MIAMI, Florida (Reuters) - The Minnesota Twins have placed catcher Joe Mauer on the 15-day disabled list with "bilateral leg weakness" following the team's 4-3 loss in 10 innings to the Tampa Bay Rays, the team said on their website.
The move would be retroactive to April 13.
The team said the injury, which refers to muscle weakness in both legs, was linked to the arthroscopic surgery Mauer had on his left knee during the offseason to repair a separate injury suffered late in the 2010 season.
"He's compensating because of the surgery he had this winter and he's starting to get sore in other places. So we are just going to shut him down," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire.
"He is definitely very, very sore over the last few days, his shoulder, his elbow, and we think it's his legs just not strong enough underneath him and he says he feels terrible.
"His knee is actually feeling OK, but he's compensating for the weakness in his upper leg, this is what I was told, that's causing a lot of other problems."
Mauer has appeared in nine games for the Twins this season, batting .235 (8-for-34) with one double and four RBIs.
(Reporting by Mike Mouat in Windsor, Ontario. Editing by Ian Ransom)
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.