Alex Kirilloff, Minnesota Twins May Not Be On Same Page Regarding Latest Injury

Last week, Alex Kirilloff was demoted to Triple-A by the Minnesota Twins, due to poor performance, stemming all the way back to April. Instead of reporting to St. Paul, he waited a week, then surprisingly showed up at Target Field and reported a back injury to Rocco Baldelli. The Twins weren’t pleased.

Now on the 10-day injured list, this saga doesn’t appear to be getting better, and that’s not a great reality for anyone involved. For weeks the Minnesota Twins had been aware of Alex Kirilloff’s reported back injury , but he had been receiving treatment and was playing through things with little reported issue.

Minnesota Twins not one the same page with Alex Kirilloff?

That’s why his revelation came as a shock to manager Rocco Baldelli, which led to the manager chiding his outfielder publicly for lack of communication .

Now, after receiving a second opinion on his back injury, there appears to be a divide on exactly what is going on, and what to do about it. Thursday, Darren “Doogie” Wolfson (KSTP, SKOR North) reported what sounds like a schism between the Twins and one of their former top prospects.

“On Alex Kirilloff, there is some… I don’t know if disagreement is the right word… but I don’t know if the Twins doctors and the second opinion he sought, I don’t know if that doctor and the Twins doctors, are exactly, like 100% completely on the same page. So, there’s some more conversations that need to take place there, on Alex Kirilloff’s back injury.”

Darren Wolfson on the Alex Kirilloff situation

When Phil Mackey posed the question about a possible return, asking if he is just “on the shelf indefinitely” , Wolfson goes on to report that there is “no definitive timetable.” I’m told there’s a “definite disconnect with the Twins medical staff” , which doesn’t sound like a positive development.

Alex Kirilloff may be done for the Minnesota Twins

Placed on the 10-day injured list on June 13, Kirilloff is already eligible to be playing, but still is not in St. Paul. Could this be the end of Alex’s time with the Minnesota Twins. We can’t tell the future, but at this point, it isn’t looking good, especially with the trade deadline looming.

The reality is that he has been unable to play through injury, and has tried to do so in recent seasons at a detriment to the team. He literally had his wrist broken and shaved down, and his career has not gone even close to a shred of what was hoped for from him.

Related: Minnesota Twins Calling Up Top Pitching Prospect

There is definitely a level of influence coming from Krilloff’s agent, Scott Boras. It seems obvious that both sides may have reached a place where a fresh start is inevitable. The problem for Minnesota is that they would be trading a 26-year-old, former first round pick, under team control through 2027… for peanuts.

Any return for Kirilloff, a Pittsburgh native, will be minimal. Best case scenario, the Twins can throw him into a deal that pushes a trade partner over the top on something they covet, before the July 31st trade deadline. That still requires AK to show up until then, presumably for St. Paul.

Kirilloff has a career 101 OPS+, and calling him a league average player while being below average offensively, and without a productive defensive position is pretty tough. Matt Wallner could have been a trade chip a few weeks ago, but moving him while getting nothing in the future from Kirilloff could be costly to the organization’s corner outfield depth.

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