Mauer gets put on disabled list

A strained left quadriceps muscle has slowed the defending American League batting champion, and the team's fear is the catcher might need more than 15 days to fully recover.

By La Velle E. Neal III, Star Tribune

Last update: May 6, 2007 - 11:15 PM

Twins catcher Joe Mauer landed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday because of a strained left quadriceps muscle, but the injury could take a little longer to heal.

Mauer, who has been bothered by the injury in recent games, felt it tighten up running the bases over the weekend. A magnetic resonance imaging exam taken Sunday morning revealed the strain. The area is swollen and the MRI also detected some bleeding.

Mauer might need three weeks to recover. "It could be more [than 15 days]," Mauer said. "Hopefully not."

Mike Redmond will assume most of the catching duties in Mauer's place. Redmond went 2-for-3 with a run scored in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox at the Metrodome.

Catcher Chris Heintz has been called up from Class AAA Rochester to replace Mauer on the 25-man roster. Heintz, who began the season with the Twins, was batting .277 in 12 games with Rochester.

"It's tough," Mauer said. "Obviously no one wants to be sitting on the bench."

Mauer didn't start a April 27 game in Detroit because of soreness in the leg. He eventually pinch hit, driving in two runs in the eighth inning to give the Twins a 5-3 victory.

Mauer said the soreness returned Friday night after a 2-0 loss to Boston, stayed that way throughout the night and never improved on Saturday, leading to him being scratched from the starting lineup and sent for the MRI exam.

The head-scratching part for the Twins is that the type of injury Mauer has usually happens as the result of a collision.

"The way the doctors explained it to me is that it occurs in a lot of football players getting hit there," Mauer said. "I don't recall anything like that happening."

Mauer, 24 and the defending American League batting champion, is hitting .353 with a .446 on-base percentage. While second baseman Luis Castillo missed only a week because of a strained quad last month, the Twins will be more careful with Mauer because of the physical demands of catching.

"Everyone is different," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He's a catcher and he's squatting. We just have to let this thing calm down instead of fighting it."

It's the latest injury blow to the Twins, who have been without regulars such as Castillo and outfielders Rondell White and Michael Cuddyer for stretches of games. White is out indefinitely because of a torn right calf muscle. Cuddyer (bruised back) plans on returning to the lineup Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox.

Mauer missed nine days late in spring training because of a stress reaction in his left fibula, but entered the season in good shape. He's started in 27 of the Twins' 31 games, including 23 at catcher.

"I'm glad it's right now," Twins outfielder Torii Hunter said of Mauer's injury. "We can get him back for the long haul."

La Velle E. Neal III • lneal@startribune.com