Twins shortstop Pedro Florimon is expected to miss around two weeks as he will have his appendix removed at the Lee County Hospital in Fort Myers, Florida.
According to the Pioneer Press, Florimon was taken to the emergency room around 2 a.m. Monday after he complained of stomach pain.
An exam showed no rupture, but there was enough inflammation the appendectomy was scheduled for Monday afternoon. The newspaper reports the plan is to perform the surgery laparoscopically to minimize the recovery time for Florimon.
KSTP-AM reports Florimon apparently was fine on Sunday, but felt pain in the middle of the night.
“Your heart starts to race when you get a call at 3:30 in the middle of the night, but I’m glad he let me know what was going on,” Twins Assistant General Manager Rob Antony said.
Some have speculated the Twins were trying to push Florimon with the signing of Jason Bartlett to a minor-league contract, in the offseason. Bartlett is a former Twins shortstop who spent time in Tampa Bay and San Diego, but was out of baseball in 2013. He is a lifetime .271 hitter.
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said he hopes Florimon would play well when he returns, but that he didn’t need to rush back to reclaim the starting job.
“He’s our shortstop,” Gardenhire told the Pioneer Press on Monday.
Florimon hit .221 with nine home runs in 134 games for the Twins last season.
