Sorry for the delay. Players arrived late today and it got busy once they did arrive.
Jason Marquis returned from his family emergency and threw 54 pitches to minor leaguers on Tuesday as GM Terry Ryan, manager Ron Gardenhire and other officials looked on.
"The majority of them were strikes," Ryan said.
But even Marquis acknowledged that he needs at least one more start before he can step into the rotation. He threw two simulated games during the two weeks he was away, 93 pitches in the second one. But the Twins are going to be careful with his progression.
"My arm feels great," Marquis said.
Marquis' seven year old daughter, Reese, was injured in a bicycle accident a couple weeks ago. He acknowledged that there was internal bleeding and things were touch and go for a while.
"She's making a lot of progress; everything's going in the right direction," he said. " The healing process of her wounds has to heal up. The initial four or five days were a nightmare, something that no parent should ever live through."
The Twins are expected to officially announce tomorrow what move they will make with Marquis. Since he's back, it's unlikely that the Twins can place him on a bereavement list. We think he has an option left, so the Twins would have to get him to agree to be sent down to the minors, pitch in one or two games, then call him back up. We think.
