It has been a long, tentacle-filled road back to the Rockies lineup for outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, but the 28-year-old star is officially ready to go.
The Rockies on Friday activated Gonzalez from the 15-day disabled list, and he is penciled into the No. 3 spot of Walt Weiss' lineup card for the team's series opener against the Twins at Coors Field. Gonzalez finished his recently completed rehab assignment with Triple-A Colorado Springs 5-for-13 with four extra-base hits, two home runs and six runs batted in. Almost exactly a month ago, Gonzalez had a tumor removed from his left index finger that resembled "a fatty mass with tentacles" and also "a Cheeto." If his short stint in the minors is any indication, that finger is completely healed, and hopefully that results in a much more effective CarGo than we saw during the first two months of the season.
Gonzalez will be playing in right field, a good move by the Rockies considering he has the strongest arm of any of the team's outfielders.
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Here are the lineups for both teams: