MINNEAPOLIS – With two weeks remaining in the season, the Twins’ lineup is limping a bit. Three regulars were unavailable for Monday night’s series opener against the Yankees, and at least one of them might be out for a while.
Trevor Larnach left the clubhouse on Monday afternoon to receive an MRI exam on his left wrist, which manager Derek Shelton said has bothered him for a few days. Larnach was held out of the lineup, and it appears at least possible he will be down for more than a day or two.
“He’s dealing with some left wrist soreness,” Shelton said, “so we sent him for an MRI. He has felt it for a few days, and then he felt it sliding yesterday. And then when he came in today, tried to go through his routine and just didn’t go kind of the way he wanted it to. So we’re just going to get it looked at.”
With Larnach out, Emmanuel Rodriguez got the start in left field for the Twins. Rodriguez would likely be the primary recipient of added playing time if Larnach is out for an extended time.
Larnach, 29, has enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career this year, posting a .269/.352/.436 line while playing regularly in left field.
Culpepper likely available
The news was quite a bit better on Kaelen Culpepper, who was hit by a pitch in his right shoulder Saturday. Culpepper was in good spirits in the clubhouse, and Shelton said he’s likely available off the bench. He was slated to go through a full pregame workout, and if that goes well, it would seem likely he will be available to start Tuesday.
Lewis still out
In between Larnach and Culpepper is Royce Lewis, who is dealing with a sore left shoulder. Lewis was removed from Sunday’s game due to the discomfort. He likely was not available Monday, but it did not sound as though he’s expected to miss extended time.
“Conversation I had with him is, he feels significantly better,” Shelton said. “He’s still a little bit sore. The extent of what he’s going to do today, I think we’ll find out once he goes through his treatment.
“It was the diving play, and then he took a swing. … He ended up taking a good swing later and hitting the fly ball to right. I think it was a culmination of the dive and the swing.”