Simmons Placed on COVID-IL, Riddle Added

[Seth Stohs]

The Minnesota Twins announced this morning that shortstop Andrelton Simmons has been placed on the COVID-IL. JT Riddle has been added to the 40-man roster and called up. Alex Kirilloff is the 27th man for today's doubleheader and making his second MLB debut! More notes from today.With a doubleheader today at Target Field against the Red Sox, the Twins find themselves without their starting shortstop. Andrelton Simmons has shown his defensive prowess already, but he's also been hitting so far this spring. The 31-year-old from Curacao is hitting .355/.474/.452 (.925) with three doubles through the first ten games.

 

Simmons tested positive for COVID earlier today and placed on the COVID-IL. Derek Falvey noted that Simmons was experiencing some minor symptoms. All Twins players were tested this morning and the rest were cleared. That said, as we know, COVID can linger for a few days before showing up on a test.

 

JT Riddle was brought in on a minor league contract in spring training. Like Simmons, Riddle is a defensive whiz, capable of playing all around the infield and in centerfield too.

 

Simmons has been public about his thoughts on COVID and vaccinations. Before the season started, he tweeted his thoughts and reason for not getting vaccinated.

 

 

Twins players and their families were offered the COVID vaccine last Thursday. Most players did, and MLB has stated that when 85% of team personnel are vaccinated, they will consider loosening some of the restrictions.

 

MLB Debut (Part 2)

 

Alex Kirilloff was called up as the team's 27th man for the double header today. He is in the lineup, playing left field and batting sixth in the first game. It will be his Major League (regular season) debut.

 

For those curious about his service time, Kirilloff will receive one day of service time. As the 27th man, he will need to be sent back to the alternate site. He won't receive a second day of service time until he is recalled again.

 

Activating the Bringer of Rain

 

The Twins expect to activate Josh Donaldson between games and for him to be in the lineup. He is returning from his hamstring injury. He has been working out and played in some simulated games at CHS Field.

 

Real Deal Akil?

 

On Tuesday night, Akil Baddoo hit his fourth home run of the young season off of Jake Odorizzi (who made his Astros debut last night).

 

 

Baddoo has certainly been one of the best stories in baseball so far this season. The Detroit Tigers seem to be enjoying it, and their Instagram page says it all. In his first eight MLB games, after playing just 29 games above Low-A ball (in 2019), Baddoo is hitting .391/.400/1.043 (.1.443) with a double, a triple and four homers. And that walk-off winner against the Twins last week.

 

 

The Twins also lost RHP Tyler Wells to the Orioles in the Rule 5 draft. He has pitched to a 4.76 ERA over four games and 5 2/3 innings out of the bullpen.

 

 

It's Kenta Maeda and Jose Berrios today for the Twins.

 

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[AceWrigley]

From article: "The Minnesota Twins announced this morning that shortstop Andrelton Simmons has been played on the COVID-IL."

 

The dude's been played.

[Shaitan]

Hell of a pitching duo for a DH.

 

Love the "second MLB debut" line.

 

I will reluctantly refrain from further comment.

[Wercor]

Terrible lineup today!!

[puckstopper1]

Who got pushed off the 40 man to add Riddle, or does the COVID list open a spot?

[mikelink45]

I hope Alex hits the ball so well that the Twins are embarrassed when they send him back down.

 

Poor Gordon has to feel really left out.  He could have come up for a debut instead of Riddle.

[amjgt]

Unfortunately, many of the Twins who did get vaccinated last Friday might not have had time to build up their initial immunity before being exposed, either by Simmons, or by whoever infected Simmons. 

 

Definitely in for a few days of holding our collective breath.

[Dodecahedron]

Kudos to Baddoo for teeing off on an 85mph meatball from Odorizzi. I admit, this gave me flashbacks of the footage of ByungHo Park teeing off on those in the KBO. Let's hope Odorizzi tosses a few of those to Sano later in the year.

 

Too bad about Simmons. We all hope his symptoms remain mild. He sent out that tweet only a couple of weeks ago. I don't understand the "personal reasons" thing. The whole "Give me liberty of give me death!" line being directed toward a virus seems like a strange decision, given that the virus has no ears and does not care.

[prouster]

 

Poor Gordon has to feel really left out.  He could have come up for a debut instead of Riddle.

Why?

 

Re the topic of this thread: I hope Simmons hasn't spread the virus through the club house. I also hope he hasn't spread any vaccine skepticism. Sounds like most of the team has already been jabbed, though.

[Squirrel]

 

Why?

 

Re the topic of this thread: I hope Simmons hasn't spread the virus through the club house. I also hope he hasn't spread any vaccine skepticism. Sounds like most of the team has already been jabbed, though.

From the Twins website:

 

"The organization spent much of Wednesday morning conducting contact tracing protocols. By the time Falvey addressed media an hour and a half before the first game, he said the Twins had cleared every player and staff member who had been tested in the initial phase of the protocols."

 

https://www.mlb.com/twins/news/andrelton-simmons-placed-on-covid-19-injured-list

[KirbyDome89]

Good to see dutchoven45 getting some shine on TD. Twitter....

[KFEY93]

Good for Simmons for voicing his opinion and asking for people to respect his choice. We should all respect each others CHOICE when it comes down to this. No one should be forced to do anything. He'll be 100% back to normal in less than 48 hrs I imagine. 

[Dodecahedron]

 

He'll be 100% back to normal in less than 48 hrs I imagine. 

 

Ah, too bad. He will be sick for 2 days and be in mandatory isolation on the Covid-IL for at least 10 days, followed by more testing and a physical before he can return. According to MLB rules, the post-covid physical will include a heart-stress test, which you probably know* is not fun at all. If he had gotten the vaccine, he may not have had to sit around for 8 days doing nothing and would not have had to go through all the doctors prodding at him for another few days, and instead could have had fun travelling with his teammates and playing baseball.

 

*Heart stress tests are an exercise where you work your heart to the maximum, then hold your breath and sit as still as possible so the doctor(s) can read your heart rate. As you might imagine, holding your breath and sitting still when your body most needs oxygen not much fun.

[prouster]

 

Good for Simmons for voicing his opinion and asking for people to respect his choice. We should all respect each others CHOICE when it comes down to this. No one should be forced to do anything. He'll be 100% back to normal in less than 48 hrs I imagine. 

There's nothing to respect if he winds up getting someone else sick.

[ashbury]

Who got pushed off the 40 man to add Riddle, or does the COVID list open a spot?

Yes.

 

[ashbury]

Who got pushed off the 40 man to add Riddle, or does the COVID list open a spot?

From the MLBTR article : "Simmons won’t occupy a spot on the 40-man roster while on the Covid-19 list, so an additional corresponding move to accommodate Riddle isn’t necessary."

 

...  for now. Something will have to be done when Simmons returns. Ten days (or whatever) is an eternity in roster management, though.

 

[USAFChief]

Who got pushed off the 40 man to add Riddle, or does the COVID list open a spot?

Who got pushed off the 40 man?

 

No wonder Astudillo was at 1st base for today's 1st game.

 

Who's had a good run through. Long career.

[Squirrel]

This is not a covid discussion group, beyond discussing the protocols for the players. While we all share differing opinions on individual rights and choices, this is not a platform to present misinformation or conspiracy theory half-truths. Keep to baseball.

 

And regardless of whatever differing opinions we have, treat one another respectfully and no name calling.

[Danchat]

Holy cow, Baddoo. I expected a guy like him, with zero experience against MLB pitching, to struggle like Sano is at the plate. Instead he's tearing it up... and honestly I want to see him keep succeeding. It's a fun story, and a rare occasion when a Rule 5 guy takes off like this.

[AceWrigley]

 

Holy cow, Baddoo. I expected a guy like him, with zero experience against MLB pitching, to struggle like Sano is at the plate. Instead he's tearing it up... and honestly I want to see him keep succeeding. It's a fun story, and a rare occasion when a Rule 5 guy takes off like this.

Rookie of the Year!

[VivaBomboRivera!]

"Simmons has been public about his thoughts on COVID and vaccinations. Before the season started, he tweeted his thoughts and reason for not getting vaccinated."

 

And now apparently those chickens have come home to roost.

 

:-(