Injured Twins reliever Brock Stewart moving closer toward rehab assignment

Brock Stewart checked off many of the boxes he wanted when he threw a 20-pitch live batting practice session to Kyle Farmer and Manuel Margot on Friday at Target Field.

Stewart’s fastball velocity was close to his normal range, sitting at 95-96 mph. He liked the command and shapes of his pitches, drawing several swings and misses.

Well, all his pitches except one. He beaned Farmer on the shoulder with an inside fastball. Farmer returned for his next at-bat shirtless, showing the bruise he received.

“I apologized big time,” said Stewart, the 32-year-old Twins reliever recovering from right shoulder tendinitis. “That definitely shouldn’t happen. [Farmer] said it’s all good, but it’s not all good. I don’t need to be hitting my teammates. Thankfully, he’s such a good guy and he said it was all good.”

Stewart didn’t know the next step in his progression — he prefers not to ask too much about possible timelines — but he’s likely nearing a rehab assignment.

“He’s going on a rehab assignment at some point,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He’s going to have to face some hitters in a live-game situation, and then we’ll hopefully be able to bring him back. I think we’re getting towards that point, but I can’t tell you when.”

When Stewart is healthy, he’s been one of the top-performing setup men in the majors. He allowed one run in 13⅓ innings this season (0.68 ERA) with 17 strikeouts. He permitted only two runs in 27⅔ innings last year (0.65 ERA).

“Brock looked great,” Farmer said. “He threw me some really good sliders. I mean, as long as he’s healthy and he feels good, I think he’s in good shape.”

Alex Kirilloff visited a back specialist in Dallas, and he received a cortisone shot after he went on the 10-day injured list last month because of a back strain.

“I’m feeling a little bit better now,” Kirilloff said. “Hopefully, just plugging along and able to get back to swinging really soon.”

Kirilloff sought a second opinion on his back because there was some nerve-related back pain. Before he starts swinging and begins other baseball activities, he’s been focused on core stabilization exercises.

He was initially sent to the minor leagues last month after hitting .201 with a .270 on-base percentage in 57 games, but it was reversed when he reported back pain. He remains on the major league IL.

“There is a lot of nerve-related stuff that can happen with the back, and it was a little bit,” Kirilloff said. “Hopefully, it’s just a matter of getting it calmed down so I can get back to swinging and doing what I need to do.”

Marney Gellner will fill in for Bally Sports North play-by-play broadcaster Cory Provus for the Twins’ road series against the Chicago White Sox next week, and she will become the first woman to serve as the Twins’ play-by-play voice during a regular-season game.

Gellner, a North Dakota native in her 14th season calling Lynx games, formerly worked as a dugout reporter for Twins. She was the second woman in NBA history to handle play-by-play duties when she filled in for a Timberwolves game in 2018. She called a Twins spring training game in March 2019.

Gellner will be working with analysts Justin Morneau and Denard Span. It’s a normal off series for Provus, who is scheduled to return for the three-game series in San Francisco that begins Friday.

• The Twins promoted righthanded reliever Josh Winder for their bullpen Friday. They had an open spot on their active roster after demoting starter David Festa on Thursday. Chris Paddack will likely be activated from the IL on Monday.

• Twins reliever Justin Topa, sidelined by a partial tear in his left patellar tendon, threw a 20-pitch bullpen session Wednesday and is expected to throw again Saturday. “It’s definitely a different feeling than the first time — a lot better,” said Topa, who began a rehab assignment in April before he had an injury setback.

• Chris Williams homered twice and drove in four runs, Edouard Julien hit a three-run homer and also had four RBI and the Saints beat Gwinnett 11-5 at CHS Field.