Twins put Cron, Wade on IL with thumb injuries

MINNEAPOLIS -- C.J. Cron became the latest Twin to be hit in the recent rash of injuries on Saturday, when the first baseman was placed on the 10-day injured list with inflammation in his right thumb. In a corresponding move, LaMonte Wade Jr. Jr. was recalled from Triple-A Rochester.

But in another tough injury break for the Twins, Wade Jr., too, suffered an injury during Saturday’s 7-4 win, when he dislocated his right thumb as he made a leaping attempt to grab Elvis Andrus’ solo homer in the sixth inning. He exited the game, was replaced in left field by Marwin Gonzalez and was placed on the 10-day IL on Sunday.

Wade Jr., who was making his second career start, had walked and scored a run earlier in the game. Jake Cave will be recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take the roster spot.

"I was just focused on the ball, making the play," Wade Jr. said. "I knew when I jumped, I knew that I had kind of a feel that the wall was coming close. I didn't even think it was that close -- maybe I jump a half-second earlier or later, making a play. But it's okay. We got the W today."

Manager Rocco Baldelli said that Cron had been dealing with soreness in the thumb for some time, and even with the four-day All-Star break coming up, the staff felt it would be good to get Cron out of action for an extended period of time. Baldelli said the injury was more than just typical soreness and had been affecting Cron's swing.

Baldelli didn't rule out the possibility that the thumb injury could linger, but the medical staff felt that, at minimum, getting Cron out of action for 10 days would help him make "significant progress" in the healing process.

"It’s something that we’re all in agreement that this is something that needs a little time," Baldelli said. "He was altering his swing a little bit and didn’t look like himself in some ways, and it was all related to this thumb and it’s just something that we think a good 10-day break will really help with."

Though Cron was 2-for-5 with two runs, two doubles and two RBIs in Friday night's 15-6 rout of the Rangers, Baldelli said that the first baseman might have been removed from the game with the thumb injury if the Twins' position-player depth wasn't already so thin due to the other injuries throughout the roster.

"That's a very surface-level way to look at it: 'He got two hits, he should be fine,'" Baldelli said. "There were times earlier in that game when he did not look like himself, at all, swinging the bat."

Cron is hitting .266/.326/.495 with 17 homers and 18 doubles in 78 games this season.

Cron joins Eddie Rosario (left ankle sprain), Willians Astudillo (left oblique strain) and Jake Odorizzi (right middle finger blister) on the injured list, and others, like Gonzalez, who are also banged up, but not seriously enough to require IL stints.

"We’re going to be in a lot better shape physically after the break than we are right now," Baldelli said. "It's no secret outside of our clubhouse or inside our clubhouse that we’ve been dealing with some injury issues and adversity. There are days when there’s not one guy on the field that you would say is completely healthy. Everyone is dealing with something or multiple things."