Notes: Kirilloff could return by weekend

MINNEAPOLIS -- Alex Kirilloff will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday and could return to the Twins as soon as this weekend's series in Cleveland if everything goes well for the organization's No. 2 prospect per MLB Pipeline, manager Rocco Baldelli said.

Kirilloff has been sidelined since May 4 with a sprained right wrist and began a swinging progression before this current homestand in the hopes that he could play through the issue without requiring immediate surgery.

The rehab assignment to see live pitching represents the final step in that evaluation period for the 23-year-old, who has quickly progressed from dry swings to hitting off a tee to taking swings in batting practice and against the velocity machine without issue.

"I think he’s pretty confident in the way he’s feeling right now," Baldelli said. "Something we’ve been waiting for and are excited about."

Kirilloff was expected to start at designated hitter for the Saints on Wednesday and move to the outfield on Thursday, when the Twins take part of their roster to Anaheim for their makeup doubleheader against the Angels. The team opens a three-game series in Cleveland on Friday.

Following a period of uncertainty regarding Kirilloff's condition, all news has been encouraging to this point, and his return could continue to provide positive momentum for a team that has overcome lack of outfield depth to find some fight out of its offense in the last several days.

There's little doubt that Kirilloff would immediately help the offense if healthy. He was hitting .214/.227/.571 through 12 games -- including a slump to start his season -- and led the Twins in average exit velocity and hard-hit rate at the time of his injury.

Pineda to IL; Farrell selected
The Twins placed Michael Pineda on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday due to the abscess on his inner thigh that they expect will push him back by several days. They selected the contract of right-handed reliever Luke Farrell from St. Paul.

The move isn't an indication that Pineda's condition has worsened in any way; it was also spurred, in part, by the fact that the Twins' pitching staff needed reinforcements amid this stretch of 17 games in 16 days.

"It doesn’t really mean he’s feeling any different," Baldelli said. "It just means he may need a couple extra days and truthfully, I think we may need a roster spot because of that as well."

Though Minnesota has a disruption to one slot in its starting rotation, it got good news with another, as Kenta Maeda is expected to make his next start against Cleveland this weekend despite dealing with groin tightness that flared up in his last start.

Ober: 'I'm still waiting for it to hit me'
Bailey Ober said he was still "shell-shocked" after throwing four innings in his first Major League start on Wednesday, following his role in an eventual 5-4 Minnesota victory against White Sox.

Tim Anderson's deep fly ball to the right-field warning track on the first pitch of Ober's career probably didn't help with that.

"I had a lot of bad thoughts going through my head right there," Ober said. "I was just praying it stayed in the ballpark."

A party of 10 friends and family members from North Carolina, Colorado, Connecticut and Arizona was able to make quick travel arrangements to see Ober make his surprise debut in place of a scratched Pineda and had the chance to watch the tall 25-year-old allow four runs on five hits through four innings against the potent White Sox lineup.

Ober: 'I'm still waiting for it to hit me'

Bailey Ober said he was still "shell-shocked" after throwing four innings in his first Major League start on Wednesday, following his role in an eventual 5-4 Minnesota victory against White Sox.

Tim Anderson's deep fly ball to the right-field warning track on the first pitch of Ober's career probably didn't help with that.

"I had a lot of bad thoughts going through my head right there," Ober said. "I was just praying it stayed in the ballpark."

A party of 10 friends and family members from North Carolina, Colorado, Connecticut and Arizona was able to make quick travel arrangements to see Ober make his surprise debut in place of a scratched Michael Pineda and had the chance to watch the tall 25-year-old allow four runs on five hits through four innings against the potent White Sox lineup.

They didn't expect this to come so soon for the former 12th-round Draft pick out of the College of Charleston.

"Not this quickly," said Dan Ober, Bailey's father. "We were hoping sometime this summer, but we don't try to go in with expectations. If he stays healthy and takes care of his stuff, then it'll happen. We're just thrilled that it's happening so soon."

They were all caught off-guard when Saints manager Toby Gardenhire called Ober late on Monday to give him the good news. Ober had already been on FaceTime with his parents at the time, giving them screen time with his daughters, when he said that he'd call them back soon -- he was getting a call.

Gardenhire just asked him, "Hey, are you good to pitch tomorrow?"

"Yes sir, I am," Ober replied.

"Good. You're going to the big show," Gardenhire informed him.

The Ober parents' line rang again, and he relayed the news with a grin creeping over his face.

"I haven't seen him with that little Cheshire Cat grin in a long time," said Cathy Ober, his mother.

When's the last time they saw that look on their son's face?

"Maybe when his last child was born," Cathy Ober said. "He was happy. He's a baseball player. He knows what this means. He's super humble, so he's not flashy like that. And so just to get that smile from him, pretty rewarding."