Continued: Bonser will have exploratory surgery on shoulder

Twins reliever Boof Bonser looked a little bewildered as he sat in the Hammond Stadium clubhouse Tuesday.

"It's disappointing," Bonser said.

The righthander is headed for exploratory surgery on his right shoulder today that will keep him out of action for several weeks -- and could turn into months if a lot of repairs are needed.

The decision to have surgery comes after Bonser had two MRI exams and a cortisone shot since the end of last season. The exams showed no structural damage, and the cortisone shot, given a few days before Bonser reported to camp, yielded minimal results.

The surgery will be performed by Tampa Bay Rays team physician Dr. Koco Eaton in St. Petersburg.

"They're going to go in and clean up," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "They know that there's a little small spur that's part of the problem. ... There's no timetable right now because first you have to see exactly what happens in the surgery and what else they find. They'll check everything out as they go through it, in a scope fashion."

Bonser's injury leaves righthanders Philip Humber, who is out of options, and Jason Jones, a Rule 5 pick, as the favorites to win the final spot in a seven-man bullpen. Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey and lefthander Sean Henn also could challenge. But all of them could be on the outside looking in if the Twins leave Florida with six relievers -- which is unlikely but will be discussed during camp.

Neshek needs patience

Pat Neshek is trying to be patient. When the rest of the Twins begin their daily warmups, Neshek joked, he reaches across and forces his right arm next to his side to keep from falling to temptation to throw.

Not yet. Not until March 18.

"It's been slow," he said, "but it's fun to put on a uniform."

It'll be more fun when he can begin using his surgically repaired elbow again. Recovery from ligament replacement surgery typically takes at least a year, so he'll be rehabilitating at the team's facility in Fort Myers until November. But he'll begin soft toss in less than a month, the first of what he hopes are many steps in his progress toward becoming a dominant late-inning reliever again.

"It hasn't hurt at all, so I guess that's a good thing," the sidearming Neshek said.

He became Minnesota's primary setup man in his first full season in the majors and went 7-2 with a 2.94 ERA, 74 strikeouts and a .183 batting average against him in 70-plus innings in 2007. That September, he began to notice a decrease in his velocity, down from the mid-90s he's used to. He never felt right in 2008, and his season ended in early May. His recovery was moving along in the fall when he had a setback and learned he needed the dreaded Tommy John surgery that will keep him sidelined for all of 2009.

But the success rate of the operation is higher than ever, and Neshek recently learned that one out of every eight major league pitchers have had it.

"That gives you confidence you'll come back from it," he said.

• Gardenhire said infielder Steve Tolleson will miss a few days because of a strained oblique muscle. Tolleson, one of the Twins' better infield prospects, will be re-evaluated in three to four days.

• Former Twins righthander Brad Radke stopped by the clubhouse on Tuesday. When a reporter told him he looked the same, Radke replied, "I feel old." Radke will be inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame this season.

• Asked why he settled on a regular-season rotation of righthander Scott Baker, lefthander Francisco Liriano, righthander Kevin Slowey, lefthander Glen Perkins and righthander Nick Blackburn, Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson said. "That splits them up right, left, right, left, right."

• The Twins have signed oufielder/first baseman Justin Huber to a minor league contract. Huber played in 35 games with San Diego last season. He will compete for a spot at Class AAA Rochester.

• Former Twins third baseman Gary Gaetti has been on the back fields throwing batting practice to minor leaguers, including his son Joe, who is trying to win an outfield job at Rochester.

The Twins kick off the their exhibition schedule when they play host to fellow Fort Myers resident Boston tonight. Lefthander Glen Perkins is scheduled to start with righthanders Joe Nathan and Jesse Crain expected to follow. Brian Buscher will start at third for the Twins as the recently acquired Joe Crede works on conditioning. Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield will start for the Red Sox and be followed by Justin Masterson and Manny Delcarmen.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.