Twins Take Young Off Disabled List
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The Minnesota Twins have activated left fielder Delmon Young from the 15-day disabled list.
The Twins announced the move before Friday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays and optioned outfielder Rene Tosoni to Triple-A Rochester to make room on the 25-man roster.
Young went on the DL on April 27 with a strained left oblique muscle near his rib cage, batting just .228 with three doubles and six RBIs in 57 at-bats before he was hurt. He last played on April 18.
"You expect players like that to do good things and big things, and you don't want to put too much pressure on him," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "To get him back out there, it's nice. It's nice to write his name in there again and see that run-producer in the middle of your lineup."
Young was batting fifth on Friday.
The Twins still have three regulars, catcher Joe Mauer, second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka and designated hitter Jim Thome, on the disabled list. They're last in the majors in scoring.
Tosoni played in 13 games, batting .171 in his major league debut with one home run and three RBIs in 35 at-bats.
Trainer Rick McWane said Nishioka had an X-ray on Thursday that showed healing in his broken left leg. He's taking batting practice and doing agility drills at the team's minor league complex in Fort Myers, Fla.
Mauer took batting practice with the team on Friday, another small step back in his recovery from bilateral leg weakness. Gardenhire said Mauer has been rehabilitating in the training room for five or six hours each day, but the manager wants him to start increasing his pregame activities to get back in more of a baseball routine.
"I want him to get involved in that to get his mindset," Gardenhire said.
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