Like most catchers, Christian Vazquez is accustomed to playing through pain. This was different.

A cut on his right elbow had become infected, and the infection traveled up his arm and into his shoulder. Fluid buildup caused the shoulder to swell, and it tightened so badly that he couldn’t help keep the starter warm between innings during a game at Detroit in early August.

“I was like, ‘I cannot do this,’ ” Vazquez told reporters from the Twins’ dugout on Friday. “If I have pain, I have pain. I can tolerate it. If I say something, it’s serious. I can play with pain.”

He told head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta, “Hey, my shoulder hurts a lot. I cannot move it.”

Since then, it’s been a long road back to normalcy for Vazquez, who returned to Target Field this week after rehabbing at his

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