Twins' Nathan Has Ligament Tear in Elbow

Twins' closer Joe Nathan has a significant tear in his ulnar collateral ligament.  Tests done Monday revealed the injury Tuesday.  General Manager Bill Smith plans to shutdown Nathan for 2 weeks to allow the soreness and swelling to subside and then try to have him pitch in 2 weeks.  If he can't pitch in 2 weeks he'll likely have surgery.  The surgery required is Tommy John surgery and recovery time typically takes 12-18 months to recover from.  Smith says the Twins will immediately look at other options both in-house and out of the organization to replace Nathan.  The Twins on the field beat St. Louis 7-6 Tuesday afternoon.  Third base prospect Danny Valencia hit a homerun in the 8th inning to break the 6-all tie.  Justin Morneau added a 2-run double and Joe Mauer had an RBI single.  Minnesota is off today and will play Baltimore in Fort Myers, Florida Thursday night at 6:05pm.