Eddie Rosario is close to returning to the Twins lineup.
Rosario planned to go through an entire pre-game routine today, which included some throwing. If that goes well, then he will be the designated hitter tomorrow when the Twins head to Port Charlotte to play the Rays.
The Twins have taken it easy with Rosario since he reported soreness in his right (throwing) arm last week. But now he has missed a few more games than they anticipated. Rosario said this morning, however, that his arm felt better and that he was looking forward to getting in a game, even if it just to get some DH swings in.
Twins manager Paul Molitor said on Monday that Rosario will likely be paired with a throwing program to help deal with the biceps tendinitis he has been dealing with. As of now, the Twins have shown no signs that they are worried about Rosario missing Opening Day. They have 12 days to get this cleared up.
So there's time. Then again, there's not a lot of time.
Twins great Jim Kaat arrived at camp on Wednesday for his stint as a special instructor. It took Kaat about 35 minutes to actually reach his stall in the coaches room of the clubhouse, because he kept stopping to talk to folks along the way.
Hitting coach James Rowson met with the hitters today, mostly to pump them up for the upcoming season. He, apparently, showed video highlights of a lot of the things they did well last season and spoke of how they can take the next step.
And the Twins did do a few things right last year, as their 815 runs were fourth most in the American League.
Today's lineup:
Red Sox
Mookie Betts, RF
Jackie Bradley, Jr., CF
Hanley Ramirez, DH
J.D. Martinez, LF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Mitch Morleand, 1B
Eduardo Nunez, 2B
Sandy Leon, C
Brock Hill, 3B
Chris Sale, LH
Twins
Brian Dozier, 2B
Joe Mauer, 1B
Jorge Polanco, SS
Miguel Sano, 3B
Robbie Grossman, LF
Logan Morrison, DH
Max Kepler, RF
Byron Buxton, CF
Jason Castro, C
Tyler Duffey, RHP
