Derek Falvey gives update on Justin Topa's potential return to Twins bullpen

For as great as things have gone for the Minnesota Twins over the last 11 games, they're still not a complete team. Royce Lewis remains on the IL with a right quad strain, Byron Buxton hit the 10-day IL on Friday, and key players like Jhoan Duran and Carlos Correa have had their time on the roster fractured by injuries.

Mostly everyone has worked their way back, but the Twins are still down a key reliever as Justin Topa still hasn't made his season debut with the team.

Topa was acquired as part of the Jorge Polanco trade back in January and ended up being the biggest piece of the deal. Gabriel Gonzalez is a Top 100 prospect, so that's nothing to sneeze at, but Topa is the player who will have the most immediate impact on the team -- especially with Anthony DeSclafani already being ruled out for the season.

Minnesota spent most of its limited resources this offseason to fortify the bullpen, something the Topa deal reflected. Like most trades the Twins have made recently, it has yet to pay off thanks to injury.

Topa started the season on the IL, something that has wiped out the entire first month of this season. Derek Falvey gave an update on just how much more of his season will be lost.

Derek Falvey provides an update on Justin Topa's potential return

Falvey gave some updates across the board, but Topa is the biggest name that fans have basically no idea what's going on with. It sounds like he could be back soon, but it's not something the Twins are going to rush.

“[Topa] hasn’t felt at 100 percent yet.  He hasn’t felt like he’s really where he needs to be, but he’s progressing well,” Falvey said.  “We don’t want to rush that.  We want to make sure he’s back and feeling good and feeling like he can execute the pitches he wants to execute.”

Minnesota seems to be taking this cautious approach with a few different arms in the bullpen. Brock Stewart was placed on the IL on Friday as a precaution, which sounds more serious than it might be. Kody Funderburk, who was called up on Opening Day to replace a trio of injured relievers, is back on the 26-man roster to replace Stewart and might draw the short straw when Topa returns.

Who knows when that will be, as the latest Topa update doesn't really shed any new light on his situation.

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