Minnesota Twins Share Injury Updates on Promising Young Infielders at Winter Meetings

The Minnesota Twins ended the 2023 season with plenty of bumps and bruises, and a few of their brightest young stars are still on the mend heading into December.

President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey shared a positive update on designated hitter/center fielder Byron Buxton over the weekend, though, and good news continued to trickle in as the Winter Meetings got underway in Nashville.

First baseman/corner outfielder Alex Kirilloff struggled with lingering wrist issues last spring, and he ultimately lost his spot on Minnesota's playoff roster due to a shoulder injury in the fall. Falvey shared some new details on Kirilloff's status more than a month after his postseason shoulder surgery, and while the 26-year-old lefty has yet to resume hitting, the Twins executive appeared optimistic that Kirilloff would be ready in time for Spring Training. 

“We don’t have any reason to believe this is a long-term issue now based on what was fixed here," Falvey said. "His wrist was in a great spot last year. Shoulder should be in a good spot going in."

Kirilloff was limited to 88 games in 2023, which was actually a career-high for the oft-injured slugger. Kirilloff's 11 home runs, 41 RBI, .270 batting average and .793 OPS were all new high-marks for his MLB career as well.

Third baseman/first baseman José Miranda has also been dealing with a shoulder injury that required surgery, although he has already started batting again. Miranda hit .211 with a .556 OPS in just 40 games in 2023 after hitting .268 with a .751 OPS in 125 games in 2022.

Falvey made it clear that once Miranda gets cleared to return, improvements at the plate are paramount if the 25-year-old wants to make the Opening Day roster.

Manager Rocco Baldelli said that Miranda will get some run at first base in Spring Training after spending most of 2023 at third. If the transition is successful, having healthy versions of Miranda, Kirilloff and Buxton should give the Twins plenty of defensive and lineup versatility in 2024.

Kirilloff and Miranda were both top-five prospects in the Twins' farm system before they broke into the majors in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Buxton was once seen the top overall prospect in baseball prior to his MLB debut in 2015.