Kidney surgery isn't a normal baseball injury, so Ron Gardenhire admits there have been moments when he feared Joe Mauer's slow recovery this spring might be a sign of something more serious.
"We were thinking it could be something huge, the way it's been going," the Twins' manager said. Which is why the results of Mauer's latest tests contained such good news even though they offered no assurances the All-Star catcher will be ready when the 2009 season starts.
"His kidneys are fine," general manager Bill Smith said. "The tests showed (Mauer's pain) is unrelated to the kidneys."
Instead, the soreness in Mauer's lower back that stubbornly refuses to fade -- almost three months after his Dec. 22 operation to remove an obstruction in a kidney -- is centered in a joint at the base of his spine, the same point doctors have been treating ever since.
"It's nothing new," Gardenhire said. "They just have to figure out how to treat it."
A new course of medication is the likely cure, doctors believe. But nobody knows yet how long it might take for the AL batting champion, who has yet to participate in a full workout this spring, to prepare to play baseball again.
That means Gardenhire must consider alternatives behind the plate and in his batting order.
Mike Redmond has been Mauer's primary backup for four seasons, but he turns 38 in May. Could he handle a five-game-a-week work schedule? "I doubt that. I don't think he's built for that," Gardenhire said.
Class AAA catchers Jose Morales and Drew Butera are the likeliest fill-in options, particularly if the Twins believe Mauer can return within a month.
Filling the third slot in the batting order is more difficult. Mauer's .413 on-base percentage is a major reason Justin Morneau drove in 129 runs last year, and Michael Cuddyer, Delmon Young and Joe Crede, the likeliest candidates to bat in front of Morneau, have not had anything close to that success in reaching base.
Play FOX Fantasy Baseball today
