Twins closer Perkins on 15-day DL, and he expects to be out longer

The Twins on Wednesday put closer Glen Perkins on the 15-day disabled list, and the All-Star lefthander said he expects to be out a little longer than that.

Perkins felt discomfort in the back of his shoulder after pitching on Sunday at Kansas City. He had a magnetic resonance imaging exam and an arthrogram Tuesday that confirmed the strain in the back of the shoulder. Perkins said there also was some fraying in his labrum, which often is an outcome of pitching as long as he has.

He maintained during spring training that his arm was not giving him any problems, even with his velocity in the range of 89-91 miles per hour. He topped out at 93 Sunday.

Perkins said the only problems he has had started Sunday, when he was so unsure of his fastball command that he threw mostly sliders. Perkins gave up two runs and blew a save opportunity in a 4-3, 10-inning loss.

Perkins is frustrated he could have shoulder problems when spring training went so well.

"It was good days and bad days, but it was never a thing where I felt like I couldn't pitch," Perkins said. "I never had a day in spring training — I never had a day during the season in the first week, when I didn't have any opportunities to pitch I guess, but I never had a day where I felt like I couldn't throw, couldn't play long toss, none of that. I threw Sunday morning and played long toss and felt good.

"But as I cooled down from the game on Sunday, the back of my shoulder felt like burning, a burning sensation back there. I guess that's, whatever they said it was is what I was feeling."

Perkins will meet with Twins specialist Dr. John Steubs to map out a plan to get him back on a mound, but it's highly likely that Perkins will seek another opinion before moving forward with a rehabilitation program.

"Whatever the 15th day is, I ain't gonna be back then," Perkins said. "I know that. Hopefully it is on the shorter end."

Twins General Manager Terry Ryan hopes Perkins will be able to pitch in a little over two weeks. He said every time they spoke with Perkins during spring training, he told them he felt fine.

"Glen made it clear that he felt good," Ryan said. "I had no inclination he was having any kind of situation."

Perkins was ineffective for most of the second half of last season and spent time on the disabled list because of neck and back problems. He spent nearly three months of the offseason working out in Florida to build core strength and reported to camp in excellent shape.

But, just to make sure, the Twins examined his neck Tuesday, and found nothing wrong.

Perkins is going to be careful with his rehabilitation to make sure he's ready for the rest of the season once he recovers.

"I put the work in and it hasn't worked out so far," he said. "But I got some more time here to put in more work. Hopefully, it will benefit me and the team as the season goes along."

Manager Paul Molitor said righthander Kevin Jepsen will take over as closer, with Trevor May getting most of the work as the eighth inning specialist.

"We're going to have to bump some people down later in the game," Molitor said, "and those moves will include trying to get Kevin in there to save some games for us."

• White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon is a lefthander with a good fastball and sharp slider. But Molitor decided to start the lefthanded hitting Max Kepler on Wednesday. "Sometimes you have to go against the odds a little bit and go with your feelings," Molitor said.

• Byung Ho Park, who was pinch hit for in the ninth inning on Monday, was not in the lineup. After hitting his first major league home run Friday at Kansas City, Park is 1-for-12 with seven strikeouts. Molitor said he was giving Park a break.