Nick Blackburn is considered day-to-day with right posterior shoulder stiffness. It's possible Blackburn could miss his next start, but it sounds like he'll be able to avoid a DL-stint. With Scott Baker (elbow) out for the year, the Twins can ill afford another pitching injury. As of now, his next scheduled start is March 19 against the Yankees.

Nick Blackburn was forced from Saturday's game with an undisclosed injury. No further information is available. Blackburn allowed two runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings before exiting. Brian Duensing came on in relief and is a candidate to replace him in the rotation if he requires a DL-stint.

Nick Blackburn surrendered five runs in six-plus innings in a loss to the Angels on Monday. Blackburn was really a whole lot better than the 7.50 ERA suggests. Unfortunately, the five hits he allowed were all bunched today. Three of them came consecutively in the two-run first inning. The other two immediately followed a leadoff walk in the three-run seventh. Blackburn ended the day with 14 groundball outs and a 1.17 WHIP. If only he could have spaced out those hits...

Nick Blackburn worked four scoreless innings in a no-decision versus the Orioles on Friday. Blackburn has always been a very good spring training pitcher, so the seven scoreless innings to date this month is nothing new. He'll likely be a fringe AL-only pitcher again this season.

Nick Blackburn scattered three hits over three shutout innings in the Twins' 5-1 victory over a Yankees split-squad Sunday. Blackburn, who is coming back from surgery to move a nerve in his forearm, was making his spring debut. He's pretty much guaranteed a spot in the Minnesota rotation despite his poor performance down the stretch last season.

Nick Blackburn (forearm surgery) said Friday that he's on track for spring training. Blackburn had surgery in late-September to relieve pressure stemming from an entrapped nerve in his right forearm. Assuming no setbacks, he should enter spring training with a rotation spot to lose. The 29-year-old right-hander posted a 4.49 ERA and 76/54 K/BB ratio over 148 1/3 innings with Minnesota last season.

Twins activated RHP Nick Blackburn from the 60-day disabled list. The Twins are doing some housecleaning with their 40-man roster Friday, making a number of moves. Blackburn underwent a procedure at the beginning of the month to help relieve discomfort from Radial Tunnel Syndrome that caused a decompression of the radial nerve in his right forearm muscle. He is expected to be ready for spring training.

Nick Blackburn underwent a procedure Friday to help relieve discomfort from Radial Tunnel Syndrome that caused a decompression of the radial nerve in his right forearm muscle. Blackburn will be in a splint for six weeks, but may need a couple more weeks before resuming workouts. However, he is expected to be ready for spring training. The 29-year-old right-hander remains under contract for $4.75 million next season and $5.5 million in 2013.

Nick Blackburn will have surgery Friday to relieve pressure stemming from an entrapped nerve in his right forearm muscle. He will need 6-8 weeks of recovery time, and his normal offseason throwing program will not be affected. "I usually don't start throwing until around Christmas so even if I didn't have the surgery I wouldn't have started throwing any earlier," said Blackburn. "So this will work with the timing because I'll be done rehabbing by the time I start throwing. So it won't be a concern next year." Barring any setbacks, Blackburn should be fine for the start of spring training.

Nick Blackburn will have another check-up in New York by Dr. David Altcheck after failing to progress from his forearm injury as hoped. Altcheck examined Blackburn last month, when the right-hander was diagnosed with a strained right forearm. The good news is that Blackburn is expected to only need rest, as the injury is on the top of the forearm, not the side near the elbow ligaments.