Carlos Correa wasn’t within the Twins lineup this weekend resulting from what was initially described as a bruised proper heel. Nonetheless, Correa and Minnesota supervisor Rocco Baldelli advised reporters (together with The Athletic’s Dan Hayes) that the shortstop is coping with a case of plantar fasciitis in his proper foot, as was revealed in an MRI taken final night time.
That is the second consecutive 12 months that plantar fasciitis has emerged as a problem for Correa, although final season’s damage was situated in his left foot. Correa described his present problem as not “as dangerous as final 12 months. Final 12 months I performed via numerous ache. The primary sport I performed right here was discomfort.” A visit to the injured listing doesn’t look like within the works for now, as Correa didn’t even totally rule out taking part in in Tuesday’s All-Star Sport, although he famous that the All-Star break can be useful in managing his foot drawback.
“We’re taking the precautions that we have to take proper now earlier than it will get worse,” Correa stated. “We type of know how you can handle it, all the data now we have from final 12 months. I feel I’ll be prepared for the second half.”
Plantar fasciitis is in the end a pain-tolerance sort of damage, so theoretically, Correa might be capable of keep on the sector so long as he is ready to deal with what generally is a very painful case of irritation within the foot and heel space. In fact, taking part in and taking part in nicely are two various things, as Correa’s makes an attempt to largely attempt to play the ache in his left foot in 2023 resulted in subpar efficiency. Correa hit .230/.312/.399 over 580 plate appearances and likewise had below-average defensive metrics at shortstop, and he held off an IL journey till late September after Minnesota had clinched a playoff berth.
Correa made it clear that he doesn’t need a repeat of 2023, as “I don’t simply wish to be a physique on the sector….Final 12 months, one factor I discovered is individuals don’t care when you go on the market and play harm. They’re at all times going to speak about your efficiency and that solely. I’m simply going to be sure that after I’m on the sector, I’m not simply someone that’s simply standing there. I’m going to be Carlos Correa.”
Although Correa missed a few weeks in April with a minor indirect pressure, he has actually returned to his traditional kind this season. Correa is hitting .308/.377/.520 with 13 homers over 317 PA, together with his 152 wRC+ is on tempo to be a private better of a full season. His efficiency is an enormous purpose why the Twins discover themselves once more in a postseason place heading into the All-Star break, although Minnesota is in a wild card slot, and entered Sunday’s motion 4.5 video games behind the Guardians for first place within the AL Central.
A decent pennant race will once more make Correa desperate to play as typically as attainable, so he and the Twins must watch out about how they handle his taking part in time with a purpose to preserve him each wholesome and efficient. The general well being of the Twins’ infield is one other problem, as Royce Lewis, Jose Miranda, Alex Kirilloff, Austin Martin, and Kyle Farmer are all on the 10-day IL, leaving Minnesota fairly skinny on depth choices.