FORT MYERS, FLA. – Shortstop Pedro Florimon has reached the final stage of his recovery from appendicitis.
Florimon, who has not played in a game this spring, will play three innings Friday in a minor league game, followed by five innings Saturday. If those stints go well, Florimon could be in the Twins' lineup as soon as Sunday. And that has manager Ron Gardenhire upbeat.
"He's moving great and doing fine," Gardenhire said. "He looks good. He did all of our drills [Thursday]. They're taking it slow, which is the right thing to do. He'll be right back with us soon."
Florimon would then have two weeks of games to prepare for the regular season. Is that enough for him to be ready for Opening Day?
"I think so," Gardenhire said. "They haven't told me one way or another yet, but we've got a couple of weeks here. If he can get at-bats … the advantage is he played winter ball. But there's no guarantees on it yet. I haven't seen enough or not seen enough to make any decision yet. Let's let him start playing and see how he looks and how he does and we'll go from there. But just watching him move around out there, he looks pretty decent."
Sano update
Miguel Sano remains in a New York hospital as he recovers following Tommy John elbow surgery Wednesday. The surgery was performed by Dr. David Altchek.
"[Sano] said he was feeling good but feeling a little dizzy from the medication when he walks," Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony said.
So the Twins are letting him stay in New York one more day until the medication wears off. Sano will return to the ballpark Saturday.
Antony confirmed that Sano's ulnar collateral ligament was completely torn, although that should not change the timetable for his recovery.
