Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson exited in the third inning of Saturday’s game against the Royals with a tight right hamstring. The club said he was removed as a precaution and is considered day to day.
Donaldson doubled down the left-field line with two outs in the inning, but as he rounded first base to run to second, he came up hobbling. Donaldson slowly made his way to second base, narrowly getting his foot on the bag before Royals second baseman Hanser Alberto could apply the tag.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli and trainer Michael Salazar went out to check on Donaldson, who tested the hamstring out by running on the infield, but the club opted to remove him in favor of pinch-runner Nick Gordon.
It’s not the first time this season Donaldson has had issues with his hamstring. After doubling to the left-center gap in his first plate appearance of the year on Opening Day in Milwaukee, Donaldson also limped into second base. He wasn’t immediately removed from the game like he was on Saturday, but he didn’t make it back on the field in the bottom of the first inning as he was also removed with right hamstring tightness and eventually landed on the 10-day injured list.
Luis Arraez moved to third base in Donaldson’s place in the bottom of the inning as Gordon remained in the game in center field. Alex Kirilloff shifted from right field to left and Gilberto Celestino moved from center to right.
