NEW YORK – The Twins took fielding and batting practice Monday at Yankee Stadium, getting used to surroundings that likely will feel a lot different before a packed house Tuesday night. But one man was missing.
Miguel Sano, whose roster status remains probable but not certain, spent the afternoon in the visitors' clubhouse, undergoing treatment for his sore left shin and hitting a few pitches in the indoor cages. The Twins have until 9 Tuesday morning to submit their roster for the 7:07 p.m. game, and have said they will wait until the deadline to make the call on their hobbled slugger.
The Yankees also have yet to reveal their 25-man squad, so why not keep them guessing, the Twins figure, about their plans for Sano?
"Whether he's going to start or not, I still haven't inked it in yet," manager Paul Molitor said, "but I'm waiting to have him on the bench."
Molitor said he wants to have Sano "in some capacity," implying that the 24-year-old, who has hit five homers in just nine career games against the Yankees, likely will be limited to pinch-hit duty. Robbie Grossman figures to get the start if Sano, who has had eight at-bats in the six weeks since fouling a ball off his shin in mid-August, doesn't make quick improvement.
Belisle ready for duty
If the Twins win Tuesday, there's a pretty good chance that Matt Belisle will be on the mound when it happens. And while that's an exciting prospect, it's also not one that the latter-day Twins closer is thinking about.
"The biggest thing by far is that we get the win. Who pitches when isn't one one-hundredth as important," said Belisle, who has nine saves since All-Star closer Brandon Kintzler was traded to Washington in July. "I'll pitch whenever Paul decides I'm needed."
He would like to do so next year, too, but despite a solid season as a 37-year-old veteran of 14 major league seasons, he is not assuming he will be offered a contract by anyone.
