"After getting Joe Mauer, Glen Perkins and Tsuyoshi Nishioka back from the disabled list this week, the Twins are waiting for another wave of returnees.

Jim Thome could be next.

The slugger with 593 career home runs is ready to start playing games in Fort Myers, Fla. He is recovering from a strained quadriceps and back issue.

The Twins open a series in San Francisco on Tuesday and play three more games under National League rules next weekend in Milwaukee. With no DH, Thome would be limited to pinch hit duty.

"If we deem it's the right thing to get him at-bats [in Florida], or the right thing to get him one [at-bat] a game in the National League cities, that's what we'll do," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "But first we have to see where he's at.""