Minnesota Twins: Brian Dozier reveals lingering knee injury dating back to April

The former Minnesota Twins star has been playing through knee soreness since getting a bone bruise in April, which has effected his swing.

Former Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier in an interview with the LA Times,
revealed he has dealt with soreness in his right knee for the majority of the season. Dozier suffered a bone bruise while playing for the Twins back in April. A MRI showed no structural damage, but Dozier reported this week that the soreness has not gone away since.

Dozier has never spent time on the DL in his major league career, and says neither the Twins nor Dodgers has recommended he do so this year. He adds that he would not have accepted an assignment to the DL, saying:

"“My mentality has always been, you can still be productive if you’re not 100%. I’m still trying to find ways to be productive…If one side of your leg is not working, find a way to use your other side”."

He adds that the soreness has prevented him from swinging as he would like, creating speculation that the knee is likely at least partially responsible for his season that has not lived up to expectations. Dave Roberts, manager of the Dodgers, told the LA Times that Dozier has been working hard to find a mechanical fix to his swing that will allow him to be effective.

It’s not a good season for Dozier to suffer a lasting injury, as he will become a free agent at the end of the season. You can’t blame Dozier for trying to play through the injury, as this will likely be his one and only time as a key free agent on the market. At the same time, one must wonder if this could have been prevented with a few weeks on the DL early on in the season. That said, Dozier made it clear that he would have been strongly opposed to a DL stint should one have been recommended, which fits with his old school style.

This news doesn’t figure to have an impact on Dozier’s likelihood of signing with the Twins, though it remains an unlikely situation, in my opinion. But, Twins fans must be left thinking what could have been. If this knee injury was a big reason why Dozier wasn’t as effective this year, perhaps being forced to take a DL stint would have let the injury heal and allow Dozier to play to his abilities. Even if he wasn’t back until mid-May, a fully capable Dozier certainly would have been a nice boost to a Twins lineup that has struggled and underperformed for the large majority of the season. It likely wouldn’t have been enough to make the Twins a threat for the AL Central lead, but you never know.