MRI on Garver's right knee comes back clean

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Twins received good news Friday on catcher Mitch Garver, who underwent an MRI exam on his right knee that showed no structural damage after he suffered a knee injury during a rundown between third and home while catching on Wednesday.
Garver, the strong favorite to be the club's backup catcher to Jason Castro, injured himself while trying to apply a tag to George Springer in Wednesday's game against the Astros in West Palm Beach. He was scheduled to play in the outfield on Thursday against the Cardinals in Jupiter, but came back to Fort Myers for the precautionary exam, which came back clean.
Garver, the club's Minor League Player of the Year last season, resumed baseball activities Friday and could return to the lineup as early as Sunday against the Pirates at Hammond Stadium. Garver could return to action as a substitute on Sunday, or could start Monday's game against the Phillies in Clearwater.
"Garver did good today, thankfully," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "It was just a little tweak. There was some fluid in there, but I think it's pretty much gone. He'll have a full day [Saturday] and then he'll be ready to go."
:: Spring Training coverage presented by Camping World ::
Garver, 27, is competing for the backup catcher role with non-roster invites Bobby Wilson and Willians Astudillo. Garver is 1-for-8 this spring, but his lone hit was a two-run homer.
Garver saw limited action with the Twins last year, hitting .196/.288/.348 with three triples and a double in 23 games and still has his rookie status intact this season. He hit .291/.387/.541 with 17 homers and 29 doubles in 88 games with Triple-A Rochester in 2017.
Camp battles
• Left-hander Gabriel Moya, who is competing for a spot in the bullpen, threw two scoreless innings with two strikeouts in the Twins' 2-1 win over the Blue Jays on Friday to lower his ERA to 2.25 in three appearances. Non-roster reliever Jake Reed kept up his impressive spring by throwing a scoreless eighth with a strikeout, and has yet to allow a run in Grapefruit League play.
Injury updates
• Shortstop prospect Nick Gordon remains slowed by a mild right wrist strain suffered Tuesday, but he took batting practice without any issues on Friday and could return soon.
• Non-roster reliever Michael Kohn suffered a tear in his right biceps area and is expected to be out several weeks. He's scheduled to get a second opinion next week.

• Castro was scratched from Friday's starting lineup after suffering from migraines. Astudillo started at catcher in his place. Astudillo will also start at catcher Saturday, as the Twins are backing off Wilson for a few days after he took a foul tip off his right hand while catching on Thursday.
• Right-hander Ervin Santana was scheduled to leave for New York on Friday to have his cast removed from his right middle finger, but saw the trip pushed back to Monday because of the weather in the northeast. Santana will have the rest of his sutures removed and will get a better timeline for when he'll be able to throw again. He's still not expected to return until mid-April or early May.
Up next
• Right-hander Phil Hughes, who is competing for the final spot in the rotation, is set to make his second start of the spring at 12:07 p.m. CT Saturday against the Blue Jays in Dunedin.
Hughes threw two scoreless innings in his first outing while hitting 91 mph on the radar gun. Other relievers expected to throw include Tyler Duffey, Ryan Pressly and Lewis Thorpe. Notable position players on the trip include Zack Granite, Ehire Adrianza, Eduardo Escobar and Kennys Vargas.