Biceps tendinitis has Deduno's status in question

DETROIT -- Right-hander Samuel Deduno was diagnosed with right biceps tendinitis and is scheduled to throw a bullpen on Wednesday to determine if he'll be able to make his next start on Friday against the Indians.

Deduno has struggled recently. He had a 3.17 ERA through his first 13 starts this season, but has a 7.02 ERA over his last three starts to see his ERA for the season rise to 3.82.

But he neglected to tell team trainers about his nagging injury until after his last start on Sunday, and so the Twins want to see how he fares on Wednesday before making a decision about his next outing.

"We'll see how he feels and we'll go from there," Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony said. "We'll decide if he'll make his next start on Friday or not. He has some inflammation in there, and some biceps tendinitis. But it's tricky, because he's not giving straight answers on if he can go or not. So we're just going to see how tomorrow goes and make our decision on what we see then."

If Deduno can't make his next start, it will put the Twins in a bind, as they currently don't have a starter for Saturday's game against the Indians with right-hander Kyle Gibson optioned to Triple-A Rochester. Right-hander Liam Hendriks looks to be the favorite to start Saturday, so the Twins could turn to Scott Diamond, P.J. Walters or long reliever Anthony Swarzak for a spot start.