Minnesota Twins DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Minnesota Twins outfielder Max Kepler (knee) will start his minor-league rehab start with Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday. Kepler landed on the injured list with a right-knee contusion but was able to run the bases this week and will now start playing in minor-league games to end the week. Barring a setback with St. Paul, the 31-year-old left-handed outfielder could be able to return from the IL by early next week. When healthy, Kepler should play regularly against right-handed pitchers despite getting just one hit in his first 20 at-bats of the season. Until Kepler is able to return, the likes of Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach and Manuel Margot will battle for extra playing in right field for the Twins.

Minnesota Twins closer Jhoan Duran (oblique) said he's feeling closer to 100 percent in terms of command after throwing a 25-pitch bullpen session on Tuesday. He's now expected to face live hitters during Friday's pre-game workouts at Target Field. An oblique strain forced the 26-year-old to the injured list to begin the 2024 season, but he recently started throwing off a mound and could be getting close to going on a short minor-league rehab assignment before returning to the Twins' bullpen. If he avoids any setbacks with his oblique, fantasy managers might get the hard-throwing closer back before the calendar flips to May. Given Duran's dominance when healthy, he should be stashed in an IL spot in all fantasy leagues. In his absence, Minnesota is going with a committee approach to saves involving Griffin Jax, Steven Okert, Cole Sands and Brock Stewart.

Right-hander Chris Paddack is set for his third start of the season as the Minnesota Twins are on the road to play the Baltimore Orioles. Paddack is coming off going 4 2/3 innings while allowing six hits and two runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In his career against the Orioles, Paddack is 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA in two starts but hasn't faced the team since May of 2022. Minnesota is 6-9 this season and dropped the first game of the series to Baltimore on Monday.

Minnesota Twins first baseman Carlos Santana is out of the lineup on Tuesday against the Baltimore Orioles. Santana is off to a slow start this season as he's slashing . 135/.224/.154 in 14 games with zero home runs and just two RBIs. In replace of Santana, Minnesota will be starting Alex Kirilloff at first base, who is batting third against Orioles right-hander Grayson Rodriguez.

The Minnesota Twins announced on Tuesday that they recalled outfielder Trevor Larnach (toe) from Triple-A St. Paul and optioned outfielder Matt Wallner to St. Paul in a corresponding move. Larnach was recently activated from the Triple-A injured list due to turf toe, but he'll now head to Minnesota to make his 2024 debut. Wallner will head to the farm to work on some things after starting off 2-for-25 with the Twins. The 27-year-old Larnach started last year in the big leagues but was sent to St. Paul after a slow start at the plate. The left-handed slugger has some intriguing power upside from the left side in a likely platoon role in Minnesota, but he's probably not going to help your team batting average and has been injury-prone in his career to this point.