CINCINNATI – Ryan Jeffers will be held out for at least one more day after suffering a right hand contusion in Tuesday night’s loss to the Reds. Jeffers was still experiencing swelling in his hand as of Wednesday afternoon, so he was kept out of the lineup for Wednesday’s game at Great American Ball Park.
It’s possible that Jeffers will be activated for Thursday’s series finale in Cincinnati, but not a given. He took a foul tip off of his hand in the fourth inning on Tuesday and was removed from the game.
“I’m hopeful of that,” said manager Rocco Baldelli. “I can’t say for sure. I’d be speculating. It’s swollen and discolored and all of that. … We’re just going to get him a whole lot of treatment today in the training room, see if we can get the swelling down. That’s the main goal. And we’ll see how he is tomorrow. We’ll treat it day to day, though.”
At this time neither the Twins nor Jeffers have any fear that the injury will necessitate a roster move.
Baldelli swings the bat
Baldelli told reporters he was “cramping up a little bit” during his pregame media session, a result of having taken some swings in the batting cage for what he estimated was the first time in about 15 years.
“I walked in to talk to the hitting coaches and to look for Jeffers, and there were a bunch of guys in there,” Baldelli said. “[Carlos] Correa goes, ‘Are you going to take a couple of swings or what?’ I go, ‘All right.’ I waited until Brooks [Lee] was done, and I took about 10 swings off the tee.”
Baldelli, 43, was an outfielder for the Red Sox and Rays in a Major League career that lasted from 2003-2010.
“I talked him into it,” Correa admitted. “I just wanted to see his swing. He's still got it, man. I think he can still hit in a group with us.
“We'll progress him into iPitch and machines. I'm going to put it on the machine and put some 98 mph sinkers so he remembers the good ol' days. It was fun to see him in there.”
Baldelli was emphatic that he has no interest in any such thing.
“I’m not building up toward anything,” he quipped. “I peaked already and I’m falling.”