As Ricky Nolasco begins wearing an orthotic the Twins hope will get him back on the mound, fellow right-hander Ervin Santana is beginning the last stage of his return from a steroid suspension.
They could be on a collision course for a spot in the rotation.
General manager Terry Ryan said Thursday that Santana will make what the Twins hope is the first of three starts with Triple-A Rochester on Saturday, "and if everything goes well, then we have a decision to make. Nolasco's coming back around the same time."
Nolasco, 32, hasn't pitched since leaving a 6-5 victory over Toronto in the second inning because of intolerable pain in his right ankle, cause, the Twins say, by fragment left over from a high school injury.