As the Minnesota Twins close in on clinching their ninth AL Central title, things took a turn for the worse on Monday night in Cincinnati.
In the bottom of the first inning, Correa needed to run into shallow left to catch a TJ Friedl popup and appeared to have re-aggravated his plantar fasciitis in the process. Correa was due to hit in the top of the second but Kyle Farmer ended up pinch-hitting for him instead.
Kyle Farmer is in the game at SS replacing Carlos Correa. He pinch-hit for Correa in the top of the 2nd inning.
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 18, 2023
🎥: FS1 pic.twitter.com/eUkJFvUAZX
It’s unclear how serious the aggravation is, but the timing of Correa re-injuring himself couldn’t be worse.
Carlos Correa injury update: Twins star re-aggravates plantar fasciitis vs. Reds
While a lot was made about his medicals this offseason when he was bouncing around free agency, this injury is not something that was flagged. Instead, this flared up back in May and ultimately forced Correa to spend some time on the IL as a result.
It’s something he’s been dealing with all season, but it appeared he might have been out of the woods. Plantar fasciitis is no joke, though, and while it’s unfortunate that Correa has re-aggravated the injury it’s not entirely surprising.
What adds to the dread of this reaggrivation is its timing. The Twins magic number to win the AL Central was four at the time of first pitch against the Reds, and it’s only a matter of time before their postseason ticket is punched.
Potentially losing Correa, or having him operating well below 100 percent, is less than ideal.
It’s already uncertain whether the Twins will have Byron Buxton back for the postseason, and being without Correa would be the cruelest twist of fate. When Correa signed his $200 million deal this winter the hype was about what he and Buxton could do together, especially in the postseason. The Twins are trying to buck a losing streak that has hung over the franchise since 2004, and it the prospect of not having their two best — and highest-paid — players borders on cliche.
Thankfully, if the worst-case scenario plays out and Correa is somehow unavailable for the AL Wild Card and beyond, the Twins have young players who can step up. Royce Lewis has been the team's MVP this season and guys like Matt Wallner and Edouard Julien remain hot. It's unlikely that a prospect gets called up, but if things truly take a turn for the worst then Minnesota has options like Austin Martin and Brooks Lee to lean on.
We’ll see what ends up being the extent of the aggravation, but Twins fans who thought the rest of September would be mostly stress-free are sorely mistaken.