Alex

Kirilloff

Ugh. Kirilloff — who has been sidelined since mid-June with his back soreness — went 1-for-5 with a double in his first minor league rehab game on Friday. No word yet on how long he’ll be shut down for or when the Twins potentially envision him returning to action.

The 26-year-old slugger has been sidelined since the end of May due to a back issue, but is finally making progress and is ready to return to game action. He should only need a handful of games at the Triple-A level before he’s cleared to return to the Twins’ lineup.

There’s a possibility Kirilloff’s season is over as he’s been on the shelf since late May due to a back issue. It’s a bit unclear whether the 26-year-old former top prospect fits into Minnesota’s long-term plans anymore.

This definitely wasn’t a case of a player hiding an injury and admitting to it after getting sent down; Kirilloff had been receiving daily treatment before games. Still, the Twins were upset that Kirilloff didn’t communicate of the severity of the problem, which he says has made it difficult for him to rotate on swings. Kirilloff wanted to keep playing through it in the majors, but after he was sent down to Triple-A, he decided it was better to shut it down for a spell, and he’s now set to see a back specialist.

The exact nature of the injury is a bit unclear at the moment, but Kirilloff’s recent demotion to Triple-A St. Paul has been rescinded as he’ll head to the injured list instead. The 26-year-old indicated Tuesday that he was playing through a lingering back issue in the majors before being sent down last week. The former top prospect has struggled this season and it’s fair to speculate whether he still fits into Minnesota’s long-term plans anymore.

Kirilloff got off to a strong start in April, but he faded quickly and was hitting .135/.207/.284 in his last 30 games. Edouard Julien has remained ice cold in Triple-A, so he’s unlikely to be the countermove here. That probably leaves Matt Wallner or Austin Martin. Wallner has turned things around lately, but Martin has the better Triple-A numbers and has more to offer defensively.

With the Rockies starting left-hander Austin Gomber, the Twins will deploy their full right-handed lineup. Manager Rocco Baldelli is known to make mid-game changes, so any of these guys could enter the game if the Rockies go to a right-handed reliever, but it’s hard to start any of them in daily moves leagues. Unfortunately for all three lefties, the Twins will face two left-handed pitchers in the weekend series against the Athletics, so that might mean more playing time for Manuel Margot and Kyle Farmer this weekend.

No surprises here as Minnesota continues rotating their quartet of left-handed bats in and out of the lineup depending on matchups. It’ll be Carlos Santana, Manuel Margot, Kyle Farmer and Ryan Jeffers getting the nod to face Astros southpaw Framber Valdez.

Normally, this would be a signal that the Twins are facing a left-handed starter, but they’re facing Brady Singer. This could have something to do with it being a day game after a night game, but Brady Singer does have reverse splits over his career. Perhaps the Twins think stacking righties against him will give them a better chance to win. However, Julien not being in the lineup is also noteworthy because he has not been performing of late, slashing .186/.278/.200 in 24 games in May with a 36.7 percent strikeout rate. He’s not a player you have to hold in fantasy leagues.

Kirilloff knocked a base hit to lead off the seventh inning and scored on a sacrifice fly by Carlos Correa. Trailing by one run with two runners on base in the eighth, he took David Robertson deep for a three-run homer to give the Twins the lead. The 26-year-old has gone yard in back-to-back games for his fifth of the season while hitting .215/.278/.423 with 19 runs scored and 16 RBI across 144 plate appearances.