Denard Span Injury: Twins Outfielder Could Return Wednesday

Denard Span is eligible to come off the disabled list on Sept. 12, and manager Ron Gardenhire has indicated that he may be in the starting lineup as soon as he's activated on Wednesday. Via the Pioneer Press:

Nobody's told me anything different. He could possibly be in the lineup tomorrow (Wednesday). Everything's been going good. He's been doing his swings. He'll tell me if he's OK to go.

Span was placed on the disabled list Aug. 30 with a strained shoulder. It was originally feared that Span could miss the remainder of the 2012 season, but it no longer looks like the injury was as serious as it was initially thought to be. Span is batting .286 with three homeruns while playing generally excellent defense in center field.

The Twins will be hosting the Kansas City Royals Wednesday night. The first pitch will be thrown at 7:10 p.m. CT. P.J. Walters is scheduled to start for the Twins against Luke Hochevar and the Royals.

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Twins Roster Moves: Matt Carson Returns To Take Denard Span's Place

The Twins announced Friday that they recalled outfielder Matt Carson from Triple-A Rochester to replace injured outfielder Denard Span.

Span was placed on the 15-day DL on Thursday retroactive to Tuesday with a nagging shoulder strain.

Carson has hit .282 with 14 home runs and 53 RBIs in 115 games with Rochester this season. He also played five games with the Twins earlier this month, going 8-for-21 with a double and an RBI before being optioned back to Rochester.

Span is hoping this DL stint doesn't end his season, according to the Star Tribune:

"Hopefully these next 10 days it'll heal enough to where I can finish the season off and start that healing process again during the offseason," Span said. "But I'm just going to listen to my body. ... I'm going to be smart when I come off the DL and do what I think is best."

Denard Span Injury: Twins Outfielder Could Be Out For Season

The Minnesota Twins placed injured outfielder Denard Span (shoulder strain) on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday in a move retroactive to Aug. 28, and now it appears the 28-year-old speedster could be done for the season. Span will be eligible to return on Sept. 12, but Span and the team may decide to play it safe with his strained sternoclavicular joint (via the Star Tribune):

"Hopefully these next 10 days it'll heal enough to where I can finish the season off and start that healing process again during the offseason," Span said. "But I'm just going to listen to my body. ... I'm going to be smart when I come off the DL and do what I think is best."

"I had my bags packed [for Kansas City] and was ready to go on the road trip," Span said. "But I had a talk with [General Manager Terry Ryan], and we agreed that maybe it was just best to take a few more days to get some of the swelling out of the ligament that's swollen and see where I'm at in 10 days."

Span has produced a .286/.349/.393 batting line in 488 plate appearances over 108 games for the Twins in 2012.

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Denard Span Injury: Twins Place Outfielder On 15-Day DL With Shoulder Strain

Shortly after his team's loss to the Seattle Mariners on Thursday, Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire revealed to the Star Tribune that the organization has officially placed injured outfielder Denard Span on the 15-day disabled list.

The move, which will only be retroactive to Aug. 28, 2012, comes more than two weeks after the speedy outfielder strained his right sternoclavicular joint while diving for a ball in an Aug. 12 game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Span eventually returned to action for just four games recently, but it became quite evident that the 28-year-old's shoulder was not fully healthy enough for him to contribute as usual.

Even though rosters are set to expand on Saturday, Minnesota appears to have made this move now in order to use an MLB-ready prospect like Matt Carson for Friday's game against the Kansas City Royals. Outfielders Ben Revere and Darin Mastroianni should continue to see extended time in Span's absence, but the Twins will be without their premier table-setter in the short-term.

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Denard Span Injury: Twins Outfielder Day-To-Day With Shoulder Soreness

Denard Span's shoulder injury is acting up again, causing the team to call the center fielder "day-to-day" and rest him for Tuesday night's loss.

Outfielder Denard Span Returns To Minnesota Twins Lineup

Minnesota will officially welcome Denard Span back to the top of its lineup on Thursday evening, as the speedy outfielder is expected to start in center field for Ron Gardenhire's Twins against Roy Oswalt and the Rangers.

Span, who missed nine games while nursing a shoulder injury, originally hoped to be back earlier in the week, but suffered a setback after he was bothered by claustrophobia during a Tuesday MRI. Although teammate Ben Revere served admirably in the leadoff role while Span sat waiting to be cleared, the Twins will certainly be glad to have their star outfielder back in the fold for a tough series.

Injured originally while diving for a flyball on Aug. 12, it will be interesting to see how the 28-year-old Span handles playing in the field in his first game back. Even though he's widely seen as one of the better defensive outfielders in the American League, there's always a mental aspect to an injury like this so Span might opt to dial his fielding aggressiveness down a bit in his first few games back.

Stay with this StoryStream for more news on Span's injury and return to action. Also be sure to visit Twinkie Town for more Twins coverage, and Baseball Nation for more news from around the league.

Denard Span Injury: Twins Outfielder Hopes To Return Next Series

Minnesota Twins outfielder Denard Span has not played since he injured his collarbone on Aug. 12, but he hopes to be back on the field this coming weekend when the Twins take on the Texas Rangers. That said, his availability is not set in stone, and in a conversation with reporters on Wednesday, Span left open the possibility that he will still be placed on the disabled list.

"If my shoulder is ready to go, I'm going to play; if it's not ready to go, there's nothing I can do about it," he said. "If they decide to place me on the disabled list or not, it's not going to make my shoulder better overnight. It is what it is."

(via TwinCities.com)

Outfielder Matt Carson, who was called up from Triple-A on Aug. 17, has gone 7-for-16 in four games since Span has been on the bench.

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Denard Span's Injury Extent Unknown ... Due To Claustrophobia?

Denard Span Injury: Twins Outfielder Still Needs One More MRI For Clearance

Denard Span had hope to return to the Minnesota Twins' lineup last week, but his injured shoulder apparently had another idea. Span was held out of Monday night's series-opener against the Oakland Athletics and will likely miss Tuesday's game as well.

Span underwent an MRI on his neck Monday that showed no problems, but a second MRI is scheduled to be done Tuesday in Oakland. It's apparently only precautionary, but problems continue to persist as he's unable to swing the bat normally since failing to make a diving catch last weekend.

"Basically we're doing (the MRIs) just to make sure we're not missing anything," assistant GM Rob Antony said.

Ben Revere has taken Span's place in center field as of late while call-up Darin Mastroianni has taken his place in the batting order, coming up with a few big hits in Monday night's win.

For more coverage of the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town and SB Nation Minnesota.Baseball Nation is your source for news and analysis around Major League Baseball.

Denard Span Injury: Twins OF Still Nursing Sore Shoulder

Minnesota Twins outfielder Denard Span is still ailing from a sore right shoulder, causing him to miss his sixth consecutive game Sunday, according to the Twins official site.

Span injured his shoulder diving for a fly ball on August 12. Despite his recent absence from the Minnesota lineup, the club remains optimistic that Span will return soon and, therefore, are refraining from placing him on the 15-day DL. Span has hit from a tee in the past few days but has yet to resume batting practice. He says his shoulder does not bother him on throws, but he feels discomfort at the plate.

"I just need to get where I can swing without feeling anything," Span said. "I haven't had anything like that yet."

Span is batting .287 with 34 RBIs, 58 runs scored and three home runs in 104 games this season. He also has stolen 12 bases in 18 attempts.

For more coverage of the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town and SB Nation Minnesota. Baseball Nation is your source for news and analysis around Major League Baseball.

Denard Span Injury: Twins Outfielder Unsure When He'll Return

Minnesota Twins outfielder Denard Span took an ugly spill on Sunday in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays and was held out of Monday's lineup, called day-to-day with shoulder and collarbone soreness. It is not known when he is expected to return.

John Shipley of the Pioneer Press reports that Span was certain he had broken something when he fell, as he heard an unusual pop, but the X-ray results luckily came back negative.

"I'd never heard anything like that, and that's what caught my attention, that sound," he said. "I though for sure something was fractured, even if it was a hairline fracture -- I thought something was going to be out of place.

"I think tomorrow I'll have a better idea if I'll be out for a day or another two or three, whatever," Span said.

For the time being, Span is on anti-inflammatory medication and has an appointment to see a masseuse and chiropractor on Tuesday.

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Denard Span Injury: Twins Outfielder Day-To-Day, According To Manager

Denard Span took a rather ugly spill in Sunday night's loss to the Tampa Bay Rays and, though he finished the inning, he was replaced for the rest of the game by Darin Mastroianni. The injury apparently wasn't too bad, however, as Span is being considered day-to-day.

X-rays didn't reveal anything out of the ordinary, luckily, leading Twins manager Ron Gardenhire to give a better-than-expected diagnosis to the media following Sunday night's loss.

Precautionary X-rays were negative, but manager Ron Gardenhire said Span "is pretty sore in his collar bone/shoulder area."

"We'll just call him day to day," Gardenhire said.

Span is hitting .287 in 421 at bats this season as he's driven in 34 RBIs. If he's unable to play Monday night against the Detroit Tigers, it'd make sense for Mastroianni to replace him in the lineup.

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Twins Vs. Rays Final Score: Minnesota Falls In 10 Innings In Series Finale, 7-3

Left-hander Scott Diamond and the Minnesota Twins could not avoid another loss against Tampa Bay on Sunday afternoon at Target Field, as a big 10th inning helped the Rays pull off the three-game series sweep with a 7-3 win.

Diamond was bested by a pair of solo home runs in the first two innings by Desmond Jennings and Jeff Keppinger, and settled down before yielding a game-tying RBI double to Sean Rodriguez in the fifth that knotted the score at three apiece.

The two teams played even ball until the top of the tenth, whereby Twins reliever Alex Burnett walked a pair of batters and allowed three runs to cross the plate before he could retire the side. In addition to leaving 10 runners on base in the loss, Minnesota picked up a bit of potentially awful news as outfielder Denard Span left the game in the seventh inning with an apparent shoulder injury.

Hopeful to return the services of third baseman Trevor Plouffe, currently in Triple-A on a rehab assignment, on Monday to open up tricky three-game set with the Detroit Tigers, the Twins will send undefeated starter Samuel Deduno to the hill looking to break the losing streak.

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