PITTSBURGH - Joe Mauer has hit a speed bump in his recovery from a bruised right quadriceps.
The Twins had hoped that Mauer, who had made solid progress before Thursday, would be able to catch in the bullpen as part of his recovery process.
"That didn't happen," Mauer said.
He said there's still swelling in the quad that he has to work out before he can do more on the field and get back in the lineup. So he missed the entire series in Pittsburgh and might miss a couple games in Cincinnati this weekend.
"It's not much better than yesterday," Mauer said. "I thought I'd be able to do a little bit more. It's real frustrating."
It makes how he got hurt -- on a questionable slide into home plate by Milwaukee's Rickie Weeks on Sunday -- even more questionable because Mauer can't get on the field. He is able to pinch hit but will need a pinch runner if he reaches base.
"Yeah, but just to miss games in general," Mauer said. "I'm driving myself nuts sitting and watching, and I want to be out there. But I'm definitely not ready to do that."
"I'm just going day-to-day when they tell me he's going to be able to play," manager Ron Gardenhire said. Mauer has been knocked for his health issues in recent years but played in 60 of 65 games before getting hurt.