C.J. Cron was booked on two flights out of Southwest Florida International Airport on Friday following his rehab stint in Fort Myers. One was headed to Pawtucket, R.I., where the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings were playing. The other was headed to Minneapolis. If his right thumb felt okay, he would join the Minnesota Twins, and there would be an empty seat next to someone heading to Rhode Island.
Turns out his thumb was just fine.
“Obviously, you never want to have to deal with this kind of stuff, but sometimes, things happen,” he said. “Hopefully we nicked it in the bud right there.”
It’s the second time that Cron had gone on the injured list with a thumb inflammation issue. This time the concern about him coming back was how he’d fit on the roster. Perhaps Luis Arraez, who is hitting .342/.418/.436, would have to be sent down to make room. Or maybe the Twins would have to go to a 12-man pitching staff.
Instead, room was made for him when Byron Buxton was placed on the IL with a left shoulder subluxation, and Michael Pineda with a right triceps strain.
Buxton is not only having a breakout season offensively (.262/.314/.513), but has hit well coming off injury despite being on and off the IL frequently this year. From July 12, his first game back after suffering concussion-like symptoms, to Thursday he hit .324/.314/.588 with one home run and six doubles. Minnesota was 7-2 in those nine games. They are 14-17 when he is not in the starting lineup this year.
And Pineda had been pitching well recently. After a slow start to the season following Tommy John surgery last year, he had a 2.23 ERA (.235/.284/.368 batting average against) in his last six starts. But he was pulled after throwing 80 pitches in Thursday’s outing, despite only giving up one run through six innings.
“This was something that did arise during his start, it’s why he did come out of the game when he did,” said Rocco Baldelli. “We didn’t want to push anything, even though he was throwing the ball really well. It was more of an odd, slightly uncomfortable feeling, than it was any sort of acute injury. More of like a feeling in his muscle that we wanted to make sure was okay.”
Lewis Thorpe was optioned to Triple-A, and Jake Cave and Zack Littell were recalled in addition to Cron being activated and Buxton and Pineda heading to the 10-day IL. Cave will see time in the outfield with Buxton on the IL, and Littell, who has pitched well as a reliever this season, replaces Thorpe in the bullpen.
But instead of Cron potentially disrupting the roster, he’s now a vital offensive boost for a team that has lost one of its best players and a hot starter. In order to deliver at the plate, however, his thumb will have to be better than it was when he came back from the IL last time. He says there was a “bit of a mix-up” last time, and that he should have gotten an injection during the All-Star Break.
He said he’s experimented with different grips, and added pads to his gloves and the bat, but none of it helped. Ultimately, it came down to just resting his thumb and reducing the pain to a point where he felt comfortable in the batter’s box, with player and organization hoping that he got on the right flight out of Fort Myers.
