"Twins outfielder Michael Cuddyer might need four or five more days before his sore left wrist heals enough for him to play. But once he's healthy, he wants to be on the field.

"I never want to sit on the bench," he said. "Right now, I can't go out there and play. I'm not really good out there right now, the way my wrist is."

Outfielder Denard Span, working his way through migraine symptoms, said it's worth it to try to play a few games before the season is over, if he can string a few days of good workouts together.

"If I continue every day to keep up with everyone else, then I'll go out there and try to play some games," he said.

The Twins could just shut down Cuddyer, Span, first baseman Justin Morneau (concussion symptoms) and Jason Kubel (sore left foot) for the rest of the season and keep playing prospects such as Joe Benson and Chris Parmelee. They could cancel upcoming bullpen sessions for Scott Baker (elbow), Francisco Liriano (shoulder) and Brian Duensing (oblique) and give more time to Lester Oliveros, Kyle Waldrop and Scott Diamond. It would be easy to focus on the future.

Manager Ron Gardenhire is in the middle of it. He's running daily tutorials in the early afternoon to help the young players get better. But he knows his veterans want a shot to go into the offseason on a positive note."