I was in the clubhouse a very long time today talking about yesterday’s game, prospects and to see if there’s anything in the wind concerning trades. While there’s no breaking news out there, days like these are important to me because you have to keep talking to people in this business if you want to stay on top of the news.

I just didn’t have time to run up to the pressbox and post the lineups. I’m not trying to blow this off, but there will be days like this from time to time. Especially as the trade deadline nears. I know people get fired  up when the lineups aren’t out at a certain time. Sometimes, they aren’t out right away. Other times, I’m staking someone out for an interview or, to borrow a Doogie term, `insiding.’

Anyway….

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said Kevin Slowey has had  problems with his wrist in recent weeks. Opening doors and picking up objects were a problem. But it didn’t interfere with his throwing until yesterday.

Slowey will fly out to Baltimore on Sunday and see a specialist on Monday. It sounds like they are wondering if there’s a bone chip in there.

Anthony Swarzak is here and in the bullpen. Scott Baker will not throw in the bullpen today so he could be available in a pinch. Jose Mijares. Joe Nathan and R.A. Dickey are available.

Joe Crede is getting rest after playing 16 innings on that back of his. Mike Redmond threw before the game to get his arm loose. He’s t he backup if something happens to Jose Morales. Justin Morneau has volunteered to be the fourth-string catcher but Gardy said that role belongs to Brian Buscher.

Hey, former pitcher Tim Belcher, who’s now a special coach/scout for the Indians, is in town and just walked up to me in the pressbox.

“I can’t believe these fans,” he said. “I can’t believe there were so many of them still here in the 16th inning last night. Good fans.”

Pat yourselves on the back….

Lineups

Tigers (44-35)

1. Curtis Granderson, CF
2. Placido Polanco, 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Marcus Thames, DH
5. Ryan Raburn, LF
6. Brandon Inge, 3B
7. Magglio Ordonez, RF
8. Dusty Ryan, C
9. Adam Everett, SS

Pitching: Edwin Jasckon, RHP

Twins (41-40)

1. Denard Span, CF
2. Brendan Harris, SS
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Jason Kubel, LF
6. Michael Cuddyer, RF
7. Brian Buscher, 3B
8. Jose Morales, C
9. Nick Punto, 2B

Pitching: Francisco Liriano, LHP

Last September, Juan Uribe’s line drive struck Twins righthander Kevin Slowey in the right wrist, knocking him out of Game No. 163.

On Friday, Slowey began feeling pain in the same area during his outing against Detroit.

“It’s something the I noticed. I told the trainers and, immediately, they said, `listen,we’re going to get this checked out.’ ” Slowey said. “The plan is to get it checked out on Monday and make a decision.

“It’s the same area as last year, obviously from blunt force trauma. I think they’ll look into where it’s related.’

“More than anything it’s concerning because it’s in my right wrist which is a significant area.”

Slowey said it affected how he gripped the ball and the pain when from dull to sharp.

So the Twins have placed Slowey on the 15-day DL and will call up righthander Anthony Swarzak, who will help out in the bullpen for a couple days before taking Slowey’s spot in the rotation.

BULLPEN WATCH

The Twins will stay with 11 pitchers for now. Columnist Patrick Reusse called up MLB rosters and noted that the Twins are the only team to have an 11-man staff.

Brian Duensing threw 39 pitches on Friday but is probably a no-go for tomorrow since he’s not used to that life.

Bobby Keppel (14 pitches), Matt Guerrier (18 pitches) and Joe Nathan (21) should be good to go.

I would doubt that Jose Mijares (32) would be used. R.A. Dickey? Who knows? He threw 42 pitches but is supposed to be durable.

Detroit had Armando Galarraga warming in the pen at the end of the game. But relievers Freddy Dolsi (64) and Joel Zumaya (53) can’t be expected to be available on Saturday.

SPAN THE MAN

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has made dizzy jokes to Denard Span ever since he came off the disabled list. Span said he would have occasional dizzy moments as he worked his way back from a vestibular neuritis of the right ear.

But he said Friday was the first day he felt totally fine. It showed has he had his first five-hit game of his career.

“This is the best I felt in a month,” Span said. “Someone predicted that I would hit a home run today (me). I didn’t do that but I had a lot energy and I haven’t had that in over a month, It’s good to come here today and feel like myself.”

Span raised his averaged from .282 to .292 on Friday.

MAUER WATCH

Joe Mauer had eight plate appearnces on Friday, bringing him within four plate appearances of qualifying for the league leaders.

He’ll be seven behind when play starts tomorrow. He’ll need 254.2 plate appearances to qualify and he’ll be at 248. He’ll probably be the designated hitter tomorrow after catching all 16 innings on Friday. That will lead to an interesting decsion by Ron Gardenhire because Delmon Young was 3 for 6 with a homer and double but Jason Kubel should get a shot at Edwin Jackson.

FINALLY

The Twins had allowed more than five runs only three times in the their previous 34 games before Friday.

Justin Morneau and Nick Punto are in the starting lineup, so the injuries that forced them to leave Wednesday’s game must have been minor.

Brian Duensing is here and determined to stick around longer than nine games this time.

There are no new developments, as far as the Twins are concerned, in the Miguel Angel Sano pursuit. There is some concern that another team might sign Sano and cross their fingers that he’s really 16. Indications are that the Twins won’t sign Sano unless his age is verified.

The Twins failed to sign any of the top handful of Venezuelan prospects. They won’t celebrate until they get the contracts in their hands, but they expect deals with a few Dominican prospects they feel have pretty good ceilings.

Baseball America is reporting that the Twins have signed Max Kepler from Germany. They claim he’s an outfielder but ESPN’s Keith Law reports that he’s a catcher. Apparently, he’s the top prospect in Europe. What does that mean?

 Now let’s examine the report from FOX’s John Paul Morosi (a person I have a lot of respect for) that the Twins have been chatting up the Pirates about Freddy Sanchez, Matt Capps and John Grabow.

I was told the Twins have liked all those players for awhile and are keeping in touch with the Pirates. But nothing is imminent.

Pittsburgh is in a tough spot because their fans and players are wondering why they are trading good players when they aren’t that far out of it in the N.L. Central. But the Bucs’ brass apparently knows they need to address weaknesses throughout the organization, and the best way to do that is to trade a player for multiple players in return.

Sanchez would fit in nicely as the Twins’ No. 2 hitter, but Bucs beat writer Dejan Kovacevic tweeted that Sanchez isn’t being discussed.

Capps or Grabow would boost the bullpen but several teams are looking for bullpen help. The Twins’ track record suggests they don’t do well when there’s competition. They’ve historically preferred to hold onto their prospects, which doesn’t bode well in this case.

But let me throw this one out: What if the Twins are willing to deal one of their current starters, in addition to a prospect? With Anthony Swarzak’s development and R.A, Dickey a rotation option, would the Twins consider moving a starter? I think the Twins might, at least, consider that approach.

I was told that the Twins are able to add some payroll. I wasn’t told a number but at least they are willing to take on some salary. Sanchez’s salary, however, might be too much to take on. There’s a vesting option for 2010 at $8 million with bonuses that could push it to $9 million. The Twins likely would want Sanchez as a rent-a-player, which affects what they would want to give up. Then there’s that option. 

I’ve written here and said on the radio that I have little confidence that the Twins will make a significant deal. If they pulled something off with Pittsburgh - especially if there’s a breakthrough with Sanchez, I’ll be the first to say I was wrong for doubting them.

Update: Mike Redmond’s forearm is very sore, so he’s probably not available today.

Delmon Young is the DH today to get another righty in against French.

I’m predicting a Denard Span homer today

Tigers (43-35)

1. Curtis Granderson, CF
2. Placido Polanco, 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
4. Marcus Thames, DH
5. Don Kelly, LF
6. Brandon Inge, 3B
7. Josh Anderson, RF
8. Gerald Laird, C
9. Ramon Santiago, SS

Pitching: Luke French

Twins (41-39)

1. Denard Span, LF
2. Brendan Harris, SS
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Michael Cuddyer, RF
6. Joe Crede, 3B
7. Delmon Young, DH
8. Carlos Gomez, CF
9. Nick Punto, 2B

Pitching: Kevin Slowey

STILL FROM KANSAS CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, MO. — I was told today that the Twins have made an offer to Dominican superprospect Miguel Angel Sano - but it’s contingent on him being able to prove that he’s 16.

When I first head that, I was like, “Well, yah, if he’s not 16 then aren’t all deals off anyway?” Anyway, that’s what I was told by a good source and I’m running with it.

And proving his age is one of the unsolved mysteries of all time, apparently.

The Twins, Pirates and Orioles are the teams known to have interest in Sano, an infielder with power potential. Pittsburgh is believed to have made an offer for him too. Check out his photo on the Post-Gazette site. It’s believed that the Twins offer is around $3 million.

It was the Twins who recently asked Major League Baseball investigators to get involved in Sano’s age verification process. That shows they are pretty serious about the kid. But records on childbirths in the Dominican Republic apparently are as tough to figure out as one of Craig’s blog responses. I kid, Craig. I kid. But the process could take awhile.

 If Sano (pronounced Son-YO) is caught lying about his age he won’t be allowed to sign with aa club for a year. Even if he’s really 18 he’s still a prospect - but won’t command offers in the $3 million range.

Sano is considered a shortstop now but speed is not his best asset and he’s projected to be a 220-pounder. He very well might wind up at third base or the outfield. But he has power to all fields and a swing some think is special.

There have been rumors that Sano is looking for a bonus in the $4 million range. Would the Twins go that high? One time they thought they had a shot at a top Latin prospect was when they offered Miguel Cabrera $1 million and watched Florida sign him for $1.8 million.

If the Twins sign Sano for something in the $3 million range, it would obliterate their record bonus for an international prospect, which was $775,000 for Alexander Smit in 2002. In fact, their second highest bonus on the international front is around $150,000 for infielder James Beresford, an Australian currently at Class A Beloit.

COULD BE THE BREAKTHROUGH YEAR 

Even if they don’t sign Sano, the Twins still might set signing bonus records this year. From talking with a couple of people within the organization, the Twins have spent recent years pushing hard to improve their relationships in Latin America and feel this might be the year it all pays off.

“We’re pursuing a lot of different players and we are pursuing some high profile players.” Twins general manager Bill Smith. “We have put a lot of time in the past two to three years. This is one of our bullets: To get strong in the international market. We’ve have had some interest in some high profile players (in the past) and haven’t been able to finish them off.”

For instance, the most money doesn’t always get the best players. Facilities, staff and the right words do. Michael Inoa signed with A’s last year for around $4.25 million when Texas reportedly offered more. It didn’t hurt that Billy Beane made a trip to the Dominican Republic to meet the family.

Bill Smith and Mike Radcliff have been to Latin America and know the lay of the land and how things work. 

“We continue to be aggressive. We have dispatched some of our best scouts there.”

Indications are that the Twins are in on a few other top prospects. Not for Sano money, but more than that have laid out in the past.

Fred Guerrero is the Twins’  scout in the Dominican Republic. Based in Santo Domingo, Fred Guerrero is the son of Epy Guerrero, who signed George Bell, Tony Fernandez, Jose Mesa, Carlos Delgado, Kelvim Escobar and other top Latin prospects. The Twins hope Fred has his father’s eye for talent and the ability to close deals.

So the Twins seem to have the resources and manpower in place to become a bigger player in the Dominican Republic. Let’s see if it really pays off this season. And let’s see if Sano is really 16.

KANSAS CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, MO - The Twins have just announced that lefthander Brian Duensing has been called up from Class AAA Rochester and that lefthander Sean Henn has been outrighted to Rochester to make room for him.

Duensing, 26, made the team out of spring training but was sent to Rochester on Apr. 13 after giving up two runs on two hits in his only appearance. He was 4-6 with a 4.66 ERA with Rochester  in 13 starts. He allowed one run over eight innings in his last start on Friday but posted a 5.46 ERA in June.

It looks like they really weren’t happy with Henn, who had a 7.15 ERA in 14 games with the Twins. He got off to a decent start but just didn’t throw enough strikes.

Having that flight cancelled actually worked out for me….