Inside The Twins

Carlos Correa (back soreness) out of Twins' lineup for third straight day

Rocco Baldelli expressed optimism that Correa would return on Saturday.

Will Ragatz

Jun 3, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa (4) fields a ball against the Athletics during the fifth inning at Sutter Health Park.
Jun 3, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa (4) fields a ball against the Athletics during the fifth inning at Sutter Health Park. / Dennis Lee-Imagn Images
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Twins star shortstop Carlos Correa is out of the lineup for a third consecutive day due to back soreness. He didn't play in either of the final two games of Minnesota's road series against the Athletics, and he isn't starting in their return to Target Field on Friday night against Toronto.

Correa believes his back issue is related to slipping in the too-firm batter's box at the A's temporary minor-league ballpark in West Sacramento. He called it the "worst box I’ve ever stepped in." Correa tried out different cleats to improve his grip, but those began to hurt his feet. He thinks his back got hurt due to trying to overcompensate from the slipping, and he decided it wasn't worth playing in the last two games of that series and risking further injury.

That all comes from a Dan Hayes story in The Athletic on the challenges Twins players faced while playing in two different minor-league ballparks during their recent road trip. Twins starter Joe Ryan believes poor mound conditions in Sacramento may have played a role in the significant shoulder injury suffered by Pablo Lopez during his start there.

Manager Rocco Baldelli expressed confidence that Correa will be able to return on Saturday afternoon, according to Aaron Gleeman. The three-time All-Star has just a .665 OPS this season, but he had been heating up offensively in late May. He also remains one of the elite defensive shortstops in all of baseball.

Here's the Twins' Friday night lineup for their first game at Target Field in nearly two weeks. Brooks Lee will start at shortstop again.

It should be a good atmosphere this weekend in Minneapolis for a three-game set between the Twins (34-28) and Blue Jays (33-29). Toronto fans always show up in droves at Target Field.

Bailey Ober starts for Minnesota on Friday night, and he'll be followed by Chris Paddack and Joe Ryan over the rest of the series. Those are the Twins' top three healthy starters at the moment. Paxton Schultz will be the opener for the Blue Jays on Friday, with lefty Eric Lauer expected to follow in a bulk role. They'll send Kevin Gausman to the mound on Saturday and Bowden Francis on Sunday.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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