MINNEAPOLIS -- One of the bright spots of the second half of the Twins’ season will be sidelined for a while. Rookie shortstop Kaelen Culpepper has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to what the club is calling a mild left hamstring strain.
Manager Derek Shelton was emphatic that the injury is relatively mild, and said there is hope that Culpepper could return to play in the season’s final two games. But the club felt it was important to place Culpepper on the IL for now, to prevent him from pushing it and aggravating the injury.
Culpepper suffered the injury in Tuesday night’s loss to the Yankees and underwent an MRI exam on Wednesday morning.
“I think it’s one of those situations that we think it’s best for him to make sure,” Shelton said. “Now, on the flipside, there is a possibility he could come back with two games left. Our goal right now is that. Now, if it doesn’t happen, obviously, we will make those kind of arrangements. But the goal we’ve had for him, because it is a mild strain, is to see if the last two games are available.”
Ben Ross got his first career Major League start on Wednesday at shortstop. He and Ryan Kreidler will likely see the bulk of time at short in Culpepper’s absence.
Culpepper, 23, is the Twins No. 3 prospect and No. 33 in the MLB Pipeline Top 100. A first-round Draft pick in 2024 out of Kansas State, he’s posted a .275/.333/.404 slash line in 31 games since being called up in early August.