Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa was hit in the hand twice during his team's 5-3 loss to the Orioles Thursday night, though he has avoided major injury. President of baseball operations Derek Falvey said a CT scan revealed no fracture on Friday, according to MLB.com's Do-Hyoung Park. Correa is bruised and sore, but will avoid the injured list and be considered day-to-day for now.
Here are the hit by pitches:
Correa initially stayed in the game after a hit-by-pitch in the fifth inning, but was later removed. A bit after the game ended, the Twins told reporters that X-rays were completed and "preliminary imaging does reveal the potential for a non-displaced fracture of the right middle finger." Further tests revealed no fracture. Correa expressed his relief on Twitter:
The Twins will reportedly call up top prospect Royce Lewis, the No. 1 pick in the 2017 draft, to play shortstop while Correa is sidelined. Lewis is hitting .310/.430/.563 with nearly as many walks (17) as strikeouts (20) in 24 Triple-A games this season. He missed 2021 with a torn ACL and 2020 because the minor league season was called amid the pandemic.
Correa is hitting .255/.320/.372 with five doubles, two homers, 11 RBI and 12 runs so far this season. He got off to a slow start, but had a seven-game hitting streak before Thursday, during which he hit .452 with a homer and eight RBI. Correa will remain on the active roster and Lewis will replace Luis Arraez, who was placed on the COVID list.
The Twins had won 11 of their past 12 games before dropping contests to the Orioles both Wednesday and Thursday. They remain in first place in the AL Central by 2 1/2 games over the Guardians, but losing two games in Baltimore plus Correa for a stretch has put a damper on the good vibes.
