Carlos Correa placed on injured list; Twins expect he'll be back by start of postseason

CINCINNATI – The Twins placed Carlos Correa on the 10-day injured list Wednesday, but they're confident he will return by the start of the postseason.

The status of Royce Lewis, who remains on the active roster, is up in the air. Lewis is scheduled to undergo a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam Thursday in Minneapolis after he left Tuesday's game because of tightness in his left hamstring.

Correa left Monday's game against the Cincinnati Reds after aggravating plantar fasciitis in his left foot. He underwent an MRI exam Tuesday that showed a tear in the middle part of the plantar fascia. The full tear, head trainer Nick Paparesta said, can be helpful for alleviating discomfort at the bottom of his foot.

"I'm very confident," Correa said of returning for the start of the playoffs. "It will take a lot for me not to play in those games. They're way too meaningful and they're way too important not only for the organization, but also for myself. Yeah, I'm confident I'll be there."

Correa expected some of the pain to subside in his foot this weekend. He has been managing plantar fasciitis since May, injuring his foot while running the bases, but the tear was "different" and "a little more painful."

Jayce Tingler, the Twins' acting manager, said before Wednesday's 5-3 victory over the Reds that team officials are "super optimistic" Correa will be ready for the postseason. Paparesta noted Correa is eligible to return for the final series of the regular season in Colorado, the IL stint retroactive to Tuesday.

"It gives us a chance to just kind of reset him a little bit," Paparesta said. "Get this bone under his heel, where it's inflamed and he's got edema right now, controlled because that wasn't there previously. That is from the new injury and that's kind of the reasoning behind what we decided to do."

Lewis still felt the same tightness in his hamstring Wednesday as he rode an exercise bike. He didn't feel it until he fouled off a pitch in the eighth inning Tuesday, describing it as a "shooting pain" through his leg.

"In terms of concern, I think it was just more frustration," Lewis said. "I'm tired of stupid injuries, right? But this is the least of my worries of the past injuries."

Lewis limped after he attempted to beat out a double play in the sixth inning, but that stemmed from a bruised left heel he's dealt with since the end of August.

"The players and the staff that are around Carlos and Royce, they understand what they've been playing through," Tingler said. "We probably actually view this as a good thing. It's a chance to get a little down time to try to get as healthy as we can."

Correa has chatted with several players who dealt with plantar fasciitis, including Nelson Cruz, Reds infielder Jonathan India and Cleveland Guardians outfielder Ramón Laureano. They told him once they had a tear, the injury cleared up and they didn't feel it again.

"I'm going to follow Nick's advice," Correa said. "I trust him. I've only known him for six months and he's been great. He's gained my confidence and trust. I'm just going to put in the work and hopefully we'll be ready to go."

It's been more than a week since Byron Buxton received a cortisone shot in his right knee, and he will begin a rehab assignment at Class AAA St. Paul on Thursday as the designated hitter.

"He's been hitting, throwing," Paparesta said. "He's run a couple of times over the course of the last week. We're still kind of ramping him up."

Chris Williams hit his 21st home run of the season, a team record, as the Saints beat Toledo 6-3 at CHS Field on Thursday.

Williams broke Brent Rooker's 2021 mark with a three-run shot in the fourth inning.

* The Twins have five players on rehab assignments with the St. Paul Saints, including pitchers Brock Stewart, Chris Paddack and Jorge Alcala. "We're at a point now where the baseball operations people and Rocco [Baldelli] need to make decisions," Paparesta said, "which makes my job a lot easier and I'm excited about it."

* Outfielder Trevor Larnach was called up from St. Paul to fill Correa's spot on the 28-man active roster, and he went 0-for-2 in Wednesday's game.