Nelson Cruz to begin rehab assignment in Fort Myers

The Minnesota Twins designated hitter has been on the injured list with a wrist injury, but he’ll head to High-A Fort Myers to begin his rehab assignment on Saturday.

The Minnesota Twins put together an outstanding stretch of baseball during the month of May. While the team had a great record going 21-8, the more impressive feat was the number of home runs they hit with 56 flying over the fence. While that number is a franchise record and part of a MLB record of 1,135 in the month of May, it’s downright mind-blowing considering the Twins were without the services of Nelson Cruz.

Cruz landed on the injured list retroactive to May 14 with a wrist injury and has been working his way back slowly, even taking batting practice prior to Friday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays. That session went good enough that the 38-year old slugger will begin a rehab assignment on Saturday night with High-A Fort Myers.

Cruz was one of the Twins’ biggest free agent signings last year as the team hoped that he would provide a major impact in the middle of their lineup. In the first month of the season, that assumption was true as hit .270 with seven home runs and 22 RBI in 35 games.

While the team would obviously like to get Cruz back as soon as possible, the Twins have been able to let the veteran take his time as the team has gotten off to one of its best starts in franchise history. If all goes well in Fort Myers, Cruz could return to the team in Cleveland, where Minnesota will begin a three-game series with the Indians on Tuesday night.