Plouffe limited in camp, battling sore calf

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Third baseman Trevor Plouffe is dealing with a sore right calf and has been limited in early workouts, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said Monday.

But the injury is minor, and he's only being held out for precautionary reasons. He's yet to participate in any of the infield drills and hasn't been running, either.

"He's battling a calf," Gardenhire said. "He can do a few things, but he can't run right now so it is day to day."

Plouffe, though, is still set to be the club's third baseman this season as Gardenhire all but handed him the job with a ringing endorsement after he hit .235 with 24 homers in 119 games last year, including 95 at third base.

"He'll be fine," Gardenhire said. "We all know about the throwing part and all those things. I know Plouffe worked his butt off out there trying to get better. That's half the battle. You've got a guy willing to go out and do extra work -- tried a lot of different things. The advantage he has now is he's the third baseman. It's not like he's got to take ground balls in left field."