Stewart might be out the rest of the season

[Lynch]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Shannon Stewart might have played his last game with the Minnesota Twins.

With severe pain in his left foot stemming from an aggravation of an earlier injury that prompted a six-week stint on the disabled list, Stewart shook his head when asked Monday if he thought he could come back this season.

"To be honest, I don't know," he said, sitting in a chair in the clubhouse with a big walking boot on the floor in front of his cubicle. "I've done everything I can do before, and the doctor is optimistic -- thinks I can. The way I feel, I don't know."

The 32-year-old Stewart, who sparked the Twins to a come-from-behind AL Central title in 2003 after his All-Star break arrival in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays, will be a free agent this fall and in all likelihood won't be re-signed.

Stewart has had plantar fasciitis problems in both feet over the past three years, limiting him to 92 games in 2004 and only 44 this season. The plantar fascia is a long tissue that connects the heel bone to the base of the toes.

Back for only two weeks before getting hurt again, Stewart said this occurrence is the worst he's had.

"I'm at the point right now that I'm frustrated, and I know the team is probably frustrated."

At best, Stewart -- who would have been a candidate to be dealt before the July 31 trading deadline -- will be back in September. But judging by his demeanor and tone, it doesn't sound promising.

"I haven't been healthy at all this season," he said.

The prognosis for center fielder Torii Hunter is better. Eligible to be activated from the disabled list on July 31, Hunter said Monday that he would be ready to return then from the stress fracture in his left foot.

"I'm convinced," he said. "Give me 15 days, I'll be straight. Trust me."
Hunter, who broke his ankle and missed the last two months of the 2005 season, suffered this injury a month ago but assumed it was a strain and simply tried to tape his foot each game and play through the pain. On Saturday, it hurt too much to even do that.

"I couldn't even move," Hunter said.

For now, a frustrated Hunter can only rest and wait. With a $12 million team option on his contract next year, Hunter -- who turns 31 on Tuesday -- was a candidate to be traded, too. But getting hurt diminished that possibility.

"I'm not going to worry about it," he said. "That's up to those guys."
The Twins had Jason Tyner in center field and Rondell White in left field for Monday's game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, with Jason Kubel as the designated hitter.

White, who has a long history of injuries in his career, was signed as a DH so he could stay healthier. With Kubel fighting sore knees, manager Ron Gardenhire had no choice but to use White in the field. Rookie Josh Rabe, just recalled from Triple-A Rochester, might play left on Tuesday, Gardenhire said.

Kubel, who missed the entire 2005 season after a severe left knee injury, had an MRI on his right knee on Monday that revealed minor inflammation and a little bit of fluid but no structural damage.

Team doctors have told him that pain, including in the right one from overcompensation, is a normal part of the recovery process. Gardenhire hopes to be able to return the rookie, who is batting .298 with seven homers and 24 RBIs in 141 at-bats, to regular time in left field soon. "He's going to have to work through it," the manager said.

[Lynch]

Not good. He was having a decent season. Hunter and him both being out of the game right now doesn't not bode well for the outfield. Kubel can't get healthy. Rondell White has been a disaster this year.



WE'll see how the next couple weeks goes.

[mntwinsfan]

we need to trade for a player! Get us a damn good hitting and fielding of.


come on Polad spend spend spend!