MILWAUKEE – Third baseman Josh Donaldson has been doing some running as well as getting plenty of swings in the batting cage, but his return to action remains a ways away.
Donaldson on Monday missed his 10th game because of a right calf injury, the type of injury that, manager Rocco Baldelli said, can't be pushed. He has to be able to explode out of the batter's box to run and react to ground balls hit his way. Given his history with the injury — he missed long stretches of time in 2017 and '18 because of injuries to both calf muscles — the Twins remain cautious.
"This is a guy who is an explosive defender," Baldelli said of Donaldson, who signed a four-year, $92 million deal to join the Twins in January, a club-record contract for a free agent. "We know what kind of hitter he is. But he's a guy who has that acceleration and has that excellent first step. For him to go out there and try to play with anything less than that, I don't know if it's possible, for one, because it's a calf injury.
"It's not something like, you have a sore quad, you might be able to go out there and continue to play."
Tortuga talk
The Twins could use a spark any way they can get one right now. Perhaps even from the presence of a stone-faced backup player such as the popular Willians Astudillo.
Astudillo, like Sano, tested positive for coronavirus during the intake phase. But while Sano was asymptomatic, Astudillo experienced some symptoms and was not cleared to begin workouts until the last week of July.
Astudillo has made progress while working out with other Twins reserves at the St. Paul Saints' CHS Field. And Baldelli said Astudillo is getting close to the point where he could contribute.
"I think Willi is getting very close to that point," Baldelli said. "We've discussed him obviously. We've discussed him a pretty good amount. He's also still coming back, so I think we're seeing a lot of trends throughout baseball showing that with the short ramp-ups, it is hard.