News
Cuddyer, Crede out of Twins' lineup
Nagging injuries continue to demand attention
By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com
06/02/09 9:20 PM ET
MINNEAPOLIS -- The bumps and bruises have started to pile up for the Twins, and even Monday's off-day wasn't enough to heal all of them. Third baseman Joe Crede and outfielder Michael Cuddyer were out of the lineup for Tuesday's series opener against the Indians. Cuddyer has been sidelined by a strained right index finger. An MRI on the finger on Tuesday showed no structural damage. Cuddyer said doctors have told him it will take 2-3 days for the blood and swelling to get out of the knuckle of the finger. After that, he should be ready to return. Cuddyer left Sunday's game against the Rays in the second inning with the injury. After waking up on Sunday morning with the finger a tad sore, Cuddyer aggravated it when he fouled a ball off the end of the bat in the top of the second. He then was unable to throw when he headed back out to play the outfield the next half inning. The news of a strained finger would appear concerning since Cuddyer had already battled through three different finger injuries since the 2007 All-Star break. Cuddyer went on the disabled list with a sprained right thumb in July '07 and missed a total of three months last season in large part to finger injuries. He dislocated his right index finger in April 2008, and then last June he suffered a strained tendon in his left index finger, which was located where the finger meets the palm. After trying to play through those finger injuries, Cuddyer said that he saw the difference of playing with healthy hands at the start of this season. This May, Cuddyer batted .312 with eight homers, 26 RBIs and a .395 on-base percentage. "When you have healthy hands and are healthy, you can get back to being the player you are," Cuddyer said. "But I'm fairly confident this [finger injury] is not going to be what I've had to deal with the past year and a half." But while Cuddyer is optimistic that the strained finger should be better in a couple days, manager Ron Gardenhire is concerned. "We don't really know how it started, but it's there and it's an issue," Gardenhire said. "We've got to figure out something here and see how long it's going to be. It's a strained finger, and they tell him [it'll be] a couple days [to] get all the blood out. ... [He] should be fine, but it is an issue. I'm concerned about this. This can linger. We can't play short-handed too much. You just can't do that with only four guys on a bench anyway." With both Crede and Cuddyer out for Tuesday's game, the Twins were left with just a two-man bench -- catcher Mike Redmond and infielder Matt Tolbert. Crede missed his second straight game due a swollen left knee. The third baseman fouled a couple of pitches off the leg -- one right above the knee and one right below -- in Saturday's contest and had to leave that game after the swelling limited his movement in the field. On Tuesday, Crede's knee remained swollen but he was able take batting practice with the team and field grounders at third. Gardenhire said Crede could possibly return to the lineup on Wednesday if he feels like he's able to move around just fine. "He's still going to have the swelling, and it's an ugly looking thing," Gardenhire said. "But he said it's just swelling now. So hopefully by [Wednesday] he'll be back in there."Kelly Thesier is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
