Liriano doing well in rehab

Pitcher has gained nearly 20 pounds

BY KELSIE SMITH
Pioneer Press

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire walked through the clubhouse Friday morning, spotted Francisco Liriano and joked that his roster for next season already was showing up.

Liriano took a break from rehabbing his surgically reconstructed elbow to join the Twins for the homestand. Saturday morning, the left-hander, noticeably thicker in the shoulders and chest than he was last season, stepped on the scale for a weigh-in and then went out to play catch.

The Twins' media guide lists Liriano as 6 feet 2, 201 pounds, but right now Liriano is closer to 220. His elbow rehab certainly has lent to a thicker, more muscular frame. Perhaps that stronger build also lends hope that Liriano's body will be able to withstand the violent delivery that forced him to have Tommy John surgery in the offseason because, Gardenhire said, changing that delivery won't be easy.

"We're going to work on him being a little more in control and all those things, but when a guy's been throwing one way his whole life it's really hard to sit there and say you need to change this, the way you land," Gardenhire said. "Sure we want to. You'd love to be able (to have him) under control when he releases the ball rather than spinning backwards and all those things, but it's going to be hard.

"We're going to have to see where he's at and how he's doing. You would love to be able to (have him), when he lands, to face the (catcher), a little more in control. He's been doing it one way his whole life and with success, so we'll see. That's all we can do."

Gardenhire said Liriano, who is expected to begin throwing off a mound in November, has gone through his rehab with no complications and that the organization will continue to keep a close watch on the all-star.

Liriano, who went 12-3 with a 2.16 earned-run average in 16 starts last season, likely will not pitch in winter ball because no one from the Twins' staff would be able to monitor him.

Rather, the 23-year-old could pitch in instructional league and return to Fort Myers for more rehab this winter, Gardenhire said, where Twins coaches and trainers stationed at the team's minor league complex could monitor Liriano's progress.

"We want him ready for spring training next year," Gardenhire said. "You get down there (at winter ball), and it's out of our control. There's no telling what could happen. There's been a lot of work and effort into getting this guy healthy, so sending him to winter ball without anybody down there to monitor it would be a little dangerous with a guy coming off a big elbow surgery.

"He feels fantastic, and we want to keep it that way, we really do. The longer you give it to heal, the better off, with a nice easy throwing program."