SURPRISE, Ariz.
Mike Minor clutched a baseball in his left hand and took his place in the middle of an empty grass practice field on Monday morning. It was just past 9:30 a.m., and as the morning sun hit the Royals spring-training complex, Minor sought to test his surgically repaired left shoulder.
Sixty feet away, Royals bullpen coach Doug Henry sat in a crouch. A member of the Kansas City training staff looked on. Minor toed a white line and began to throw. He did not rush, working smooth and easy, at his own pace.