Justin Morneau RUMORS & NEWS

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Twins first baseman Justin Morneau ended spring training two days early to give his back a rest. He sat out the Twins' exhibition game Friday, March 29, with a sore back and is not scheduled to play in Saturday's Grapefruit League finale. "He's day to day," general manager Terry Ryan said...." March 29

Twinkie Town "I've often felt that the highest honor in any sporting arena is to represent your country. It's why Six Nations Rugby is one of the most entertaining and visceral sporting experiences you can imagine; it's why people cry when they're standing on the podium at the Olympics; it's the feeling that..." February 28

MLB.com "Russell Martin's last-minute decision to withdraw from the upcoming World Baseball Classic has left Team Canada with a major void in the heart of its lineup. Martin announced on Sunday that he was no longer willing to take part in the tournament. The news came as a major surprise to Baseball..." February 26

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Justin Morneau doubled home three runs on Monday, and it wouldn't have happened if he wasn't Canadian. With the bases loaded in the fourth inning, Morneau pounded a Jeanmar Gomez fastball into the left-center field gap, driving home Jamey Carroll, Joe Mauer and Josh Willingham. That, and a..." February 26

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Impending free agent Justin Morneau said the Twins have not approached him about a contract extension and that he would prefer not to negotiate during the season, creating an audition for the club to retain or shop his services before the July 31 trade deadline. "I think it can be a kind of..." February 16

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Justin Morneau made the rounds of the clubhouse as his teammates filed in from their morning workout on Friday, shaking hands with those he knew and introducing himself to a handful that he didn't. He was saying hello. The next time he shakes their hands, it could be goodbye. Morneau, who..." February 16

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Justin Morneau recently glanced at a photograph of the 2006 Twins hanging on the wall of his house and realized he and Joe Mauer were the only players pictured still on the club. When the slugging first baseman signed his $80 million contract in 2008, the six-year extension made 2013 seem like..." January 26

St. Paul Pioneer Press "The United States is scheduled to play Canada in the World Baseball Classic in Phoenix on March 10. That could mean Twins teammates Joe Mauer (catcher) and Glen Perkins (pitcher) of the USA team could face Twins teammate, first baseman Justin Morneau of Canada. "(Morneau's) been talking a lot..." January 24

Twinkie Town "Over at the Strib, LEN III has just posted a brief update stating that the Twins have offers out to several players. These players include Joe Saunders and Francisco Liriano. The whole article is four sentences long, but essentially Minnesota is now waiting to hear back from multiple players and..." December 05

Minneapolis Star Tribune "The Twins intend to shut down Justin Morneau for the final series of the season. Manager Ron Gardenhire said Morneau is worn down physically and mentally after a long season. The Twins believe he has done enough to distance himself from two seasons of concussion symptoms and various surgeries..." October 02

Minneapolis Star Tribune "When Justin Morneau signed his six-year, $80 million contract in January 2008, the end of that deal seemed so far away. He was 26 and a season removed from winning the American League MVP, and the Twins were perennial contenders. Now he is 31, approaching the end of that deal next fall, and the..." September 30

Minneapolis Star Tribune "With each passing day, Justin Morneau grows more confident his concussion issues are behind him, but Sunday brought another test -- surviving the celebration that comes after hitting a game-ending home run. Morneau's second homer of the day and 19th of the season was a laser beam off Vinnie..." September 10

Cleveland Plain Dealer "Sunday's game between the Indians and Twins took 3 hours and 26 minutes. The last five pitches took a heartbeat, maybe three. Vinnie Pestano threw the five pitches with the score tied 7-7 in the ninth inning. The first four produced two fast outs. Justin Morneau sent the fifth one curving..." September 10

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Justin Morneau was paying more attention to his home run totals in 2010, when he was crushing American League pitching and making a run at a second Most Valuable Player Award, batting .345 with 18 homers, 56 RBIs and a major league-best .437 on-base percentage. Since then, the Twins first..." August 07

Los Angeles Times "With the Dodgers appearing reluctant to meet the Chicago Cubs' asking price for potential two-month rental pitcher Ryan Dempster, they could soon turn their focus to players they could retain beyond this season. Two players on the Dodgers' radar are first baseman Justin Morneau of the Minnesota..." July 22

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Justin Morneau was the designated hitter on Friday, in case he needed to make a fast getaway. His wife, Krista, is due with their second child. How soon? "Like ... now," manager Ron Gardenhire said. Morneau made it through Friday's game, going 0-for-5 in the 2-1, 11-inning victory over..." July 21

St. Paul Pioneer Press "One year ago, the Twins were five games under .500 and five games out in the American League Central. Technically in a pennant race yet consistently inadequate since Opening Day, they could persuade general manager Bill Smith to neither buy nor sell. That won't be an issue this season. After..." July 20

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Justin Morneau's experiment in stasis is over. The Twins first baseman didn't like standing still at the plate, which he started doing about 10 days ago in an effort to see the ball better. Asked if he got anything out of it, Morneau smiled. "It made me realize that I didn't like it and..." July 08

Minneapolis Star Tribune "With Joe Mauer ready to start a game for the first time in six days, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire gave Justin Morneau a break Saturday, putting Mauer at first base and leaving Morneau on the bench. "He's ready to catch," Gardenhire said of Mauer, who was out with a bruised right quad muscle...." June 24

Minneapolis Star Tribune "The visiting clubhouse at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., is a sugar lover's paradise, with big glass jars filled with every type of candy imaginable, from Twizzlers to Twix to M&M's. Justin Morneau -- who cut gluten, dairy and sugar from his diet last winter after going through food..." June 19

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Twins first baseman Justin Morneau was held out of Friday's game because of a sore left forearm. "It's not a big deal, sounded like," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "It was bothering him during the game [Thursday]." Gardenhire said the forearm was sore from swinging. Morneau arrived at..." June 16

Minneapolis Star Tribune "The Twins will have played 62 games when Philadelphia leaves town after Thursday's game. Barring a mishap, Joe Mauer will have started 56 of those games and have 250 plate appearances. Justin Morneau will have started 46 games and be close to 200 plate appearances. These are hopeful trends in..." June 14

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Justin Morneau's recent contributions are a big reason the Twins have won four consecutive series, but at one time the 2006 American League MVP wondered if his concussion and other health problems might put an end to his career. "[It can happen] in the middle of winter when you're not playing..." June 11

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Justin Morneau is hitting for power again this season. Now he's looking for more consistency. Morneau has 10 home runs and 10 doubles in 40 games. Those extra-base hits have given him a .500 slugging percentage -- one point above his .499 career slugging percentage -- even though his batting..." June 07

Minneapolis Star Tribune "First baseman Justin Morneau will be activated from the disabled list before the Minnesota Twins play Wednesday. Morneau took another round of early batting practice Tuesday, his 31st birthday, to test his sore left wrist and reported no problems. He told Twins manager Ron Gardenhire he wants..." May 15

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Justin Morneau took his first swings in a week on Saturday, May 12, and expressed hope he will be activated from the disabled list in time to play in the opener of an eight-game road trip Wednesday in Detroit. "If it's not the first day, I'm sure the plan is to get activated at some time on..." May 13

Minneapolis Star Tribune "After traveling to the Cleveland Clinic on Tuesday to have his left wrist examined, Justin Morneau and the Twins are hopeful the slugger will be able to return to the starting lineup when he's eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list next Wednesday. Morneau was examined by hand specialist..." May 10

St. Paul Pioneer Press "While Justin Morneau is headed back to the disabled list, Brian Dozier is getting ready to make his major league debut. The Twins announced Saturday night, May 5, that Dozier, the organization's minor league player of the year in 2011, will be called up from Class AAA Rochester on Monday when..." May 06

Minneapolis Star Tribune "If Denard Span's ground ball in the fourth inning Saturday doesn't get through the infield, the Twins could have been no-hit for the second time on this road trip. Oh wait, there's one more game left. There's plenty of time to find new lows, especially with Justin Morneau heading to the..." May 06

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Justin Morneau's sore left wrist kept him out of the lineup Friday, May 4, when the Twins opened a three-game series against the Mariners at Safeco Field. With Erik Komatsu not due to arrive until Saturday, and 13 pitchers on the active roster, the Twins were down to one bench player - Trevor..." May 05

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Relieved that news about his sore left wrist was not worse but unsure when he will return, Twins slugger Justin Morneau at least knows what forced him out of the lineup earlier this week. Six months after having his tendon repaired, Morneau only now is experiencing typical post-surgical..." May 03

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Justin Morneau avoided the disabled list and plans to rejoin the Twins on Wednesday after an MRI exam showed no structural damage in his surgically repaired left wrist. Morneau returned to Minnesota on Tuesday to see Dr. Thomas Varecka, the hand specialist who performed surgery to stabilize a..." May 02

St. Paul Pioneer Press "The M&M boys are on R&R again. On the same night Twins catcher Joe Mauer missed his first start of the season because of a sore knee, slugger Justin Morneau went down with a wrist injury that sidelined the designated hitter midway through a 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night,..." May 01

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Twins designated hitter Justin Morneau did not play in Friday's 5-4 victory over Tampa Bay, after fouling a ball off his right foot the night before in New York. Morneau was able to play the entire game Thursday in a 7-6 loss to the Yankees. He tried running on Friday but could only do so in a..." April 21

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Jason Marquis' daughter, Reese, watched Wednesday night's game with family and friends from a suite at Yankee Stadium. She is out of the hospital and still on the path to recovery, but at least the 7-year-old is back to doing many of the things little girls do. That allows her father to do what..." April 19

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Justin Morneau hasn't looked like this in a long time - healthy, happy and dangerous. The Twins first baseman launched two Hiroki Kuroda pitches out of the park Wednesday night, April 18, as he drove in three and scored three in a 6-5 victory over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. "It feels..." April 19

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Justin Morneau will return to first base soon, probably sometime during this week's road trip to New York and Tampa Bay, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said following Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Rangers. Morneau started the first nine games at designated hitter, with the goal of getting as many..." April 16

St. Paul Pioneer Press "The last time Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer homered in the same game, the Twins were on their way to back-to-back American League Central Division titles. The date was July 6, 2010, and it seems like a long, long time ago. But the former AL most valuable players each connected on Thursday, April..." April 13

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau each missed 72 games for the Twins last season because of assorted maladies. The hope for the club coming off 99 losses in 2011 was that the pair - who combine for $35 million of the club's $94 million payroll - would return to health. They have. Each slammed home..." April 13

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Target Field was designed with Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau in mind. It was built with a short right field fence to frame and enable their expected home runs, and a pathway beyond the right field fence down which you could imagine a Morneau blast hopping until it reached Kieran's courtyard. It..." April 13

MLB.com "It had been quite some time since Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau homered in the same game. The Twins' version of the M&M Boys last went deep on the same day back on July 6, 2010, and had never done it at Target Field. But that changed on Thursday, as Mauer hit a three-run homer to help the..." April 12

Minneapolis Star Tribune "While the media and some fans wonder if the Twins can challenge for the division title after an 0-2 start, first baseman/designated hitter Justin Morneau looks for the club to be a contender. He is hitting the long ball like he did when he was the American League MVP in 2006. Morneau appears to..." April 08

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Twins slugger Justin Morneau said Monday he will begin the season as the designated hitter to reduce any chance of a recurrence of concussion symptoms that have plagued him since July 2010. Morneau revealed about a week ago that, according to his doctors, the chances of a recurrence of..." April 03

Dallas Morning News "Jim Bowden knows a little something about running a major league team. Bowden, who is an analyst for ESPN .com, was previously the general manager of the Cincinnati Reds from 1992-to-2003 and the Washington Nationals from 2005-to-2009. One of his recent online duties included compiling his 10..." March 29

Minneapolis Star Tribune "There was offense all over the Lee County Sports Complex on Wednesday. The Twins ran out to a big lead while beating Philadelphia 11-7 as Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau offered a reminder of what things look like when they are in the lineup together. Both went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Mauer..." March 29

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Twins slugger Justin Morneau said he might be used more at designated hitter and less at first base to decrease the chance of a re-occurrence of the concussion problems that premarturely ended his past two seasons. "Not to get into the medical stuff too much, but [the doctors] said before that..." March 27

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Justin Morneau, because of concussion symptoms and other injuries that required surgery, said he fell into a lot of bad habits with his swing last season. This spring has been about proving his health and correcting those flaws. He was on a back field before Saturday's game, taking extra..." March 25

Minneapolis Star Tribune "The Twins have 13 spring training games remaining, meaning they have 13 games to decide what Justin Morneau's role will be with the club. The Twins had hoped the 2006 American League MVP would be their regular first baseman as he attempts to come back from a 2011 season marred by concussion..." March 24

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Justin Morneau feels better than he has in months and is swinging the bat better than he has all spring. His head is clear, and his wrist is healing nicely. Yet he still doesn't know if he'll be the Twins' first baseman when Minnesota opens its season April 6 at Baltimore. "We'll see what it..." March 24

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Justin Morneau had an ice pack wrapped around his surgically repaired left wrist after going hitless in two at-bats and lowering his batting average to .100 in Monday's 8-4 victory over the Red Sox at JetBlue Park. Morneau said he's been icing the wrist daily, as he tries to regain strength,..." March 20