Nathan has bone chips removed from elbow

Twins closer Joe Nathan turns 35 next month. He's coming off a season in which he saved 47 games but, for now, is remembered more for the save opportunity he blew Oct. 9 during Game 2 of the ALDS to the Yankees.

On Tuesday, Nathan had surgery to remove two bone chips from his right elbow, acknowledging that he pitched a chunk of the season not at his fittest.

"This is definitely something I'm not going to use as an excuse," Nathan said from his home in Knoxville, Tenn.

Nathan had the surgery in Birmingham, Ala., at the offices of Dr. James Andrews, and is expected to be ready in time for the start of spring training.

Nathan said he iced his elbow more this year than in any previous season, and pitched through any discomfort as he helped the Twins pull off an improbable comeback to win the AL Central Division after beating Detroit in a tiebreaker game.

He pointed to his career- high in saves as evidence that the bone chips didn't affect his performance.

"It's something I knew we might have to take a look at," he said. "That exit physical showed that if we didn't take care of something now it could get worse and start to damage something that might take a while to come back from."

Nathan has begun light rehabilitation, and plans to push himself into full offseason mode as soon as he can.

"I don't see this surgery as a time for me to go into decline," he said. "This surgery is almost a way for me to keep my youth. I see this as that I got it at the right time and got it before it got serious, and I see this as a way to motivate me to get stronger."

Twins first baseman Justin Morneau on Tuesday, as expected, had a bone chip removed from his wrist and should be ready by spring training.

A grievance has been filed on behalf of Twins lefthander Glen Perkins, who is trying to get credit for service time that will help him be eligible for arbitration this offseason.

An official with the players' association said the union is trying to arrange a face-to-face meeting between the sides in the near future to try to resolve their differences and avoid a hearing.

Perkins and his agent, John Courtright, believe Perkins was kept in the minors while healthy, which cost him service time.

Twins General Manager Bill Smith declined to comment.

Joe Mauer will be named baseball's player of the year in an upcoming edition of Baseball America. Mauer also is a finalist, along with the Cardinals' Albert Pujols and the Marlins' Hanley Ramirez, for the Player's Choice Player of the Year Award, given out by the players' association.