Nick Punto has landed on the 15-day disabled list because of lingering soreness in his right groin muscle/hip flexor area.. He's scheduled to undergo a MRI exam on Saturday to make sure something else isn't bothering him,
``I thought it would just be a few days. It hasn't made a whole lot of progress," he said. ``It's the right thing to do. Get it looked at in Minnesota tomorrow."
Punto will be placed on the DL retroactive to Apr, 16, so he could return May 2.
To replace Punto on the roster, the Twins have called up :uke Hughes from Class AAA Rochester, where he was batting .267 but already had eight doubles. He's been playing second base at Rochester but manager Ron Gardenhire said Hughes could also fill in as an outfielder.
Jim Thome homered off of Royals starter Gil Meche at Target Field and gets the start again tonight.
Pat Neshek said there's a little lingering soreness in his right middle finger, but it's not bad enough to keep him out of tonight's game if needed. Neshek hasn't appeared in a game since Apr. 14. The bullpen is at full strength for the first time since then.
Matt Macri and Brandon Roberts, both recovering from oblique strains, have been assigned to Rochester and Class A Fort Myers, respectively.
Jacque Jones, out with a strained quad, won't have to go on the disabled list and is day to day at Rochester.
