek Falvey that the front office should buy at the MLB trade deadline, not sell.

Unfortunately, reality doesn’t always meet expectations. And that was certainly the case on Friday, when Chris Paddack took the mound at Coors Field and struggled to get anybody out early on, allowing five earned runs by the end of the second inning.

Look out on the second deck 🚀 pic.twitter.com/KYr3AcXZdP

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) July 19, 2025

The Sheriff eventually settled in, gutting out five innings (8 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 97 P), and the MN Twins fought their way back into it, but couldn’t complete the late-inning comeback, eventually falling 6-4 to the lowly Rockies.

Bailey Ober has successful rehab start, Zebby Matthews ready

While last night wasn’t the return to play Minnesota was hoping for, there was some good news throughout the evening, on the injury front. Hours earlier, Bailey Ober made his first rehab start for the St. Paul Saints… where the 30-year-old righty shoved for 4 innings (4 H, 0 R, 3 K, 0 BB).

Night is over for @baileyOB_17. He goes 4.0 shutout innings allowing four hits and strikes out three. He throws 50 pitches, only 7 balls. He threw 18 fastballs that averaged 90.1 mph, topped out at 91.6 mph

— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) July 19, 2025

Related: Secret High Roller Emerges to Anchor New MN Twins Ownership Group

But that wasn’t the only good injury news from Friday night, that might help fans offset the disappointment of a slow start out of the break, revolved around another Minnesota Twins starter, Zebby Matthews, who has been out of the rotation since the first week of June, when he went down with a shoulder injury.

On Saturday, Zebby’s time on the IL will come to an end. According to multiple reports, Matthews will be activated off the injured list today, before he starts game two of this series in Colorado. He’ll throw his first MLB pitch in over a month at approximately 7:10 PM CDT.

Zebby Matthews will start tomorrrow for the #MNTwins. Travis Adams is headed back to Triple-A St. Paul.

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) July 19, 2025

Minnesota Twins sending Travis Adams down

In order to make room for the 25-year-old righty, the Twins are sending long-reliever, Travis Adams, who appeared in three games, while up with the Big League club, tossing 9 total innings and posting an underwhelming 6.00 ERA, 73 ERA+ and a 1.444 WHIP. On the bright side, his 3.53 FIP gives him some hope to build on.

If Minnesota Twins players and coaches want to hold out hope that the front office will look to buy at the MLB trade deadline, they need to win the last two games of this series.

Because when they fly out of Denver on Sunday, they’ll be LA bound, for a three game set against the 58-40 Los Angeles Dodgers, where they’re scheduled to face Shohei Ohtani in game one on Monday night.

Thankfully, it wasn’t considered to be as serious as the left hamstring strain Royce suffered during spring training, which resulted in him missing the first 35 games of the 2025 regular season. But a few days after his latest injury, reports revealed a return timeline expected to sideline him until after the All-Star Break (July 14-16).

Royce Lewis way ahead of original return timeline

Today, however, it appears Lewis is way ahead schedule. In fact, after a successful workout session at Target Field Wednesday, which included running around the bases at Target Field, Royce Lewis is now scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Friday with the St. Paul Saints, according to Bobby Nightengale (Star Tribune).

The good news comes exactly one week since the 25-year-old former No. 1 overall pick had started a running program back on June 20. Even then, few expected a rehab assignment to follow this quickly.

Royce Lewis ran the bases pregame today and he’s scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with the St. Paul Saints on Friday.

— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) June 26, 2025

Royce Lewis has played in 30 games (110 PA) so far this season. Early on, he struggled and his 2025 numbers still reflect that. Lewis will return from his injury batting .202, with an ugly OPS of .585. He’s hit just 2 homers and totalled just 9 RBI. But over his last 10 games, prior to injury, Royce hit .367 with a .990 OPS.

Minnesota Twins need another win tonight

The Minnesota Twins ended a five-game losing streak Wednesday, when they defeated the Seattle Mariners at Target Field 2-0, behind yet another incredible outing by starting pitcher, Joe Ryan. On Thursday afternoon, Simeon Woods Richardson will take the mound as they try to start up a different type of streak.

The Twins’ biggest problem has been on the injury front. Their best players have filtered in and out of the lineup, rarely in a combination that most organizations would consider requisite MLB talent for any sort of playoff run.

As long as the weekend goes as planned, it seems possible they will do just that early next week with the re-addition of Royce Lewis and his big time bat.

Royce Lewis missed a grand slam by about 5 feet but drives in a pair with a double off the wall pic.twitter.com/7eP5u09V4x

— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) June 4, 2025

On Wednesday, we got another update on both superstars. Correa, according to Audra Martin (Twins.TV), he is no longer showing any signs of concussion symptoms. The former Platinum Glove shortstop has resumed baseball activities, meaning we can hopefully assume he’ll return on or shortly after his mandatory seven-day concussion list stay is complete.

Minnesota Twins reveal new updates on Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa concussions

Unfortunately, the news on Byron Buxton wasn’t quite as positive. The Twins’ other former Platinum Glove winner remains behind his teammate and fellow 2012 top two MLB Draft pick, in their respective concussion recoveries. Twins representatives are chalking Buxton’s delayed recovery up to his past with head injuries.

Carlos Correa is ahead of Byron Buxton in terms of returning from their concussions. Still TBD on when either would be ready, but Correa is coming along. #MNTwins

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) May 21, 2025

“Head trainer Nick Paparesta said [Carlos Correa’s] concussion symptoms are basically completely gone. He has started baseball activities and will still need to pass some tests and protocols before he can officially return. But they say they feel like they are in a really good spot.

Byron Buxton, however, is a little bit behind C4. Because of his concussion history, it can take a bit longer to progress. But the good news is he did start doing some light baseball activities earlier today.”

Audra Martin – Twins.TV

Getting either Carlos Correa or Byron Buxton back in the lineup and out on the field will immediately make them a much better team both offensively and defensively. But waiting on Buck will hurt. Once cleared, both players are eligible to come off the concussion list on Friday.

When the 31-year-old went into concussion protocol, he was inarguably the Minnesota Twins’ best player — posting 1.8 bWAR built on a .261 batting average, .834 OPS and 3 defensive runs saved.

Correa was hitting better when he left the lineup too, but he’s off to one of the slower starts of his career, slashing .236/.274/.331 (.605 OPS). Nonetheless, Carlos is one of the leaders in this dugout and still one of the better defensive shortstops in baseball. No doubt, the Minnesota Twins need him back too.

Matt Wallner starting rehab assignment

But the Twins are waiting on another injured 2025 star to return to the big leagues, as well. Matt Wallner, who ranked near the top of the team in OPS (.847), OPS+ (136) and WAR (0.6) before he went out with a hamstring injury in April, is recovering quicker than expected.

Related: Minnesota Twins Slugger Nearing a Return to Action

On Wednesday, Wallner began a rehab assignment at triple A, St. Paul, meaning he could be activated off the injured list any day too. Martin reported during the Twins game that the plan is to keep him in St. Paul over the weekend, before reassessing the situation.

Hey @StPaulSaints, Matt Wallner is your DH tonight. You can run with it. #MNTwins

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) May 21, 2025

“Matt Wallner will DH tonight for the Saints and he will play with them through the weekend. The Twins will reassess after that.”

Audra Martin – Twins.TV

The weather is making life awfully difficult on the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians this week, as they work around Mother Nature as best they can, to get at least two of their three scheduled games in at Target Field.

After postponing Monday’s game — which was shutdown in the 4th inning — their Tuesday semi-doubleheader was canceled and pushed back to Wednesday. Prior to this week’s rainouts, the MN Twins had won 13 of 14 games, including 13-straight victories, the most so far this MLB season.

Not down in Florida, though, or somewhere else hours away from the Twin Cities. The Twins’ rising superstar talent is joining the St. Paul Saints, right across the river… though he will have to fly to Buffalo to meet up with them.

Royce Lewis is flying to Buffalo today to begin rehab stint with Saints tomorrow, Twins announce.

— Phil Miller (@MillerStrib) May 24, 2024

A quick glance at Royce Lewis’ 2024 stat line will indicate two things. One, he played in just a single game. Two, his impact was felt in that single appearance.

On Opening Day, Lewis blasted a home run in the first at bat. Then, he followed that up with a base hit in his second at bat. Unfortunately, he pulled up lame between 2nd and 3rd base. He’s been out ever since.

Royce Lewis with the first Twins HR this year… because of course 😂 pic.twitter.com/QH5ihNkPNk

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) March 28, 2024

Lewis was diagnosed with a severe quad strain, and initial timelines for his return were murky, at best. Having missed the Minnesota Twins last 48 games, he will look to quickly acclimate with the St. Paul Saints, so he can return to the big league lineup.

Related: Mitch Garver Tells Royce Lewis to Only Run 85% So He Can Stay on Field for Minnesota Twins

In his absence, it has been a combination of Jose Miranda, Willi Castro, and Kyle Farmer that have assumed duties at the hot corner. Of them, Castro has fared the best offensively with a 116 OPS+.

Miranda currently owns a 113 OPS+ and has shown that he was clearly bothered by the shoulder injury that sent him for offseason surgery last year.

How do Minnesota Twins make room for Royce Lewis?

When Lewis returns, the front office will have an interesting decision to make as far as roster construction goes. Miranda could slide across the diamond and play first, a position he is worse at.

Castro will primarily fill in as a utility outfielder. That leaves Farmer as something of the odd man out. He was kept on a $6.3 million arbitration deal this offseason, and has tallied a putrid 53 OPS+ in 39 games.

Parting with the veteran clubhouse leader would be tough from a chemistry perspective, but he has clearly been the worst performer.

We gotta know…

Which Royce Lewis grand slam is your favorite? pic.twitter.com/fBxLA1Yd52

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) September 5, 2023

Royce Lewis will return to a Twins lineup that he highlighted during an exciting 2023 postseason run. In the playoffs last year, even while dealing with another injury, Lewis smacked four home runs and posted a 1.119 OPS. It was his presence that tormented both the Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays into submission.

The time frame is eerily similar this time around, and with St. Paul scheduled for two weeks in upstate New York (split between Buffalo and Rochester), the Twins could presumably have their star return home to Target Field joining them against the Kansas City Royals next week.

As they look to chase down the Cleveland Guardians, having and keeping a healthy Royce Lewis will be vital to their success.

Byron Buxton re-starts rehab assignment with Saints

That process will start on Thursday, with less than two weeks remaining in the 2023 regular season, when Buxton re-starts his rehab assignment with the St. Paul Saints. Byron is expected to be in the Triple-A lineup as the squad’s designated hitter.

Byron Buxton will re-start a rehab assignment Thursday with Triple-A St. Paul.

He's expected to start at designated hitter. Would be his first game action since pausing his initial rehab assignment on September 1.

Saints' season ends Sunday.

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) September 21, 2023

Byron Buxton was on a rehab assignment with the St. Paul Saints a couple of weeks ago, when he was lifted after two plate appearances due to soreness in his patellar tendon (knee). Two nights earlier, he started the rehab assignment playing center field for the first time since August 2022.

If Buxton is going to crack the Twins’ wildcard round playoff roster, he will have to prove he can play center field without needing a week off right after. This is the first step (again) in that happening. We’ll see if his recent cortisone shot has helped his knee enough to withstand 9 innings in the outfield.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

"I feel like I'm at 120%."

No. 2 @Twins prospect Royce Lewis is healthy and homering for the @StPaulSaints: https://t.co/gWiE8PzKqC pic.twitter.com/dlEVuvJj34

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 20, 2023

Lewis’ smoking hot return to baseball has Minnesota Twins fans salivating as they wait for June 1, the first day he is eligible to come off the injured list and join the big league squad. A squad that has lost four of its last six games and happens to have a vacancy needing filled at 3rd base.

Twins do not appear in any hurry to call Royce Lewis up after rehab assignment

But not so fast, says Twins’ manager, Rocco Baldelli, after the Twins’ latest lackluster offensive performance on Sunday, a 4-2 loss to the Angels. That’s when Rocco was asked about how quickly the organization plans to add Lewis to its MLB lineup, once his rehab assignment expires. Baldelli’s answer: ‘we’re not…’.

“We’re not going to bring anyone back from a situation like his until they’re fully ready —physical, mentally and everything else. He still has a way to go as far as at-bats, even though he’s put some good swings on the ball. He’s got some playing to do right now. When we think it helps us and it works well for the team, hopefully we’ll have him here.”

Rocco Baldelli (Quote via the Star Tribune)

Rocco downplays Royce’s hot start

Wow, “he’s put some good swings on the ball” has to be THE sports downplay of this century. Royce Lewis has done nothing but mash baseballs since stepping back into the batter’s box earlier this month. I mean, his bat is a legitimate danger to the careers of Triple-A pitchers across the league, as long as he is still playing for the Saints.

Not only is Lewis showing he’s a big league caliber baseball player on his current rehab assignment, but he has already proven he can hit MLB pitchers too. Nobody wants to rush a call-up for any top prospect but Royce already made his big league debut before his injury and he looked like a future superstar, hitting .300 with a .867 OPS, 2 HR and 5 RBI in 12 games with the Twins in 2022.

Royce Lewis has the most RBI in #MNTwins history by a player who has driven in 100% of his runs via the homer. Lewis has five career RBI, coming on a grand slam and a solo home run. https://t.co/rSdGY8FAA5 pic.twitter.com/o5m4UOZLWn

— Twins Dingers (@TwinsDingers) March 5, 2023

But it doesn’t matter what I think or want. As of now, it seems like a June 1 Royce Lewis call-up is unlikely to happen. That date is just over one week away and Lewis isn’t even playing in back-to-back games yet with the Saints. He’s on a play one, sit one schedule. So Rocco saying “he’s got some playing to do” hints to me that Royce will be in St. Paul for at least a couple more weeks.

Of course, that could change quickly if Kyle Farmer or someone else in the Twins’ infield suffers an injury that forces the Twins’ hand. Jorge Polanco is already on the injured list and Jose Miranda has been terrible with the Saints since his demotion. Rocco & Co may not have a choice but to bring Royce Lewis up, should they suffer any other losses in the infield.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Welcome back to baseball, Royce Lewis.

But less than one year after experiencing the second ACL tear of his professional baseball career, Royce Lewis is back on the field and doing what he has done for much of his life. Dominate on the diamond.

In just the 5th game of his minor league rehab assignment on Friday, Lewis went 3-for-4 and hit two solo home runs for the St. Paul Saints. That means Royce has hit just as many Triple-A homers as he has played Triple-A games, raising his batting average to .500 and his OPS to 1.750.

Royce Lewis went 3-for-4 with two homers for Triple-A St. Paul.

Lewis is now 8-for-18 (.444) with three homers and three steals in five rehab games.

Here's his second homer tonight: pic.twitter.com/vtRdh2RCMJ

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) May 20, 2023

That’s right. Royce Lewis has played in just THREE games at Triple-A, St. Paul and he has just as many homers as he has played games. And we’re talking about a guy who hasn’t played baseball in a year’s time. Rusty? Never heard of him.

Too much talent for Triple-A

Look, Royce Lewis is one of the most talented baseball players in the world. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have been the #1 overall pick in the 2017 draft. Guys like that are dripping with so much raw talent that they’re almost no-miss prospects.

Now, two knee surgeries and multiple career setbacks later, Lewis’ raw talent is evolving into untapped superstar potential right before our eyes. What’s becoming more and more clear, with every rehab at-bat, is that Royce Lewis is way too good for Triple-A competition.

We missed you, Royce????

In his first AAA game this season, Royce Lewis has unleashed a 422ft home run that left his bat at 108mph???? pic.twitter.com/ENyHnmdwLN

— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) May 17, 2023

You see this sort of thing happen in professional sports, especially in baseball and basketball. When NBA-caliber basketball players are stuck or sent down to the G-League, they put up monster numbers nearly every game.

The Alex Kirilloff path

If you want to stick to baseball and the Minnesota Twins, look no further than Royce Lewis’ teammate, Alex Kirilloff. Remember, he didn’t start the season with the big league clube, due to his nagging wrist injury. But as soon as he started his rehab assignment, it was clear the Twins weren’t going to be able to keep Kirilloff in the minor leagues for very long.

Why not? Because he was making fools out of every pitcher he faced. When he was finally called up, after 10 games in St. Paul, Kirilloff was hitting .316 with a 1.092 OPS with 12 hits, 3 home runs and 12 RBI.

AAA St. Paul Saints outfielder Alex Kirilloff hit his second home run of the day, leading the Saints to a victory over the Sioux Falls Canaries. Kirilloff, 25 pic.twitter.com/2CoXj0mkqD

— AntonettePotts???? (@AntonetteP16292) May 7, 2023

After just three games with the Saints, it’s clear that Royce Lewis is way too good to be playing minor league baseball. Unfortunately for the rest of Triple-A, Lewis is not eligible to be added to the Twins active roster until the last day of May. Hopefully, he’ll be in a Twins uniform shortly after that. At least, that’s what Triple-A pitchers across the country are hoping.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Twins plan to keep Alex Kirilloff in minors after rehab assignment

But last weekend, Kirilloff started a minor league rehab assignment at single-A Fort Myers, in his latest attempt to get back to the big leagues. Then last week, he was promoted to triple-A Saint Paul, seemingly one phone call away from joining his teammates across the river.

Not so fast, however. Multiple reports have come out over the last few days, saying that the Twins were planning to option Kirilloff to keep him in St. Paul, even when his rehab assignment came to a completion.

However, multiple team sources indicated Friday that the Twins may decide to option Kirilloff to St. Paul once his rehab assignment is over, an approach they also took in the middle of last season. To do so again would mean the 25-year-old former top prospect has been deemed healthy, but questions remain about his readiness to step back into a big-league lineup after so much missed time.

Aaron Gleeman – The Athletic

Kirilloff dominating minor league competition

But don’t tell Alex Kirilloff that he isn’t ready to get back into the Minnesota Twins’ everyday lineup. He’s hitting .360 with a 1.260 OPS in 8 minor league games since starting his rehab assignment. In his 4 games with the Saints, he’s hitting .462 with a 1.588 OPS. On Sunday, he put on a show, going 2 for 4 with two home runs and 5 RBI.

It's a Kirilloff blast off!

The @Twins outfielder clears the fences in a rehab game with the @StPaulSaints. pic.twitter.com/Wuum7fT2KQ

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) April 23, 2023

One is just simply not enough… Kirilloff with a 3-Run @ticasino Home Run!

That makes ✨two✨ helpings of $500 for Minnesota D.A.R.E. by way of Kirilloff's bat tonight pic.twitter.com/wRPUKuloA1

— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) April 23, 2023

If Alex Kirilloff is healthy and feeling good, which he clearly seems to be, then the Twins need to get him back in the lineup ASAP. Their offense has been struggling most of the season and a good Kirilloff brings a consistent middle of the order bat that they desperately need.

I’m not sure if they are hesitating on Kirilloff’s call up for his own good or because they do not want to DFA Max Kepler. But no matter the reason, it’s no surprise that Alex could upend those plans. There isn’t a more pure hitter or sweeter swing on this roster than what Alex Kirilloff has.

We’ll see how this plays out. The Twins welcome the New York Yankees to Target Field on Monday night, for the first of three games.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Twins