Twins get good news on recovery front for López, Lewis, Tonkin

Though the Twins officially placed Matt Wallner on the injured list on Thursday, they got good news on three other injured players, as Pablo López, Royce Lewis, and Michael Tonkin all took steps forward in their recovery or soon will.

López, who has been out since April 8 due to a strained right hamstring, will make a rehabilitation start for Triple-A St. Paul at Iowa on Saturday. The right-hander then could conceivably pitch in the next turn through the Twins’ rotation, on the upcoming homestand. He is eligible to return from the IL on Wednesday.

Lewis is farther away but the news is still encouraging. He has been running and doing baseball activities including hitting for a while, but he was scheduled to advance his running progression on Thursday with some light baserunning work. Lewis’ return to game action is still more likely a matter of weeks than days, but he continues to progress well. He is recovering from a strained left hamstring.

As for Tonkin, who has been sidelined since Spring Training due to a right shoulder strain, he is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment as well. Tonkin will begin pitching for Single-A Fort Myers on Friday.

The club still faces some uncertainty regarding Carlos Correa, who is dealing with left wrist soreness, and Willi Castro, who suffered right oblique tightness in Wednesday’s series finale against the Mets. Correa played the field but was not considered available to hit in that game, and therefore seems unlikely to go on the IL, while Castro’s status is harder to get a read on at this time.