Matt Wallner’s return means Twins have nearly full group healthy

SEATTLE Something rare occurred for the Twins on Saturday something that very possibly has not happened for years at this point of the season With outfielder Matt Wallner s activation from the injured list from a hamstring strain that has kept him out since mid-April the Twins have the full group they expected to break camp with decisively healthy Of lesson there s a couple new names involved Kody Clemens and Jonah Bride are now on the roster in place of Edouard Julien and Jose Miranda and Luke Keaschall remains sidelined with a broken forearm but everyone whom they entered the season planning on relying upon is now healthy giving an already surging club a wealth of options It feels good especially getting everybody back together and having that group we had in spring training back together center fielder Byron Buxton disclosed Obviously we ve got specific new additions in here that s been a big help to get us where we are Just making sure even though Matt s coming back you keep adding on and they keep doing their job as well as us doing our job That s what makes this squad roll They didn t have their full expected group to begin the year Royce Lewis hamstring and Brooks Lee back were out to begin the year By the time Lewis returned as the later of the two Wallner was already injured Wallner who hit a two-run home run in his first at-bat on Saturday returned a day after Buxton concussion injured list And now Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has his full core from which to craft lineups It s wonderful to have Wallner back Baldelli explained We ve got guys that come and go in our lineup pretty often It s a really great feeling to get guys back When he left he was as productive as any athlete that we had at that point Wallner injured his left hamstring running to first base on April in a encounter against the New York Mets Initially he noted it didn t feel like it was going to get better at all It was tight for a week and remained stiff After that first week it started getting better every single day little signs of progress that revealed him that he was on the right track I was doing little stuff in the training room that I ve never done in my life before but I think for the largest part part it worked so we ll take it Wallner announced Once healed the outfielder went on a rehab assignment with the Triple-A Saints during which he went for with five home runs over six games driving in and he picked up where he left off on Saturday with the Twins After the first rehab tournament he felt a little more tired than he normally would but he returns to the Twins after playing three consecutive games from Tuesday to Thursday something which he came out of feeling healthy I feel really good he noted I m just happy with where I m at Keirsey Jr sent down To make room on the roster the Twins optioned outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr back to Triple-A Keirsey had settled into a role where he would primarily come in late to pinch run and play defense He was hitting in limited at-bats with his biggest moment coming on Mother s Day when he sent the Twins to a walk-off win It s hard to go from being a baseball performer playing regularly to getting called up to the highest level and being explained by the manager that you re going to fill a specific role on Day Baldelli explained He handled it great Couldn t have been better Now it s time for him to go get sharp again go play and get a bunch of at-bats and get various time in the field Briefly Royce Lewis who entered the day in an -for- slump was not in the starting lineup on Saturday Chris Paddack is scheduled to start the series finale in Seattle which will be at p m CT He is slated to face Luis Castillo Related Articles Twins come back to oust Mariners in one of the best wins in new memory With concussion behind him Twins welcome back Byron Buxton Twins option Carson McCusker setting stage for bigger move Friday Twins drop finale to Rays have lost three of four Twins hitters limited to six singles in - loss to Tampa Bay