Mauer goes 3-for-4 in first rehab start in Fort Myers

FORT MYERS — Joe Mauer's bat is ready to return to Minnesota Twins.

But it'll be up to his left knee to determine just when the Twins rookie catcher gets there.

Mauer, on the disabled list since tearing the meniscus in his knee on April 6, looked just fine in the batter's box on Wednesday night during his first rehabilitation start with the Class A Fort Myers Miracle at Hammond Stadium.

Mauer went 3-for-4 with an RBI in the Miracle's 4-3 loss to the Daytona Cubs.

He hit a sharp single down the left-field line against Daytona's Andy Sisco in the first, added a bloop single to left in the third and line- drive single to right in the eighth.

"It felt good to put a uniform on again," said Mauer afterward, his knee wrapped in ice. "I was sore today, but I felt good running."

Yet the true test on just how short — or long — Mauer's stay with the Miracle will be determined tonight, when he likely will start behind the plate as the Miracle wrap up its (four)-game series with the Cubs.

If he can survive nine innings in the crouch without any significant pain or swelling, there's a chance he could head to Class AAA Rochester by the weekend with an eye on returning to the Twins as soon as June 1.

"It would be nice," said Twins general manager Terry Ryan, who watched Mauer from the stands on Wednesday night. "Whether that's a real deadline on not, we'd like to have the player decide their own fate."

If Mauer had his choice, he'd love to be back in Minnesota. But he's quickly learning the one thing they don't teach to players who have dominated the game from the time they first picked up a bat: patience.

"We're just trying to follow the plan," Mauer said. "I just want to make sure it's right. It's early."

While the Twins have been able to overcome a spate of early-season injuries to remain atop the American League Central Division, Mauer has been stuck in Southwest Florida trying to get over an injury that appeared minor when he dove to catch a fly ball against the Cleveland Indians in the second game of the season.

An MRI exam revealed the tear, and Mauer quickly underwent arthroscopic knee surgery.

Yet the knee has been slow to respond to treatment, and considering the team's substantial stake in Mauer's future, the organization is doing its best not to rush him back.

"He's a (21)-year-old player with a huge future and a huge upside," Ryan said.

"We've been very conservative in bringing him along."

If Mauer continues to progress as quickly as he has this week — belting two homers during an extended spring training game on Tuesday before adding the three hits on Wednesday — he soon may get a chance to start delivering on the promise he showed during his brief but spectacular minor league career.

The Twins, however, won't bring Mauer back until his knees are ready for the daily pounding that's sure to come with catching in the big leagues.

"We want to make sure he's healthy when he gets back here," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "It's a little different at this level.

There's going to be plays at home plate. There's going to be intensity and everything steps up a bit from where he's at right now."

If Twins third baseman Corey Koskie has a say, he thinks Mauer will be back sooner rather than later.

"That guy (Tuesday), I believe he caught a whole game and hit two home runs in 95-degree heat," said Koskie, who was rehabbing a strained sternum in extended spring training.

"He'd try to walk and his shoes were filled with water from sweat. You could hear him walk. And he goes out and hits a grand slam. Just sick."

Staff writer Andy Kent contributed to this article.