Florimon out until March after appendectomy

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Twins shortstop Pedro Florimon was scheduled to have laparoscopic surgery to have his appendix removed on Monday afternoon after suffering from appendicitis late Sunday night. Florimon is expected to miss at least two weeks.

Florimon woke up to discomfort in his right side in the middle of the night and was taken to the hospital, where it was determined he was dealing with appendicitis. Florimon's appendix did not burst, however, which allowed for laparoscopic surgery and reduced his recovery time. If Florimon had emergency surgery, he would have been out six to eight weeks, according to Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony.

"We'll see how that goes, but it sounds like it's going to be [laparoscopic], so hopefully he'll only be a couple weeks before he's back doing some things," Antony said. "It wasn't ruptured or anything, but it was inflamed so they're going to remove it."

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that he expects Florimon to miss the start of Grapefruit League play, but that he'll be the starting shortstop come Opening Day. Veteran Jason Bartlett, who hasn't played since May 2012, was brought in to compete for a utility role, instead of to compete with Florimon.

"[Florimon's] our shortstop," Gardenhire said. "Bartlett is here to try and make the club, but Florimon is our shortstop."