Josh Donaldson left off Twins wild-card roster due to injured calf

Third baseman and one-time American League Most Valuable Player Josh Donaldson won't join the Minnesota Twins for their wild-card series against the Houston Astros because of the calf injury that sidelined him the last two days of the regular season.

Donaldson, 34, participated in Monday's batting practice sessions at Target Field, as ESPN explained, but the Twins relegated him to their taxi squad on Tuesday. This means Donaldson could potentially replace an injured player for Wednesday's Game 2 or Game 3 on Thursday (if necessary).

"He wasn't ready to go this series, and we felt the best thing to do was to continue to get him treatment and see where hopefully it is after this series if we're lucky enough to move on," Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey told reporters. 

Marwin Gonzalez replaced Donaldson at third base and in the lineup for Tuesday's series opener. The 31-year-old hit .211 with five home runs and 22 RBI during the pandemic-shortened season. Donaldson, meanwhile, began the final week of September batting .222 with six homers and 11 RBI across 28 games.