Odorizzi (chest), Littell (elbow) land on IL

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins' injury woes continued on Saturday with the addition of two more players to the injured list. The latest to be hit by the injury bug are right-handers Jake Odorizzi and Zack Littell.

Odorizzi and Littell are each hitting the 10-day IL for the second time this season, most recently as a result of injuries sustained during Friday night's 7-2 loss in Kansas City. Odorizzi sustained a chest contusion after he was hit by a comebacker in the fourth inning, while Littell exited in the seventh with right elbow inflammation.

Homer Bailey was also transferred to the 45-day IL after he hit a setback in his recovery from right biceps tendinitis when he "didn't feel 100 percent" during a throwing session on Saturday, according to Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. Bailey will be eligible for activation in mid-September.

"I would say most teams are dealing with rosters that don't necessarily look like they looked on Opening Day," Baldelli said. "Some of these teams -- and we would want to be in this group -- just continually go out there and play and find ways to win games. Our guys make no excuses. We're not sitting here feeling bad for ourselves."

Moving Bailey off the 40-man roster opened a spot for the club to select the contract of veteran left-hander Danny Coulombe, and Sean Poppen was also recalled to the active roster. Both pitchers had been on the club's four-man taxi squad for this trip.

Odorizzi had already missed the first two weeks of the season with a right intercostal strain sustained at the end of Summer Camp. Littell, too, had been recently reinstated from the 10-day IL after he sustained a left hamstring strain at the end of July.

With both pitchers back on the shelf, here's a reminder of the Twins' escalating injury situation:

10-day IL
? Josh Donaldson (right calf strain), last played July 31
? Cody Stashak (lower back inflammation), last played Aug. 11
? Mitch Garver (intercostal strain), last played Wednesday
? Byron Buxton (left shoulder inflammation), last played Wednesday
? Littell (right elbow inflammation), last played Friday
? Odorizzi (chest contusion), last played Friday

45-day IL
? Bailey (right biceps tendinitis), last played July 28

For those keeping count, that's three starting position players (including a former MVP and a reigning American League Silver Slugger Award winner), two members of the projected Opening Day starting rotation and two members of the Opening Day bullpen. That's not to mention that Luis Arraez has been dealing with recurring right knee soreness that caused him to miss three games before his return to the lineup on Saturday.

None of the club's players on the IL appear to be slated for a return in the immediate future, as Baldelli said Friday that none of them are on this 10-day road trip, which will carry the Twins through Aug. 30 with further stops in Cleveland and Detroit. Stashak had not yet ramped up to significant throwing as of Baldelli's last update earlier in the week.

"I’m not really focused on any of the individual dates right now," Baldelli said Friday about Donaldson and Bailey. "I’m not sure if those guys are going to be meeting us at that point. Could it be close? Yes. I think it could be close. Is it possible? Yes. But I wouldn’t call it likely and just leave it at that, because we’re really not sure at this point."

The Twins are fortunate to have Randy Dobnak pitching as well as he is and for the impending return of Michael Pineda, who is eligible for reinstatement from suspension on Aug. 31.

The rotation would be in much worse shape otherwise, especially considering Lewis Thorpe's underperformance this season. The Twins have Devin Smeltzer available for some length, but otherwise, they might need to start digging into prospect depth like Jhoan Duran or Dakota Chalmers, who have been stretching out at the alternate training site.

The club is also rather fortunate that injury-related fill-ins like Jorge Alcala and Caleb Thielbar have pitched effectively out of the bullpen, and that they had top catching prospect Ryan Jeffers waiting in the wings to take over everyday duties upon Garver's injury. The recent acquisition of Ildemaro Vargas in a trade with the D-backs is also rather helpful right now.

Baldelli didn't say whether all these recent injuries have impacted the Twins' plans for the upcoming Aug. 31 Trade Deadline. Either way, the depth will be tested.

"We talked about it from the very beginning of the season, of our depth being one of the most important parts of this group, one of the best traits that we have going," Baldelli said. "We have a lot of guys that can really play and really pitch. So, looking forward to seeing what goes on next. We're still in this run of playing a lot of games, so we're going to lean on guys all over the place, and it starts tonight."