Minnesota Twins’ closer Joe Nathan is still deciding whether or not if he will have surgery for his torn UCL on his throwing elbow.

Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune reports Nathan said he will play catch Saturday and give his right elbow a vigorous test to determine if he needs surgery.

Nathan sounds desperate to play this season, but we certainly don’t blame him.  The Twins have high hopes for this season, the inaugural season at Target Field.

By playing this season, Nathan is risking missing not only this season but next season as well if the injury becomes a problem later in the season.  If he attempts to pitch through the injury now, he may end up needing the surgery sometime during the season, all while pushing back his recovery time even further.

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