Could Morneau begin the season on the DL?

[John Bonnes]

Yesterday's news that Morneau's wrist is still bothering him, along with the 3-30 spring training with no base hits and ESPECIALLY that Justin is talking about how he has been almost completely unable to pull the ball makes me wonder....

 

Under what scenario, outright of an obvious injury, do the Twins coax Morneau to begin the season on the DL? Is there one?

 

Let's say he is stilll hitting .125 at the end of spring. He has asked to sit out every other day because swinging hard is making it hard for his wrist to recover. At what point do the doctors step in and say "It needs rest. You need rest." (And then come out and tell us all "He's got tendonitis. No biggee. He'll be ready in a couple of weeks.")

 

I'm wondering if there is any scenario in which this happens and the club comes north with Parmelee. I'm not sure there is.

[Seth Stohs]

It could happen, but it shouldn't happen if he's playing pretty much every day in the spring. He should shut it down now for a week if he's planning on DLing to start the season.

[Twins Fan From Afar]

Yesterday's news that Morneau's wrist is still bothering him, along with the 3-30 spring training with no base hits and ESPECIALLY that Justin is talking about how he has been almost completely unable to pull the ball makes me wonder....

 

Under what scenario, outright of an obvious injury, do the Twins coax Morneau to begin the season on the DL? Is there one?

 

Let's say he is stilll hitting .125 at the end of spring. He has asked to sit out every other day because swinging hard is making it hard for his wrist to recover. At what point do the doctors step in and say "It needs rest. You need rest." (And then come out and tell us all "He's got tendonitis. No biggee. He'll be ready in a couple of weeks.")

 

I'm wondering if there is any scenario in which this happens and the club comes north with Parmelee. I'm not sure there is.

I can't even think this way yet. Trying to stay positive, despite the .100 batting average and the wrist news.

[Thrylos]

Well, they should put him to the DL if he is not 100% and give Parmelee the starting job. The Twins should get the best 25 men up North and I hope they do it this season

[Ultima Ratio]

It will be painful to watch them trot Morneau out there in the last throws of his effective baseball life.

[AT4MVP]

Does anyone know what Morneau's Spring Training batting average was in 2010? The same season that he was on pace to get his second MVP award? Anyone? Bueller? .156.

 

I know we are all worried about what's going on with Morneau (myself included), but seriously let's not read too much into the average yet. He has a couple more weeks to get back on track. Morneau is also a lot more upfront about everything that is going on with his body than pretty much every other major league player. And given the history of his injuries the past couple of years and the "trauma" that us fans have been put through, everyone is inclined to worry. I am encouraged that he has consistently played at least every other day like everyone else.

 

I was happy to see that he chose to take the three hour bus ride the other day just to get his at-bats in as well. We all know if he really wasn't feeling that well, that wouldn't have happened.

 

To answer the question contained in the title of this post, no I don't believe he will start the season on the DL.

[Shane Wahl]

I am not worried about his ST performance. I am worried about his health and if they would even be considering DLing him, they should be shutting him down now, obviously. They are not, so unless there is some significant change in his health, I expect him to start.

[Fanatic Jack]

I think Justin Morneau will retire before the season ends. It's sad to talk about but reality. I love the potential of Chris Parmelee in the Twins lineup.

[Gernzy]

He just needs to take a few days off and see what happens from that.

[Brandon Warne]

I could see it, but then I think Mauer and Doumit share 1B with Towles coming north to spell Mauer behind the plate. (Rather than Parmelee coming up, that is)

 

No scenario that has Doumit behind the plate more than 20-25 times this year is a good one.

[woolhouse]

Why isn't a move from batting clean-up being discussed? Morneau should be batting 6th or 7th, behind Willingham and Valencia (and possibly Doumit.) Moreso because it is a less-stressful position in the batting order. He can still make an impact at 6th, but he won't feel the pressure to park one every at-bat.

[Brandon Warne]

I don't think that's an actual thing.

[Shane Wahl]

Why isn't a move from batting clean-up being discussed? Morneau should be batting 6th or 7th, behind Willingham and Valencia (and possibly Doumit.) Moreso because it is a less-stressful position in the batting order. He can still make an impact at 6th, but he won't feel the pressure to park one every at-bat.

Well at least he should be moved to fifth, to allow Willingham to drive in a bunch of runs with the three OBP guys at the top. I worry about Morneau clogging things up, hitting into DPs before Willingham gets a chance.

[Brandon Warne]

I don't think either is a bigger threat to ground into DPs than the other.

[James]

It doesn't sound like he will end up on the DL. Not according to him at least. I'm not too worried about his wrist... yet.

[tobynotjason]

I'm not a doctor or a physical therapist or whatever, but it is categorically BAFFLING to me that they are running him out there while his wrist is still a problem. Let it heal. Completely. What is the rush? When will this team learn that players playing hurt is not a formula for success and that "toughness" doesn't lead to wins? (On the bright side: it's heartening that he stated his struggles are 100% not concussion related.)

[ThatsRich]

If you would have told me 4 weeks ago that we'd be more worried about Morneau's wrist than his head, I'd have taken it in a heartbeat.

 

Just sayin'.

[StormJH1]

If you would have told me 4 weeks ago that we'd be more worried about Morneau's wrist than his head, I'd have taken it in a heartbeat.

 

Just sayin'.

The fact that his wrist is bothering him doesn't improve the situation with his concussions whatsoever! I'm stating the obvious here, but we're only talking about the wrist because one of his many other injuries is temporarily superseding the PRIMARY concern, which is that he's basically wrecked from concussions.

 

The concern isn't just that he's hitting in the .100's for Spring Training. It's that he's hitting in the .100's, and this is a trend continuing over from 2011, when he had a .618 OPS over 288 plate appearances. At some point, we need some evidence that he can drive the ball. However, if his wrist is bothering him, wrist and elbows are the types of injuries that sluggers can often play through, but which sap them of almost all their power, so that could be an alternative explanation.

[cr9617]

I think Justin Morneau will retire before the season ends. It's sad to talk about but reality. I love the potential of Chris Parmelee in the Twins lineup.

Do you base this potential off the 3 weeks he spent with the Twins in April? Or the 3-4 unimpressive years in the minor leagues?

 

There is very little to suggest he is going to be anything other than ordinary as a Major Leaguer.

[jjswol]

I think the chances of him starting the season on the DL are greater than him starting the season at 1B. Morneau claims he has a wrist issue and he probably does to some degree but something tells me that Morneau's issues go way deeper that his wrist. I don't think Morneau is try to mislead anyone, but I don't think that Morneau is ready to accept his real problem and that problem remains his head and his concussion issues. You can't hit if you don't have confidence in your skills and abilities and I think Morneau has lost the edge you need to hit in the majors. It is hard to watch this one time great hitter struggle so mightily.