MINNEAPOLIS -- Twins third baseman Miguel Sano received good news on Monday, as an MRI exam and CT scan on his injured left hand both came back negative. But Sano, who was hit by a pitch from Rangers reliever Tony Barnette on Friday, was held out of the starting lineup for a third straight game against the Brewers.
Sano said he was relieved to receive the test results, and he is hopeful he could return as soon as Tuesday. He took batting practice before Monday's game for the first time since the injury.
"I did the MRI early in the morning, and they told me nothing was broken," Sano said. "Hopefully, tomorrow I'm back in the lineup. I'm just so happy nothing is broken."
Sano, though, said there is still some swelling in his hand, but that it's getting better. It'll be up to the team doctors and trainers to decide when he'll be ready to return, as it doesn't affect him in the field, but it's been difficult for him to grip a bat properly with his bottom hand.
"It depends on the people here," Sano said. "I still have a little swelling in my hand, but I want to do whatever I can to help the team."
Twins manager Paul Molitor was also happy to hear the test results came back negative, and noted that Sano was also hit in a similar part of his hand by Dodgers reliever Josh Fields on July 24. That injury caused him to be held out of the lineup for two games, but Sano said this one was worse and hit him more on his knuckle than the wrist.
"It's encouraging," Molitor said. "If you get hit multiple times in the same area of your hand, it has the chance to linger a bit. I think the peace of mind of having multiple tests was a good thing for him. It's about how much he can test it without risking more damage."