Joe Mauer Plays In Minor League Game; Still No Timetable For Return To Twins Following Injury

Joe Mauer is slowly but surely progressing, but the emphasis definitely needs to be on slowly.

The Minnesota Twins catcher, who has been on the disabled list for the majority of the season due to various injuries, took part in an extended spring training game on Wednesday at the Lee County Sports Complex in front of no more than two dozen fans according to the Fort Myers News-Press.

The rules were bent a bit for the All-Star as Mauer was his team's third batter in each of the first three innings before heading to the clubhouse to ice his ailments.

In those three at-bats, Mauer ended up going 0-for-2 with a run scored after flying out to center in the first, reaching on an error in the second following a nine-pitch at-bat and then finally drawing a walk and eventually scoring a run in the third inning.

"He's progressing," Twins minor league field coordinator Joel Lepel the newspaper. "He had a good day. There is no timetable. We want to get him into position to play the rest of the season. He's giving an effort. We're going to be patient and cautious."

For more on Mauer's return to the Twins, whenever it is, be sure to check this story out over at Twinkie Town.

Joe Mauer Injury Update: Catcher To Play Rehab Game in Fort Myers This Week

Joe Mauer has been on the disabled list since April 13 with bilateral leg weakness, but the injured Minnesota Twins catcher is expected to make a rehab appearance with the club's Fort Myers, Fla., affiliate sometime this week.

"He's doing a lot of running, ran the bases and everything's going good," manager Ron Gardenhire told 1500 ESPN on Sunday. "He still had a little bit of the soreness in his arm, and that's just from -- he's throwing, doing all the throwing and stuff like that. The plan is for him Monday or Tuesday to get into a game, start out as a DH and then you work your way into the rest of it."

Mauer wasn't in the lineup for Monday's game, but seems to be returning to health as the Pioneer Press's Kelsie Smith reported that he threw from 120-feet while preparing for a possible appearance on Tuesday.

While this news is good, Gardenhire told 1500 ESPN that he's leery about pushing his All-Star catcher to return before he's fully healthy.

"It's almost impossible for me to start pushing. We've seen already, he came out and it didn't work out. He said he was ready. I watched this, and then I watched the young man come in and was really, really sore," Gardenhire said. "It's impossible for me as a manager to try to force-feed anything. I'm just letting the training staff and the doctors do their thing, and when they tell him he's ready, he's going to be ready. I can't really push it any more than that."

Either way, this news is positive in at least Mauer seems to be inching closer to returning to the Twins.

Joe Mauer Headed To Rehab Assignment In Fort Myers

Our good friends over at Twinkie Town are reporting, via multiple sources, that catcher Joe Mauer is heading to Fort Myers, Florida, to start rehabilitating.

Mauer has been sidelined since April 12 with bi-lateral leg weakness, a condition that means exactly what it sounds like, a weakening of both legs. Nobody seems to be entirely sure what brought the condition on, but whatever it was, it has caused Mauer to lose a lot of weight.

Mauer started taking batting practice last week, and only played in eight games before the condition took him out of the lineup. He was hitting just .235 before the injury, and only had one extra-base hit in those eight games.

A .235 average doesn't sound terribly impressive, particularly for Mauer, but he looks like Johnny Bench compared to what the team has done with the catcher position since Mauer went out. The three players that have taken turns at catcher since Mauer was sidelined. . .Drew Butera, Steve Holm, and Rene Rivera. . .were a combined 11-for-100 going into Monday night's game. To contrast that, National League pitchers are hitting a collective .143 for the season.

Joe Mauer Injury: Twins Catcher To Begin Throwing And Swinging

The Minnesota Twins are struggling mightily while they wait for their All-Star catcher Joe Mauer to return from his bi-lateral leg weakness. Because the symptoms of the injury are so hard to define, it has been hard to put a label on Mauer's progress, and therefore form an accurate timeline as to when the Twins might be able to expect Mauer back in the fold. But according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Mauer has begun throwing and catching, which is a good sign that his condition is starting to get better.

Assistant trainer Dave Pruemer said Tuesday there is no timetable for Mauer's return but the catcher is over much of the soreness in his legs and feels stronger.

His condition was complicated by a viral infection, that caused Mauer to miss some valuable rehab time. But the fact that his soreness is no longer an issue means that he can focus on rehabbing with his full commitment, and that his return is probably on the horizon.

Joe Mauer Injury Update: Catcher's Improving, But Still No Timetable For Return To Twins

Joe Mauer’s injury is said to be improving, but the most recent update still doesn’t have any sort of timetable for the catcher’s return to the Minnesota Twins lineup aside from a rehab assignment being in his future.

“It feels like I’m finally turning a corner,” Mauer told the Star Tribune after being listed on the Disabled List since April 12 with bilateral leg weakness.

Mauer was eligible to come off the DL on Thursday, but according to Twins trainer Rick McWane, the catcher is still working to improve in his strength after losing 15 pounds due to a viral infection last week that is apparently unrelated to the leg weakness.

“He’s still in the strength phase of his program,” head trainer Rick McWane told the Star Tribune. “He’s getting stronger, he’s feeling a lot better, he’s improved his flexibility, improved his strength in his legs, his upper body, his shoulder, his elbow — everything’s getting stronger.”

Through it all, Mauer seems to be keeping the right attitude.

“I just kind of had a bad storm the last couple weeks,” he said. “I feel confident once I get healthy, and get where I need to be, that it won’t be a problem.”

Hopefully he’s healthy sooner rather than later as the Twins could definitely use hit bat in the lineup as soon as Mauer is ready to return.

Joe Mauer Injury: Twins Catcher Won't Be Able To Return On Thursday

Joe Mauer will not be able to return to the Twins on Thursday when he is eligible to come off the DL, according to Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune. Mauer reportedly lost about of week of recovery for his bi-lateral leg weakness due to a viral infection that he was suffering from at the same time. That delayed his trip to Baltimore to meet a specialist, and likely forced him to wait to really get into his rehabilitation.

(Twins General Manager Bill) Smith said he isn't sure whether Mauer will be heading on a minor league rehabilitation assignment, but manager Ron Gardenhire has said that is a good possibility.

The Twins offense has suffered without Mauer in the lineup, and they weren't even that potent when he was playing. We don't have any word on how Mauer's rehabilitation is going now that he is free of the viral infection, or if the team has set a timetable for when they hope he returns.

Joe Mauer Injury: No Timetable Set For Return, Rehab Assignment Likely

It's been more than a week now since Joe Mauer last suited up for the Twins, and we don't really know anything more now than we did. According to Phil Mackey, Ron Gardenhire does not yet have a timetable set for Mauer's return to the field, and that it will probably have to come after a rehab stint. If there is in fact no timetable yet for Mauer's return, that probably means that his condition has not gotten much better since he went on the disabled list, which is not good news.

Rhett Bollinger reports that Mauer is eligible to come off the DL on Thursday, but echoes that he will likely have to play some rehab games before he is able to rejoin the Twins.He also tweeted that Mauer has not been around the team much during his stay on the DL, but rather that he has been "laying low."

The Twins have Monday off before starting up a three game set against the Tamp Bay Rays. Check out Twinkie Town for more on the team.

Joe Mauer Injury: Twins Catcher Meeting With Specialist In Baltimore On Monday

Joe Mauer traveled with the team on Sunday to Baltimore, and will be meeting with a specialist at Johns Hopkins Hospital on Monday, according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune. Mauer will be meeting with the same Doctor who treated  his inflamed sacroiliac joint in 2009 in what is described as an annual fallow-up exam. It just so happens that the exam is happening while he is experiencing discomfort from his bi-lateral leg weakness.

There was some speculation that the discomfort Mauer was experiencing was due to a viral infection that Mauer is just getting over, but he isn't buying it.

"I'm not a doctor," the All-Star catcher said Sunday, "but I don't feel like they are related. Before I started feeling sick, it was going to be done. I couldn't go out there and play. I needed to take a step back and not play; it is just making things worse."

If that really is the case, than Mauer's injury becomes something to worry about for Twins' fans. We'll have more on the results of that appointment when they become known.

Joe Mauer Injury: Mauer Disagrees With Twins' Assessment Of His Injury

The Minnesota Twins say that the reason that catcher Joe Mauer is suffering from bilateral leg weakness is because of a viral infection that he has been suffering from.

Mauer, on the other hand? Yeah, he's not really saying that at all.

"I'm not a doctor," the All-Star catcher said Sunday, "but I don't feel like they are related. Before I started feeling sick, it was going to be done. I couldn't go out there and play. I needed to take a step back and not play; it is just making things worse."

Mauer has spent the past couple of days in his hotel room in St. Petersburg while the Twins were taking on the Tampa Bay Rays. He has, apparently, lost 12 pounds over the course of the last two days.

The Twins all-everything catcher will travel with the team to Baltimore today, as he will see the same specialist that worked on his inflamed sacroiliac joint in 2009 as part of an annual check-up. He could fly back to the Twin Cities as early as this evening to begin his rehab work.

Joe Mauer Injury: Twins Catcher Will Travel With Team To Baltimore On Sunday

We had reported earlier that Joe Mauer would be in Baltimore this afternoon for a meeting with a leg specialist in the hopes of treating his bi-lateral leg weakness. But according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune, Mauer will wait to go to Baltimore until the team travels there for a series on Sunday.

The reason being that Mauer also has the flu, so he will wait to fly until later this weekend until he is able to fly. Once he arrives in Baltimore, Mauer is expected to visit with the doctor who treated his inflamed right sacroiliac joint in 2009.

Mauer also had to spend some time in the Hospital last night because he was experiencing some flu-like symptoms. But according to GM Bill Smith Mauer has been discharged from the Hospital after receiving some treatment and is now back with the team at the hotel. So we'll have to wait for the results of that consultation until early next week when Mauer visits with the specialist. Hopefully if the flu has subsided a little bit by then, his condition will be feeling a little bit better before he even meets with the doctor.

Joe Mauer Injury: Drew Butera Will Start At Catcher While Mauer Is On The DL

The Minnesota Twins have put their everyday catcher Joe Mauer on the DL with a condition known as bi-lateral leg weakness. While he is on the DL, the Twins will replace him with Drew Butera in the Starting Lineup, according to Aaron Gleeman of NBC Sports.

Butera is a very good defensive catcher, but he hasn't shown the ability to hit at all, not even during his time in the minor leagues. Gleeman even referred to Butera as "perhaps MLB's worst hitter," which means he probably won't be able to make too many Twins fans forget about Mauer while he is on the DL.

It is worth noting that the Twins had a very food catching prospect in their minor league system last season in Wilson Ramos, but they traded him to the Washington Nationals at the deadline for reliever Matt Capps. Ramos has hits in ten of his 22 at-bats so far this season, good for a .455 average, while he splits time with Pudge Rodriguez in the Nation's Capital. Hindsight is obviously 20/20, but this would have been a good time to still have Ramos in the organization.

Joe Mauer Injury: Twins Catcher Visiting Specialist On Friday

The Twins put All-Star catcher Joe Mauer on the DL yesterday while he reportedly deals with a condition known as bi-lateral leg weakness. The injury not only affects the strength of his legs, but also is reportedly affecting his shoulders and hips. According to that post from SB Nation's Baseball Nation, Mauer will head to Baltimore on Friday to visit a specialist, and we should have more information on the injury and potential timetable for return after we learn the results of that consultation.

Our Minnesota Twins blog Twinkie Town did some research on the injury and has little bit more information.

One of the most common causes, as noted by leo3375, is influenza. Since Mauer currently has the flu it's easy to lean on it as the cause, but we'll still need to wait until we have more information later today.

Michael Rand of the Minneapolis Star Tribune is using this latest injury to raise questions about whether or not Mauer should be playing catcher on a full time basis. He does not think that this injury will be the end of his career at the position, but does wonder whether or not it is worth it to put your franchise player at the position that causes the most stress on your body when he has the athleticism and talent to succeed at other places on the diamond.

We'll be covering the injury in this stream, but head on over to Baseball Nation for more on Mauer's situation, and check out Twinkie Town for more on the Twins.