MINNEAPOLIS -- A weekend sweep by the Guardians pushed the third-place Twins further back in the American League Central race and dealt a serious blow to Minnesota’s playoff hopes.

The Twins remained optimistic as they opened a crucial three-game series against the Royals on Tuesday night at Target Field. And manager Rocco Baldelli said help could be on the way soon.

Jorge Polanco, Bailey Ober and Byron Buxton could potentially return this week, with Trevor Larnach and Ryan Jeffers also nearing a return. Max Kepler, who left Sunday’s game with a right leg contusion, was not in Tuesday’s lineup, but Baldelli was hopeful he’d be available off the bench.

“We have work to do,” Baldelli said. “We have more work to do than we even did before the last series. We do still control a lot. There are a bunch of games to play. They’re all going to be important games from here on out, basically every series. It’s not just the [Guardians] or the [White Sox], every game is going to matter an enormous amount. What do you do about that? Well, you’ve got to find ways to do a few different things.

“We also have some players, hopefully, coming back soon, too. So, you combine elevating what we’re doing here on a daily basis, which we have to do and we know that. We have to play complete baseball games. But on top of that, hopefully some of the guys coming back will help us as well.”

Polanco, who’s been on the injured list since Sept. 3 with left knee inflammation, appears closest to a return, likely during this series against Kansas City.

Baldelli mentioned Buxton as being “a little bit behind” Polanco in his recovery. It’s a bit of a surprise since there hasn’t been much of an update on Buxton in recent days and he was recently believed to have started running in the past few days.

Buxton has been out since Aug. 23 with a low-grade right hip strain.

“Obviously, there's no bigger part of this team when it comes to winning ballgames then Byron Buxton and having him on the field,” Baldelli said. “We know that. We know how much he matters here.”

Ober has been on the 60-day injured list, sidelined since June 6 with a right groin strain. He’s made two rehab starts with Single-A Fort Myers and pitched 4 2/3 innings for Triple-A St. Paul on Sept. 11.

Larnach, who underwent core muscle surgery on June 28, was expected to miss approximately eight weeks. He was set to start a rehab assignment on Sept. 1, but he’s only advanced to playing in simulated games. He is able to hit, but playing in the field has caused his timeline to be altered.

“I think what came up were there are certain things you have to do as a baseball player, cutting it loose and throwing, and moving around in the outfield in an unrestricted kind of manner that definitely took a little more out of him or were a little more challenging than we originally thought,” Baldelli said. “There were some things he was able to do perfectly fine, but we weren't going to bring him back and kind of piecemeal this thing together with him and other guys that are capable of this, but they can't do that.

“This guy can hit. We weren't going to play that game. We want to make sure he's healthy and at full strength. That's really what happened with Trevor.”

Jeffers, who had surgery to repair a fractured thumb on July 20, has also advanced to doing more activity.

Baldelli also said he’s hopeful that Tyler Mahle, out with right shoulder inflammation, returns this season.

“We have to prepare everything going forward as if we’re playing important games into October,” Baldelli said. “So, we have to make sure that all of our guys that are able to come back this year at any point in the next week or two, or six weeks, have to make sure that they’re working towards that. 

“The scenarios that Tyler pitches again in the regular season might be pretty limited right now, but I do think that there are some scenarios where he actually does still pitch for us this year. But we have to make those games relevant and then I think we have a chance.”