KANSAS CITY, MO. – Carlos Correa told Fox that he felt better when he ran at Target Field in the past few days, the best he’s felt since he went on the injured list with plantar fasciitis in his right foot.
It’s a step in the right direction, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said, but there are no immediate plans for Correa to begin a rehab assignment. That likely rules Correa out from returning during the Twins’ upcoming six-game homestand.
“We still have a ways to go,” Baldelli said. “We’ll see if we can build on that and keep moving in a positive direction. That’s good news. We will absolutely take that, but we want — even if it’s slow steps — steady, positive steps would be exactly what we’re hoping for right now. We’ll see how it all adds up as we get into the middle of the month.”
Correa, who hasn’t played since July 12, has repeatedly said he expects to return this season, but he emphasized it’s not the same situation as last year when he played through plantar fasciitis in his left foot. He underwent surgery on his right ankle in 2014, and medical concerns about it nixed free agent contracts with the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets.
Assuming he misses the upcoming homestand, the Twins will have two weeks remaining in their season. That includes a pivotal seven-game road trip through Cleveland and Boston, which could carry massive postseason ramifications.
The Twins are planning for Correa to play shortstop, but they haven’t ruled out a move to third base if his range is limited upon his potential return. The Twins had Royce Lewis start one game at second base in the past week.
“We’ve talked about that certainly, and we’re not ruling that out because we don’t want to rule anything out,” Derek Falvey, the Twins president of baseball operations, told WCCO last week.
Top prospect promoted
Walker Jenkins, the top-rated prospect in the Twins farm system, will finish the season at Class AA Wichita.
