Lefthander Glen Perkins returned from his minor league rehabilitation stint at Class AA Chattanooga on Tuesday, but the Twins aren't quite ready to add the three-time All-Star to the active roster.
While Perkins is healthy after being out since April 2016 because of a torn labrum, he has only thrown 7⅓ innings in minor league games, and the Twins would like to see Perkins get some more work in.
"It's not what you would get in a normal spring training," manager Paul Molitor said. "He's had enough time up here to trust some of that. You don't always have to go through a full spring training to get back to being ready to play.
"The fact that he has missed the majority of last year, it just makes you tread a little slowly."
Technically, Perkins has until Sunday before his 30-day rehabilitation stint expires. So the Twins will decide if he can make an appearance or two at Class AAA Rochester or have him throw live batting practice at Target Field. The Twins would need to add Perkins to both the 25- and 40-man rosters to activate him.
What can Perkins offer? He pitched in back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday for the first time this year. On Sunday, he pitched a scoreless inning with a walk and two strikeouts. Molitor said Perkins' fastball was from 88-91 miles per hour.
"I did have a chance to talk with [manager] Jake Mauer down there, and he said last night was his best night in terms of his command, that his breaking ball was sharp enough to get swings and misses," Molitor said. "I think that over the next couple of days we're contemplating what the best move forward is, not only for him but for our team."
With the Twins fighting to remain in the postseason race, they can't afford to just hand appearances to Perkins, who has missed a whopping 272 games because of his shoulder problems. There could be an occasional blowout game he could pitch in, but Molitor is in all-hands-on-deck mode with his bullpen.
