The Minnesota Twins have been without All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa since July 12 as he recovers from plantar fasciitis in his right foot. While an exact return date is not yet known, Correa may be getting closer to a re-joining the Twins after the most recent update on his rehab process.
Correa ran at full-speed for the first time in a week on Thursday, and has been participating in other baseball activities like hitting and fielding ground balls, Twins head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta told Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Friday after the Twins 4-3 victory over the Texas Rangers.
“We need to get him to where he's comfortable running on a daily basis, not having soreness the next day,” Paparesta said. “As you deal with these plantar fasciitis injuries, you realize these things can drag on. Once you see him out there running a lot, you'll know we're in a pretty good spot.”
Even though Correa is making progress, he's still not close enough to begin thinking about getting activated off of the injured list or going on a Minor League rehab assignment. Like Paparesta says, Correa needs to be able to consistently push himself and do things like run at full speed and other high-intensity activities on a more frequent basis without any sort of lingering soreness.
What the Twins are missing with Carlos Correa out
![Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa (4) hits a home run against the Chicago White Sox during the sixth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field.](https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/08-17-24-correa-image.jpeg)
Before hitting the injured list in July, Correa was on an absolute tear and having one of the best seasons of his career. He was hitting .308/.377/.520 while playing Gold Glove-caliber defense at shortstop and helping the Twins to a potential postseason position.
After Friday's win, the Twins currently have a 69-53 record and are in the second American League Wild Card position, two games ahead of the Kansas City Royals and 2 1/2 games behind the Baltimore Orioles. They are also still in play for the AL Central, just three games back of the Cleveland Guardians.
While the Twins been able to piece together enough production at shortstop in Correa's absence to keep pace in the AL with Willi Castro and Kyle Farmer stepping up, that is not a sustainable solution for a team with postseason aspirations. Not only is Correa one of the best two-way players in all of baseball when healthy, but he also has more postseason experience than anyone else on the Twins from his time with the Houston Astros. A healthy Correa is key for the Twins.