By Betsy Helfand | [email protected] | St. Paul Pioneer Press

Twins catcher Christian Vázquez was hospitalized for an infection in his left shoulder the Twins believe stemmed from a cut on his elbow. It was first brought to their attention on Tuesday night in Detroit and by Wednesday, Vázquez was having trouble raising his arm.

"It's obviously serious in nature," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "When you deal with an infection that has now basically gotten his shoulder pretty swelled up and uncomfortable, you need to get it taken care of."

Baldelli said Vázquez had gotten his shoulder drained and was going to get it "washed out."

The catcher was placed on the injured list before the Twins' game against the Kansas City Royals on Friday night with the Twins calling up Jhonny Pereda, whom they claimed off of waivers from the Athletics last month, to take his spot on the active roster.

"We think he's going to be fine," Baldelli said. "He's going to be looked at under observation for a while, just to make sure he's OK. That's where he is right now. He didn't waste any time bringing it up and our medical staff got right on it and he basically got looked at right away."

Ryan Jeffers started behind the plate on Friday and will take on an extra load in the coming days, though the Twins also have Pereda and Mickey Gasper who could see opportunities at catcher.

When either Gasper or Pereda makes his first start, it will mark the first time since the 2021 season that someone other than Jeffers or Vázquez has made a start behind the plate, an impressive feat considering the physically demanding nature of the position.

"It's almost hard to believe, almost impossible to do," Baldelli said. "You're not going to find too many people, too many teams that have had that luxury of having guys that are that dependable and durable and able to handle that."

Simeon Woods Richardson was upbeat and cheerful on Friday, a noticeable difference from just days earlier. Woods Richardson was dealing with what Baldelli described as a "stomach issue," while the team was in Cleveland last weekend.

Unbeknownst to them, that stomach issue was actually a parasite. The starting pitcher was placed on the injured list and traveled back to Minneapolis, rather than to Detroit with his teammates, where he got the diagnosis. The parasite, he believes, came from something he ate.

But after getting treated earlier in the week, Woods Richardson has resumed throwing and was feeling good once again. He dropped some weight but it wasn't "that much thankfully," and is counting down the days until he's able to return.

"We're all back to normal," Woods Richardson said. "I'm actually glad. Just knowing the fact of what it was, cause I've heard some cases where people don't come out on the other side of that."

Byron Buxton (rib inflammation) is getting closer to return, but he is "not quite there yet," Baldelli said. Baldelli said he has yet to reach the point where he is fully able to do all of his baseball activity pain-free. "There are still things he needs to build up and be able to do at his normal, explosive level." ... First-round draft pick Marek Houston threw out a ceremonial first pitch on Friday.