SB Nation Minnesota - Justin Morneau Injury: Twins Slugger Returned On Wednesday

Justin Morneau Injury: Twins Slugger To Be Activated Wednesday

2012-05-16T12:56:07Z

First baseman Chris Parmelee has been optioned to Triple-A Rochester as the Minnesota Twins announced on Wednesday that their slugger Justin Morneau will be back with the team as they face the Detroit Tigers.

Morneau was sent to the DL on May 1 because of wrist pains, so Wednesday will be the first day that he is eligible to return to the team and try and help the lowly Twins roster pick up their offense after being swept in a two game set against Cleveland.

Fortunately, it looks like he's completely healthy again and will be ready to face a tough Tigers pitching rotation as they start their series against Detroit:

"He's ready to play," Gardenhire said of Morneau after the Twins' 5-0 loss to the Indians on Tuesday. "He doesn't feel anything right now. He's swinging good. He took early BP today without any problems."

Morneau is likely to take over the first base duties from Parmelee, who was ineffective at the position during his time there. Morneau had spent most of his games so far playing as the Designated Hitter this season.

More on Justin Morneau and the Minnesota Twins can be found over at Twinkie Town. More news and analysis on Major League Baseball can be found over at Baseball Nation.

Justin Morneau Injury: Twins Slugger Apparently Ready To Be Activated

2012-05-15T19:59:26Z

Justin Morneau is eligible to return to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday from the disabled list. Apparently his wrist injury will allow him to do just that, too, considering he looked solid in batting practice earlier in the week.

Nothing is for certain quite yet, but manager Ron Gardenhire said prior to Tuesday afternoon's game that the plan was to get Morneau back following the game.

"He looked really good and has talked to the trainers about being activated," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "The trainers haven't told me yet, but I have to go out and see and talk to him. But that's the plan unless it changes drastically."

Lord knows the Twins need another shakeup and, while Morneau likely won't make enough of a difference, his return certainly can't hurt the anemic offense.

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Justin Morneau Injury: Twins Slugger Reacts After Taking Batting Practice Monday

2012-05-14T23:24:34Z

On Monday night, Minnesota Twins' slugger Justin Morneau took batting practice for the first time since injuring his right wrist against the Los Angeles Angels on April 30. In his BP session, Morneau took an estimated 35-40 hacks and reportedly was hitting the ball well. Morneau was pleased with how the session went and stated that he felt as though he was making progress.

Here are his comments courtesy of ESPN 1500:

"It's getting better," Morneau said. "Whether (the soreness) will be gone completely, I don't know. I'm hopeful. But as long as I'm able to swing the way I want to swing, as long as it's manageable that's something we can deal with [...] It felt like I was able to do that today... Structurally everything looks good. They don't feel like I'm in danger of doing anymore damage or anything like that."

After being placed on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday (retroactive to Monday, April 30), Morneau will be able to return to the lineup on May 16. However, he and the organization have yet to begin discussions on a specific return date:

"We haven't really discussed it yet. Today was just the first step in getting out there swinging and taking batting practice on the field. Hopefully it feels good the rest of the day and go out tomorrow and do the same thing... I don't really have a timeline yet, but I'm hopeful it's sooner than later, that's for sure."

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Justin Morneau Injury: Twins Slugger Takes Batting Practice On Monday

2012-05-14T21:12:50Z

The Minnesota Twins have been looking forward to the return of Justin Morneau since the slugger injured his right wrist on a ground out against the Los Angeles Angels on April 30. To the joy of any one and every one associated with the Twins, it now seems as though his return will come sooner rather than later.

After taking a few swings off a tee on Saturday, Morneau participated in batting practice on Monday night prior to the team's game against the Cleveland Indians.

Justin Morneau taking some swings in early BP, testing that wrist. #Twins
— Jon Krawczynski (@APkrawczynski) May 14, 2012

After hitting off the tee on Saturday, it was reported that Morneau felt good but wanted to continue to test his wrist prior to declaring a definite return date. Morneau has yet to be reached for comment following his BP session, but the early analysis seems promising.

Morneau is owning Scott Ullger right now.
— Jon Krawczynski (@APkrawczynski) May 14, 2012

Morneau was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday, May 5 but the club was able to retroact the date back to Monday, April 30 the last game Morneau played. That means that the earliest he would be able to return to the lineup is Wednesday, May 16.

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Justin Morneau Injury: Twins Slugger Hit Off A Tee Saturday

2012-05-12T21:50:49Z

The Minnesota Twins are hoping to have Justin Morneau back from injury sooner rather than later. On Thursday, it was reported that a possible return "in a week", or rather, on May 16. The word was that Morneau was going to try and swing a bat on Saturday, and it turns out, he did, according to Phil Mackey on Twitter:

Morneau took 25-30 swings off a tee today. He said wrist felt good, but he'll continue to test it over next few days. #Twins
— Phil Mackey (@PMac21) May 12, 2012

Morneau has been missed, and was hitting .230 before the injury, with four home runs and nine runs batted in over 20 games for the Twins. It's a wrist injury, on the same wrist that required surgery last season. He hasn't played more than 81 games in a season since 2009.

The Twins were able to back-date his placement on the 15-day disabled list, so May 16th is right in line with when he'd be able to come off of it. He'll likely continue hitting off a tee over the next couple days leading up to some real action on Tuesday in advance of Wednesday's game.

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Justin Morneau Injury: Return In A Week Possible

2012-05-10T20:53:08Z

There's a chance that Justin Morneau might need to only miss the minimum 15 days for his left wrist injury. Morneau had his wrist looked at by the Cleveland Clinic on Tuesday, and the hope is that he will rejoin the Minnesota Twins lineup next Wednesday, according to the Star Tribune.

"He's going to try to swing a bat on Saturday," Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said. "He did receive a cortisone shot in Cleveland."

Before injuring himself, Morneau was batting .230 with four home runs and nine RBI in 20 games for the Twins. Injuries have followed him lately as he has not played in more than 81 games in a season since 2009.

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Justin Morneau Injury: Minnesota Twins' 1B Hopeful To Make Next Road Trip

2012-05-10T00:31:16Z

The Minnesota Twins are hosting the Los Angeles Angels Wednesday night, but in exactly a week will head to Detroit for a quick two-game series and five other games over six days in the midwest. Justin Morneau, who has been out of the Twins lineup since May 1 due to a sore left wrist, hopes to make that trip and play:

Morneau received a cortisone shot in his sore wrist in Cleveland. #Twins hopeful he'll make the next road trip
— Jon Krawczynski (@APkrawczynski) May 9, 2012

The wrist is the same one on which Morneau required surgery last season. Morneau was removed early from the Twins' April 30 game against the Angels and he has been out ever since. Morneau was officially placed on the disabled list Saturday, May 5, but the date can be retroactive to when he first started missing games, which would make the May 16 game in Detroit right around when he'd be available to come off the disabled list.

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Justin Morneau Injury: Minnesota Twins Star Placed On 15-Day DL

2012-05-06T17:35:15Z

The injured wrist that forced him to leave last Monday's game has not improved, and the Minnesota Twins placed infielder Justin Morneau on the 15-day disabled list late Saturday.

Morneau was hitting .230 with four home runs for the sinking Twins, despite his .313 on base percentage being well below his career average of .352. Numerous questions remain about Morneau's ability to stay healthy, as he doesn't appear able to make it through a full season, or even a half season, without some sort of ailment forcing him off the field.

Minnesota will be able to backdate Morneau's DL trip to Monday, the last time he played, but the timetable for his return is uncertain at this point. Despite an MRI finding no structural damage to his wrist on Tuesday, the Twins opted to go with the safe route and give their slugger the proper amount of rest considering this is the same wrist he had surgery on back in October.

With the losses piling up left and right for the Twins already this early into the season, there's no logical reason to rush Morneau back to the lineup and risk yet another re-injury. Be sure to stick with this StoryStream for more information on Morneau's injury as it happens.

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