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Twins place Nathan on DL, call up James
MINNEAPOLIS — Twins reliever Joe Nathan was placed on the 15-day disabled list after Saturday’s 1-0 win over the Angels with a right flexor muscle strain, suffering his first real setback since having Tommy John surgery last year.
The results will also be sent to Dr. David Altchek, who performed Nathan’s surgery last March.
“We obviously hoped he wouldn’t have any problems, but I wouldn’t say it’s uncommon to have a setback here or there with what he’s going through,” head trainer Rick McWane said before Saturday’s game. “He’s getting better, but it’s just a matter of him getting over the hump.”
McWane and Nathan said that no one was especially worried about the setback, they just wanted to be cautious with Nathan, who is only 14 months removed from the Tommy John surgery he underwent just prior to the start of last season.
Nathan said he expects to take some time to allow his arm to heal with the treatment he’s been undergoing this week before resuming a throwing program. After that, he said he thought he would go down to Fort Myers, Fla., and throw in a couple extended spring training games.
“Just get back to what worked so well for me then,” Nathan said. “Using more fastballs, get my extension where it needs to be. I feel like since Day 1, I’ve been competing and just trying to put up zeros any way I could.
“I kind of got away from what I’ve always done well. So, I’ve been throwing a lot of breaking balls, a lot of curve balls, and that’s not really going to help me with my extension so much. That’s almost hindering me from getting extended when I try to throw fastballs.”
Nathan was thinking positively about going to the DL, saying he thought it was “going to be a good thing for me when I do get back and finish the rest of the season.” As far as a timeframe for his return, Nathan said he is prepared for anything from 10 days to a month.
Anything longer than that, he said, would be unexpected.
He added that while you never want to go on the disabled list, the decision comes a little differently for him with the way the Twins have been playing through the first two months of the season.
“If we were closer to the front of this pack and competing, it would be a lot tougher for me to go on the DL,” Nathan said. “But with us scuffling right now, I think it at least makes the decision easier to go in, take care of this and make sure we do the right thing for me going into the rest of the season and on into next year.”
James will join the Twins in time for Sunday’s series finale against the Angels.
In 19 appearances with the Red Wings this season, James posted a 1-1 record with a 1.57 ERA, allowing just five earned runs over 28 2/3 innings of work. James also recorded 37 strikeouts against nine walks.
“He’s pitched well,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Chuck James has thrown the ball well.”
In the past, James had some success with the Braves as a starter. Over four years with Atlanta, James went 24-19 with a 4.61 ERA in 55 starts. He allowed 153 earned runs in 298 2/3 innings, striking out 223 with 120 walks.
He also posted a 2.12 ERA in nine relief appearances with the Braves, allowing four runs on 10 hits in 17 innings.
James’ addition to the roster gives the Twins a wealth of left-handed options in the bullpen, as he joins fellow lefties Dusty Hughes, Phil Dumatrait and Jose Mijares, who could rejoin the club as soon as Monday in Detroit. Asked about it after the move was announced, Gardenhire said he just wants the best pitchers available, whether they’re lefties or righties.
“It’s an interesting situation, I’ve never had that many lefties out in the bullpen,” Gardenhire said. “[Rochester pitching coach] Bobby Cuellar said that Chuck James gets them out. It’s not always pretty, he’s up in the zone a little bit, but he knows how to get them out. He’s pitched in the big leagues, so hopefully he’ll continue that here.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Thome out of lineup with shoulder issue
MINNEAPOLIS — Inflammation in his left shoulder kept Twins designated hitter Jim Thome out of the lineup Saturday, but he hoped it would only keep him out for one game.
Thome pinch hit in the ninth Saturday for catcher Rene Rivera, striking out on seven pitches. He was scheduled to get a cortisone shot after the game.
He said it was an issue that has been bothering him for some time, and it just got a little worse this weekend.
“We want to stay on top of it before it gets worse,” Thome said. “That’s the main thing, I don’t want to let the thing go and then let it get worse.”
Both Thome and head trainer Rick McWane said he could be back in the lineup by Sunday. Thome left Friday’s game after drawing a walk in the bottom of the seventh, but he confirmed that it was only for a pinch runner and had nothing to do with his shoulder.
Thome said the injury affects him toward the back end of his swing, and it’s not anything he’s ever dealt with in the past.
“When I get here and then I roll over, I get it in the back on that bottom rotation,” Thome said while demonstrating a swing in front of his locker. “It’s got to be from my swing because it’s my left shoulder and I don’t throw a baseball [any] more. So it’s just from probably years of a little wear and tear.”
Twins beat 5/24
Cuddyer sits on Tuesday; Young in lineup
MINNEAPOLIS — After leaving Monday’s game with tightness in his right hip, Michael Cuddyer said he felt better on Tuesday, though he still remained out of the Twins lineup.
Cuddyer injured the hip during his sixth-inning at-bat on Monday, saying he felt it grab after a foul ball. He went through all his usual pregame activities before Tuesday’s game against the Mariners and hopes to return soon.
“He felt good about the activities we did inside; he’s out here now testing it out to see how it goes,” head trainer Rick McWane said Tuesday during batting practice. “He doesn’t anticipate that it’s going to be a major problem, and he could be available [Wednesday].”
Left fielder Delmon Young, who also left Monday’s game with an injury, was back in the lineup on Tuesday. Young had a shin contusion after fouling a ball off his leg in the sixth inning, but felt good enough to play Tuesday night.
Mijares, Perkins progressing; Slowey’s status unclear
MINNEAPOLIS — Head trainer Rick McWane gave an update on Tuesday on injured Twins relievers Jose Mijares, Glen Perkins and Kevin Slowey.
Mijares threw a light session off the mound on Tuesday, and will throw in the bullpen on Wednesday.
“If that goes well, he’ll go out on a rehab assignment somewhere this weekend,” McWane said.
McWane added that Perkins is still making good progress with his strained right oblique.
Slowey, whose MRI on his oblique and abdomen came back negative on Monday, will see a doctor on Wednesday morning to check for a possible hernia.
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was asked if he was expecting to make a move with Slowey going somewhere after Tuesday’s game. Still unsure if Slowey had any sort of injury, Gardenhire indicated the decision would not come until after Slowey’s visit to the doctor.
“I’m still waiting to see what we have,” Gardenhire said. “He’s going to see a hernia doctor, we’re going to see if there’s any issues there, and if that’s clear, then we’ll probably do something.”
Twins beat, 5/23
Slowey to pitch again soon, but not as reliever
By Jordan Schelling / MLB.com
“We’ll see what the best route is to go with him,” Gardenhire said. “We all know he needs to pitch. He’s basically told us he really can’t do this out of the ‘pen, and so now we’ve got to find another way, whether it’s Triple-A or whatever.
“That’s our only option, is send him down and let him start — it sounds to me like that.”
The Twins have three options now with Slowey: send him to the Minors to pitch, add him to the big league rotation or explore trade options.
Gardenhire said he would talk with Twins general manager Bill Smith and with Slowey to determine the best course of action. He added that Slowey would be unavailable out of the bullpen while they worked to figure out a solution.
“We’re going to get him in a situation where he can start,” Gardenhire said. “That’s how he needs to prepare to pitch, and he’s tried to get loose out there, it hasn’t worked out.
“I can’t tell a guy two innings before he’s going to pitch that, ‘You probably are going to pitch in two innings.’ It just doesn’t work that way in the bullpen.”
Cuddyer, Young exit game with minor injuries
MINNEAPOLIS — Two more injuries were added Monday night to the long list the Twins have already compiled this season. Fortunately, neither seems too serious.
Left fielder Delmon Young left with a left leg contusion after fouling a ball off his leg in the seventh inning and second baseman Michael Cuddyer left with a right hip strain after singling and scoring earlier in the frame.
Young’s injury was noticeable after the 8-7 10-inning loss to the Mariners, but it was not anything that he or the Twins expect would keep him out for long.
“It’s just bruised right on the knee. It’s just bending, it was too sore to try to go out there and try running around,” Young said.
“Hopefully it’s just one of those things where it’s just a bruise for a day, and the next day you’re able to come out and have less pain, and be able to run around and tolerate.”
Cuddyer walked with a noticeable limp after the game, but he did run well on Jim Thome’s home run before coming out of the game. He said he felt his hip grab a bit after a foul ball during his at-bat that resulted in an infield single.
“That’s the funny thing, and that’s what actually is encouraging, is that I was busting it pretty good and I was running pretty well until I saw it go out of the park,” Cuddyer said. “I was on third base when they signaled home run. So that’s what’s kind of encouraging to me.”
With so many players having spent time on the disabled list already this season — Young being one of them — losing either player for an extended period would be another blow to what has been a trying season so far in Minnesota.
Both players expressed a hope that they would be back sooner rather than later, and Cuddyer said it would take quite a bit to keep him out of the lineup.
“For me, it’s either you can play or you can’t,” Cuddyer said. “There’s a black and white line in between that, either you can or you can’t. If I can, I’ll be out there. And if I can’t, you know I can’t.”
Mauer, Nishioka nearly ready to get in games
MINNEAPOLIS — Second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka may play in games by the end of the week, Twins head trainer Rick McWane said before Monday’s game against the Mariners.
Nishioka, who has been sidelined since April 7 with a broken left fibula, has made a lot of progress in his rehabilitation at the club’s Spring Training facility in Fort Myers, Fla.
“[He] did very good today,” McWane said. “They’ve increased his workouts, he’s doing just about everything he can on the field. His agility drills are going great and he’s very close to playing in a game. We anticipate, maybe by the end of the week, he’ll be playing in games.”
All-Star catcher Joe Mauer also continues to rehab in Fort Myers, and is close to getting in a game as a designated hitter. There’s no date set, but Mauer could DH as soon as Tuesday.
Mauer’s activities were increased Monday, and he will continue to be evaluated daily to determine if he is game-ready. He threw well Monday, at 120 feet, with good strength.
“He was throwing the ball well up here. He went down to Florida and after his first workout down there, his shoulder was a little sore,” McWane said. “So they backed him off a little bit, but they said it was a lot better today.”
Lefty reliever Jose Mijares, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list May 15 with elbow soreness, will throw off the mound Tuesday. Mijares will throw a bullpen later this week, and the Twins will then decide what the plan is for him, McWane said.
Glen Perkins, who went on the DL on Sunday morning with a strained right oblique, was “feeling a lot better” and was scheduled to be checked out by the team doctors on Monday.
Outfielder Jason Repko had been on the disabled list with a right quad strain. He was activated Sunday and rejoined the Twins prior to Monday’s game against the Mariners.
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Twins 5/11
Young expected to rejoin team on Friday
MINNEAPOLIS — Left fielder Delmon Young, who has been on the 15-day disabled list since April 27 with a strained left oblique, is scheduled to play left field on Wednesday for the first time in three weeks.
Young, who batted five times in a designated hitter role on Tuesday for the Twins’ extended Spring Training club, is expected to play six innings in left field on Wednesday in Fort Myers, Fla. Barring any setbacks, Young will rejoin the club on Friday as the Twins open a three-game series against the Blue Jays.
Joining Young on the Twins daily injury report from head trainer Rick McWane were second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka and designated hitter Jim Thome, both of whom are also in Fort Myers.
Nishioka was scheduled on Wednesday to continue taking batting practice, ground balls and do some progressive running. Thome was scheduled on Wednesday to take batting practice.
After the injury report was completed, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was asked about the number of big leaguers rehabbing at the Spring Training complex.
“I’m not counting how many people are down there,” Gardenhire said. “I’m counting how many people are getting closer to coming back, that’s all.
“That’s our rehab site. I don’t think the number’s important. Well it might be important, but I think getting them back is what’s important. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Repko heads down to Twins’ spring complex
MINNEAPOLIS — Outfielder Jason Repko was the latest injured Twins player to head south to the club’s Spring Training complex, flying out Wednesday afternoon to Fort Myers, Fla.
Repko, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list on May 2 with a strained right quad, also worked out in the morning at Target Field before the Twins wrapped up their series with the Tigers.
As he heads to extended Spring Training, Repko will join Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Jim Thome in Fort Myers, as they continue to rehab their own injuries.
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