MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins made one transaction on Wednesday, announced a move on Thursday and are hoping to avoid a third and a fourth.
Following the Twins¡¯ 4-3 win over the Mets in 10 innings, Minnesota announced that it had acquired infielder/designated hitter Jonah Bride from the Marlins for cash considerations. With outfielder Matt Wallner, who experienced left hamstring tightness on Tuesday night, placed on the 10-day injured list, Bride was added to the roster on Thursday.
Meanwhile, it appears that shortstop Carlos Correa will avoid the injured list with his sore left wrist. Correa, who felt pain in the joint on Tuesday night, did not start Wednesday's game but appeared as a defensive replacement. Correa entered the game following the removal of utility man Willi Castro, who was removed due to what manager Rocco Baldelli described as ¡°mild right oblique tightness.¡±
Bride, 29, has played in parts of four seasons with the A¡¯s and Marlins, and posted a .276/.357/.461 slash line with Miami last year. He was designated for assignment on Tuesday. Bride is a right-handed hitter who has played first base, second base and third base, giving him a somewhat similar profile to Jose Miranda, who was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul over the weekend and then suffered a hand injury on Monday while carrying a case of bottled water.
Castro has appeared in every game but one for the Twins this year, mostly at second base. He¡¯s a key defender and valuable switch-hitter whose contributions would be missed if he had to sit for any extended period of time.
¡°I felt, like, a little pinch,¡± Castro said. ¡°And yeah, I think I could have played through it, but I just didn¡¯t want it to get worse. So I just told them about it and they took me out.¡±
Wallner felt tightness in his left hamstring running out a ball on Tuesday night, and said that it didn¡¯t feel any better on Wednesday morning.
¡°I had a pretty good idea when I woke up that it wasn¡¯t going to heal any time soon,¡± Wallner said.
DaShawn Keirsey Jr. will likely get the bulk of the at-bats in right field in Wallner¡¯s absence. As for a corresponding roster move for Wallner, the options may be limited. With the addition of Bride, Minnesota is at 40 players, so in order to add someone, the club would have to remove a player. And the only healthy infielder or outfielder currently on the 40-man roster who is not on the active Major League roster is the club¡¯s No. 2 prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez. If space could be cleared on the 40-man, Carson McCusker could also be an option after his hot start at Triple-A.
Regarding Correa, he was removed Tuesday for a recurrence of left wrist soreness that apparently dates back to 2024. That condition had not previously been publicly revealed.
¡°It¡¯s something that¡¯s been discussed with the medical staff previously, but it¡¯s not something that¡¯s ever held him back from performing, taking the field or anything like that,¡± Baldelli said. ¡°I had literally zero concern and really zero discussion this year about the wrist, but it was something that would periodically pop up, give him some minor issues and something that I think even right now, we¡¯re going to be able to work through.¡±
Correa came off the bench to play shortstop when Castro was removed Wednesday, but Baldelli said that he strongly preferred to avoid Correa taking an at-bat. It¡¯s unclear what the Twins would have done if the game had gone longer and Correa¡¯s spot in the order had come up again.
Castro had taken over for Correa when he was removed Tuesday and also started at shortstop on Wednesday, though Brooks Lee is also able to play short. There is no other viable shortstop option on the 40-man roster besides those three players. Longtime Minor League veteran Ryan Fitzgerald, who has never played in the Majors, has served as the primary shortstop for St. Paul this year.