Twins' Hector Santiago wonders if WBC injury bug hit him, too

Twins lefthander Hector Santiago wonders if pitching in the World Baseball Classic is the reason why he has landed on the disabled list for the first time in his seven-year big-league career.

He pitched 8⅔ innings for Puerto Rico as it reached the tournament final before losing to the United States. It required him to start throwing earlier than normal, as well as pitch in meaningful games while others eased their way through spring training.

"It was the first time I started that early, and the first time I've been on the DL," said Santiago, who was 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA during the WBC.

The Mets' Seth Lugo, a fellow Puerto Rican, landed on the DL after the WBC because of a partly torn ulnar collateral ligament. Kansas City's Danny Duffy, who pitched for Team USA, had to be put on the DL last month because of a strained oblique. And Seattle ace Felix Hernandez, who pitched for Venezuela, is on the DL because of bursitis in his right shoulder.

Santiago went on the DL on June 7 because of shoulder soreness. A day earlier, his velocity was down and his command was off as he lasted only 2⅔ innings. His velocity, actually, is down 2 miles per hour since April, from 91.5 to 89.4 mph, which might have played in the Twins' decision to send him to the trainer's room.

After a few days of shoulder strengthening work, Santiago said he feels good. He has played catch back-to-back days and is scheduled for long toss drills Tuesday. He holds out hope he can be ready to pitch once his 10 days are up, meaning he could start in one of Saturday's two games against Cleveland.

"I just think it is something that has happened over time, from throwing in the WBC, throwing that early," he said.

To make room on the 25-man roster for Polanco, the Twins sent righthander Chris Heston to Class AAA Rochester. He made his Twins debut Sunday, pitching one inning at San Francisco, after being claimed off waivers last week from the Dodgers.

Kennys Vargas stayed with the Twins, even though that meant cutting back to 12 pitchers. He started at designated hitter in Monday's 14-3 loss to the Mariners.

"When [Vargas] gets in there, he's got a chance to impact the game," Molitor said.

The Twins still have no timetable for righthander Phil Hughes' return from his right shoulder injury. Molitor said Hughes has experienced "sensations in fingers and things that we're not totally sure what the source is."

"We're going to try to do the best we can to try to get to the bottom of what we need to do to get him moving forward," Molitor said. "Try to get him to throw a little bit and address those things, but we're still not sure the best way to go."

• Injured three-time All-Star lefthander Glen Perkins (shoulder) is scheduled to pitch a simulated game Tuesday in Fort Myers, Fla. "Potentially if things go well, he's going to join the [Class A] Miracle here [on a rehab assignment] in the next 10 days or so," Molitor said.