Ailing Willians Astudillo will not be ready for quite a while

Willians Astudillo hasn't felt right since running into the wall along the right-field line June 25, and it's going to be a while before he's ready to play again, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Friday.

"It's a fairly significant [left] oblique injury," Baldelli said. "He's not going to be taking part in baseball activity for a little while."

Astudillo confirmed that he still feels soreness in the muscle and hasn't been able to swing a bat, much less take ground balls or even run, for the past 10 days.

"There's not a lot he can do in the early stages of his rehab," Baldelli said.

"An oblique injury is not something that just heals up and all of a sudden you start taking swings. … We are going to have to let him heal before we can do anything."

For comparison: Blake Swihart, a Diamondbacks catcher who like Astudillo also plays the outfield, suffered an oblique injury June 1 and hasn't yet recovered enough to even begin a rehab assignment.

The news is better on Eddie Rosario, however. Baldelli said the outfielder, sidelined by a sprained ankle since June 26, ran with no problems in the outfield on Friday. "Very positive," Baldelli said. "He's definitely making a lot of progress."

Blake Parker left the team on Friday to be with his wife, Jordan. The couple are expecting their second child — they have a son, Tyce — and Parker was placed on the paternity list.

Kohl Stewart was summoned for the fourth time this season from Class AAA Rochester. The righthander has made two starts for the Twins this season, but he got the final four outs in Friday night's 15-6 victory over Texas, which probably puts him out of the running to start Sunday in place of injured All-Star Jake Odorizzi.

"Kohl is here to help stabilize everything," Baldelli said. "He could help fill a few different roles. He's done a nice job for us with basically everything we've asked him to do to this point, so it's a good feeling being able to call him up."

So who will start Sunday? Baldelli said the Twins won't announce their decision until after Saturday's game.

With the Twins just back from a weeklong road trip, a 2-4 journey that was their first losing trip of the season, and several players dealing with minor injuries, Baldelli canceled batting practice for all three games of this series Friday.

This series features plenty of cross-team familiarity, with Twins Martin Perez and Nelson Cruz having played for the Rangers, Perez as recent as last season. Texas' roster includes Danny Santana, whose first four MLB seasons came with the Twins, and Logan Forsythe, who spent August and September in Minnesota last season after being acquired in the Brian Dozier trade.

Baldelli said he understands the challenge of facing a former team, especially for the first time.

"It's a busy time, because there are so many people you end up needing to [and] wanting to talk to and spend time with," said the longtime Ray, who experienced the situation after signing with the Red Sox. "So your general schedule and routine can get thrown off at times. I know when we'd go play Tampa Bay, my days were not very much like when we'd play other teams."

• Designated hitter Nelson Cruz legged out a double against his old team during the Twins' six-run second inning Friday, but he was pinch-hit for by Miguel Sano in the fourth, having experienced discomfort in his right heel. That discomfort wasn't anything serious, though: It was apparently caused by a new pair of shoes. The Twins said the injury was minor, and Cruz said he will be available Saturday.

• The Twins held a moment of silence before the game for Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who died Monday at age 27 in Arlington, Texas.