Twins lefthander Glen Perkins aborted a bullpen session on Monday when he felt discomfort in his right side again. He'll confer with Twins physicians on Tuesday but is prepared to miss several days of workouts while he deals with the discomfort.
Perkins said he was five pitches in when he felt something pull on his right side, similar to what happened on Friday that led to him being shut down for two days. Perkins ended the session as soon as he felt something.
``I don't know what it is," Perkins said, ``It's oblique-ish something. Hopefully it's not bad. It's like a pull more than a strain."
The plan was for Perkins to throw in the bullpen on Monday when pitch an inning on Wednesday against the Rays at Hammond Stadium. That won't happen now, as the Twins will likely get to the bottom of things on Tuesday.
Most of the medical staff traveled to Bradenton on Monday as the Twins and Pirates played a six-inning B game at 9 a.m. followed by the regularly-scheduled Grapefruit League game at 12:05 p.m.
Perkins didn't sound frustrated at all as he spoke. He actually was positive because he feels he stopped his session before he could have made things worse. In May of 2011, Perkins missed 22 games over a 25-day period with a right oblique strain.
``I pulled my oblique in 2011," Perkins said. ``I know what it felt like when I did it, and I could hardly walk, I could not take my shoes off, I could not get out of a chair. It kinda feels like it did before I hurt it the last time. If this is a week it is much better than a month."
Plus, Perkins feels that relievers don't need as many outings as starters to prepare for the regular season, so there's time for him to return and get sharp for Opening Day.
Perkins, a two-time All-Star, was 4-3 with a 3.65 ERA and converted 34 of 41 save opportunities
