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.