NEW YORK -- The second day of Miguel Sano's rehab assignment with Triple-A Rochester on Saturday was promising on the injury front, with his ailing left hamstring continuing to feel healthy after he made two consecutive starts at third base.
Despite a clean bill of health, Sano is struggling to regain his timing and pitch recognition at the plate, and the Twins are planning to leave him in Rochester for at least three additional games to find his hitting stroke before they recall him for the middle of their lineup.
"[It] isn't unexpected after a little time away from the game," said Twins manager Paul Molitor. "He's got to get his timing right. I'm not going to stick him up here if he's not ready to hit Major League pitching."
Sano, who was placed on the disabled list May 31 with a strained left hamstring, is 0-for-4 with two walks and two strikeouts in his two rehab appearances. He was scheduled to play a full game at designated hitter on Sunday and nine full innings on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday splitting time between the infield and outfield.
The team has stated its desire to split Sano's time between the infield, outfield and designated hitter at the Minor and Major League levels, particularly in light of Minnesota's crowded outfield situation with Max Kepler continuing to hit well and benefiting from increased usage.
Extra bases
• Closer Glen Perkins' surgery on his throwing shoulder Thursday revealed that his torn labrum had detached from the bone, which was more damage than Perkins and the team had anticipated, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Perkins and the Twins had not known the extent of the damage due to the difficulty in diagnosing such injuries before surgery. He had been targeting a return to the team by the start of Spring Training, but a recovery time of around eight months is now expected, which would mean a return around the start of the regular season.
• Reliever Trevor May threw a successful bullpen session in Minneapolis on Friday and traveled to Triple-A Rochester that night to begin his rehab assignment. He was scheduled to pitch an inning in relief Sunday, and Ryan said the club wants him to make around four appearances before bringing him back up.