Twins notes: 'Rough days at home' for Mauer

Joe Mauer rejoined his teammates Tuesday after what manager Ron Gardenhire described as "some rough days at home," but he's not particularly close to being able to return to action. The All-Star catcher, still feeling the effects of a concussion suffered when he took a hard foul ball off his mask Aug. 19, won't head to Texas with the Twins this weekend, likely pushing his return back to the next homestand, which begins Sept. 6. He watched Tuesday's game from the clubhouse.

But "there's been no talk" that his head injury might be season-ending, General Manager Terry Ryan said. "We'll just wait for him to recover and get him going again."

Mauer, sent home from Detroit last week when he grew dizzy during batting practice, "said he feels pretty decent," Gardenhire said after the catcher arrived at Target Field to undergo new tests with the medical staff. But Mauer also told the manager that his symptoms haven't disappeared completely, and he experienced "some rough days" after returning to Minnesota last week.

"Seeing all the people walking around still bothers him. It's going to take time," Gardenhire said. "I don't have a timetable."

Mauer's not the only Twin who needs more time to recover. Gardenhire said he called Oswaldo Arcia into his office Tuesday to clear up the uncertainty over his sore left wrist. With Tony Oliva acting as interpreter, Arcia admitted to his manager that he's still feeling "sharp pain" when he swings a bat.

"He told me his hand is hurting," Gardenhire said. "He's been trying to play through this thing. He said [last week] he's fine, but he's not fine. We can see it in the way he swings."

Now that he has admitted he's in pain, Gardenhire said he'll get a few days off to let it heal. "We'll let this guy get healthy," he said. "Goodness gracious, he's a big part of our future, and I don't want to see him do something silly."

"I thought a lefthander hit it," Bernier said. "You don't see many guys with power like that."

For his 24 home runs, not to mention his .352 average and 76 RBI, the righthanded Colabello on Tuesday was named 2013 MVP of the International League, as well as its Rookie of the Year. The 29-year-old first baseman is the first Twin to be named MVP of a Class AAA league since Tim Teufel in 1983.

Byron Buxton and six fellow Twins prospects have been invited to play in the Arizona Fall League, a showcase for players considered close to major league-ready. "We're challenging him," Ryan said of the Twins' top-rated prospect. "We think Buxton's ready to compete out there."

In addition to their 20-year-old Class A outfielder, the Twins have assigned second baseman Eddie Rosario, outfielder Max Kepler, and pitchers Zach Jones, Alex Meyer, Trevor May and A.J. Achter to the Glendale Desert Dogs, managed by New Britain skipper Jeff Smith, for the six-week league.