Trevor Larnach goes quickly from Saints to Twins

DETROIT – Trevor Larnach finished playing at Omaha with the St. Paul Saints around 11 p.m. Thursday. He awoke at 3:30 a.m. to catch a 6 a.m. flight in order to meet the Twins here Friday.

When he heard the news he was getting the call to the big leagues for the first time, Larnach started to feel anxious and excited all at once.

"It's definitely amazing. I worked my whole life for this," Larnach said. "I could definitely cry, that's for sure."

Larnach was added to the 40-man roster and activated for the game because Byron Buxton went to the injured list. The 24-year-old, who was the Twins' first-round pick (20th overall) in 2018 out of Oregon State, had two home runs in three games for the Saints during their season-opening series.

He admitted to shedding a few tears on the phone with his family once he got the official word that he was moving from the taxi squad to the roster Friday afternoon. He wasn't in the starting lineup Friday.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli called Larnach a "very potent lefthanded bat" who knows the strike zone and can drive the ball to all fields. The 24-year-old former first-round pick hit two home runs through St. Paul's first three games.

"He's also worked hard in the outfield. He can find himself playing on either corner for us," Baldelli said. "He's a very competitive guy, too, which is always good to see in one of your good, young players. He's done it from day one coming into the organization, going out there and performing. He's a guy that's truly, truly performed."

Outfielder Alex Kirilloff saw a specialist in Dayton, Ohio, Friday and received a cortisone injection for his right wrist sprain. Baldelli said the specialist is familiar with the injury, which is often seen in hockey players, and that recovery is very individual, with some able to play through it and some not.

"He's going to test it out. He's going to see how it feels," Baldelli said.

"Really this is now a time for us to give this a little bit of time and have Alex test it out to see where he's going to fall, and if he's going to be able to swing the bat with this."

Kirilloff, who was playing first base and hit four home runs in his past seven games, went on the 10-day injured list Wednesday.

Luis Arraez went on the seven-day list because of a concussion Tuesday. Arraez is traveling with the team on this road trip and could be available for the next series at the Chicago White Sox.

"He was getting a little workout in, had his earbuds in, running around in the clubhouse today," Baldelli said Friday of Arraez. "His symptoms have subsided. He's doing well. I would anticipate Luis being back after the seven days or very, very soon after that."

The utility player has yet to do any baseball activity, though that will be a necessary step before his return.

Catcher Mitch Garver left the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with right shoulder inflammation and is day-to-day. Baldelli said Garver's shoulder got more sore as the night went on, especially with the multiple delays and warmups.

"If he had to make a throw to second base on point the way he wants, I'm not sure he was going to be able to do that by the end of the game," Baldelli said. "That being said, we still think that he should be OK over the next day or two … maybe even being available [Saturday]."