Nelson Cruz hasn't missed a beat in his return to action after he ruptured the ECU tendon in his left wrist and landed on the injured list. In his first start on Monday he went 2-for-5 with an RBI and Tuesday night he was 4-for-5, with a solo homer, three doubles and three RBI.
Cruz needed the minimum 10 days on the IL before being activated. He traveled with the team during its recently-completed road trip to Milwaukee and Texas, swinging the bat with no problems during workouts.
"It feels good," he said. "I don't feel anything."
Cruz said he will need no special maintenance for the wrist during the final weeks of the season. Part of the reason for that is Cruz has been doing strengthening exercises since he injured his wrist earlier in the season. When he met with hand specialist Dr. Thomas Graham in New York on Aug. 12, he was told to continue his maintenance program.
He said speaking with Graham, as well as former Twin Justin Morneau, who had the same thing happen to him during his career, eased his mind about making a quick return to the lineup as the Twins push for the A.L. Central division championship.
"I keep working on a daily basis," Cruz said. "I do my forearms and my wrists. The doctor said that the stuff that I do on a daily basis will compensate for [the injury] and make it stronger."
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, a stickler for making sure players get days off during the season, regularly checks in with his players to see how they are feeling. Cruz's wrist will not influence how often he asks him if he needs break.
"I'm sure he's going to get some occasional time off, but we'll go basically how he's feeling," Baldelli said. "In some ways, he might even be feeling better right now — from everything that he says and everything that we get from medical opinions — he might be in even better shape now than before the issue."
