Joe Mauer sits again, but works out with hopes to return soon

DETROIT – Twins first baseman Joe Mauer was not in the starting lineup again as he continues to recover from a sore right quad. Manager Paul Molitor wanted to watch Mauer go through pregame work before determining his availability.

"We'll evaluate [Thursday] whether I'm going to put his name back in the starting lineup," Molitor said.

Regular batting practice was scratched Wednesday, but pitchers were on the field to bat before the weekend interleague series with the Mets in New York, so Mauer hit with the pitchers.

Mauer said he felt better, but corrected a reporter who speculated that he would feel a lot better after getting some time off. His goal, he said, is to play as much as he can the rest of the season.

Both quads have given him problems ever since he scored from first on a double in Atlanta on Aug. 16. The right one has given him more trouble lately.

"The last three or four weeks, I have had to back off three or four times," he said.

• Miguel Sano still is slowed because of a sore lower right back, but he increased his activities Wednesday and could return to the lineup in time for the Mets series.

• Chad Allen, the hitting coach at Class AAA Rochester, has been with the club over the past week as an extra coach. His last day is Thursday. Class AA Chattanooga manager Doug Mientkiewicz will replace him for the series in New York. Mientkiewicz, a former Red Sox, will eventually head to Boston to be on hand for David Ortiz's final games.

• Former Red Sox executive Ben Cherington, who turned down interest from the Twins in hiring him to be their baseball boss, was hired as vice president of baseball operations by the Blue Jays. Toronto is much closer to New York, where Cherington's family is.