MINNEAPOLIS -- Luis Arraez continued to be bothered by his sore left knee on Wednesday and he is expected to be held out of action while he receives treatments and evaluation for what Twins manager Rocco Baldelli described as tendinitis and soreness in the patellar area.
Arraez was removed from Tuesday night's game following the eighth inning of Minnesota's eventual 4-3 12-inning win over Milwaukee due to the knee issue, which Baldelli said has bothered the Twins' second baseman throughout the year. Arraez's replacement, Ildemaro Vargas, committed a throwing error that led to the Brewers tying the game in the ninth.
Baldelli said that imaging done on Arraez's knee revealed a "lighter issue," but nothing major. The Twins did not make a move to place Arraez on the injured list, but Baldelli also indicated that the club could seek to keep Arraez off the field to prevent the injury from persisting even further.
"It's something we'd like to find a way to knock out so it isn't something that holds him back in any way," Baldelli said. "I don’t know if chronic is the right term. It's something that we just want to get rid of so he's not continually dealing with it, is really the way to say it."
The Twins do have the roster depth to weather Arraez's absence, as both Vargas and Ehire Adrianza can fill in at every infield position. Vargas started at second base on Wednesday, his first appearance in the starting lineup since his Aug. 11 acquisition from the D-backs. Still, the Twins will miss Arraez's bat, as he had hit safely in eight of his last nine games, including three straight two-hit efforts, to raise his average from .216 to .277.
Arraez also missed two games from Aug. 6-7 with left knee soreness. The right knee, too, proved problematic at the end of Summer Camp, when the second baseman dealt with soreness that temporarily put his status for Opening Day in question.
Donaldson scheduled to run
Josh Donaldson was expected to ramp up to running and agility work on the field before Wednesday night's game against the Brewers, a session that Baldelli said would involve several activities that the third baseman had not yet done as part of his continued recovery from a right calf strain.
"It's one of those things that we're kind of looking toward to see," Baldelli said. "As that ramps up, everything else is going to fall into place the way we would want."
Donaldson has been sidelined since July 31 with the injury, which he first felt during a game against Cleveland. The Twins have not had much progress to report since then, even after Donaldson was eventually placed on the 10-day injured list on Aug. 7. There is still no timetable for Donaldson's return to the team.
"He's been swinging a lot," Baldelli said. "He's been doing baseball activity. It's just the ramping up of the explosive movements and the running that's going to be what we're aiming at."
Littell optioned to St. Paul
Zack Littell was the most recent move in the Twins' roster crunch, as the right-hander was optioned to the alternate training site in St. Paul, Minn., in a corresponding move for Rich Hill's activation off the 10-day injured list before his start on Wednesday night.
Littell was activated off the injured list on Aug. 13 following his recovery from a left hamstring strain that cost him 13 days. Though he had a 2.68 ERA in 29 games last season, he has been less effective to open the 2020 season, with five earned runs allowed in five innings, including four homers. Littell last pitched on Monday night and allowed a solo shot to Hunter Dozier.
Veteran reliever Cory Gearrin cleared outright waivers on Wednesday and was also assigned to the alternate training site.
Stashak not yet ramping up
Though reliever Cody Stashak is eligible to come off the 10-day injured list as soon as Saturday, it doesn't appear that the rookie right-hander will be ready to return to the team at that time. According to Baldelli, Stashak has spent his time on the IL resting his sore lower back and hasn't yet done any significant throwing.
The Twins are hoping to give Stashak all the time he needs for the back issues to subside after he had been pitching through the discomfort prior to his placement on the injured list on Thursday. It will be important for Stashak to get right, as Baldelli and pitching coach Wes Johnson had seemed to trust Stashak in higher-leverage situations this season. Stashak had a 3.86 ERA with 10 strikeouts and two walks in seven innings across six 2020 appearances.
"He’s been more in rest and recovery, and trying to get a feel for how many days he’s going to need to be down before he starts ramping up his throwing again," Baldelli said. "I can’t tell you that he’s going to be down for any particular amount of time."