Twins second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka broke his left fibula earlier this month when Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher upended him on a broken double play attempt at Minnesota’s Target Field.
The Japanese infielder is still a couple weeks from returning to the Twins’ major league lineup, but he is making steady progress.
Robert Falkoff of MLB.com brings word that Nishioka underwent a round of check-up X-rays on Saturday that showed significant healing.
Here’s Twins assistant trainer Dave Pruemer:
“Nishioka’s X-rays showed good healing. We’re progressing him to more land-based exercises and baseball activities. “The next few days, we’ll see how it goes.”
Nishioka has been taking swings in a batting cage and has played long toss on several occasions, but he is not yet fielding ground balls and is obviously not ready to begin a running program. The infielder posted a .208/.269/.250 batting line, one double and two RBI through his first 26 plate appearances.