MINNEAPOLIS — Veteran reliever Glen Perkins, fresh off back-to-back rehab outings for Double-A Chattanooga, returned to the Twins clubhouse Tuesday, Aug. 15.

What happens next remains anyone’s guess.

“There’s not really an official word,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “I think over the next couple days we’ll contemplate what the best move is moving forward, not only for him but for our team.”

While Perkins struck out 10 in 7�…” innings across eight rehab outings at three levels, he also walked five (including two on Sunday) and allowed a 6.14 earned run average. His fastball velocity, which touched 93 mph last week in Birmingham, was 88-91 mph on Monday, Molitor said.

Lookouts manager Jake Mauer told Molitor that Monday’s scoreless inning was Perkins’ best showing in terms of command, adding his “breaking ball was sharp enough to get swings and misses.”

Perkins’ 30-day rehab window runs through Sunday, so the Twins could ask him to make a quick stop with Triple-A Rochester as it travels through Columbus and Louisville this week. Perkins, however, has enough service time to block such a request after publicly stating back-to-back outings would be the last key hurdle in his mind.

His last big-league pitch was thrown on April 10, 2016 and he underwent major shoulder surgery on June 23, 2016. He is roughly five months behind schedule, but the Twins were willing to let things take their natural course.

Asked if Perkins was ready to help at the big-league level, Molitor demurred.

“I don’t even know if that’s fair to try to answer,” he said. “I mean, the guy’s pitched (seven) innings in (16) months. It’s not even what you would get in a normal spring training. He’s had enough time up here, you trust some of that. Given the fact he missed the majority of last year, it just makes you tread a little slowly.”

Molitor talked with Perkins about the need to “be smart” as the Twins “see how his stuff plays up here.” With diminished velocity and a two-seam fastball he’s using more frequently, Perkins is still adjusting his methods of attack.

“He’s still learning how to use a different arsenal,” Molitor said. “Some of those things he’s been trying to bring into his game considering his velocity is not where it was when he was closing at an all-star level. I do try to imagine best-case scenarios, but we’re just going to have to see what it looks like when we see him on the mound.”

Santiago plan

Another veteran lefty, Hector Santiago, was recalled from his rehab assignment after undergoing additional tests on his back Monday. The Twins were still awaiting results from the magnetic resonance imaging exam on his neck and upper-spine areas.

“He’s not feeling quite right yet,” Molitor said. “We’re still trying to do things that maybe get to the bottom of why he’s been slow to get back to 100 percent.”

Santiago’s original rehab window ran through Aug. 23, but he walked six in 4�…” innings his last time out while his fastball remained down in the 86-90 mph range. Santiago, a prospective free agent, started experimenting with his arm angle to see if that would help alleviate the discomfort in his mid-back area.

He played catch Tuesday and remains encouraged his neck and shoulder aren’t the problem. Nor is thoracic outlet syndrome a concern as he isn’t experiencing numbness in his fingers.

“It wasn’t shoulder, it wasn’t elbow, it wasn’t lat,” Santiago said recently. “It was like mid-back between the scapula and the spine. It’s a tough thing to work on. I can’t actually dig my finger on it, so I’m kind of like, ‘It’s here.’ They say I need to loosen up the pecs and get the shoulders back and stretch it out and keep it loose.”

Like Perkins, Santiago would have to approve any additional rehab outings. He’s already made four starts when the original agreement was three.

In 14 innings, he has walked 12 and allowed 12 hits while fanning 18 with a 5.14 ERA.

Briefly

Adalberto Mejia, out since Aug. 8 with soreness in his upper arm, has yet to play catch but said his arm was feeling better. Mejia is hopeful of playing catch in another day or two.

Dietrich Enns, slated for a second start Saturday against Arizona, had yet to appear in relief or throw a bullpen since making his big-league debut on Aug. 10 at Milwaukee. Enns will throw a bullpen of 25-30 pitches on Wednesday if he’s not used in relief on Tuesday.

Stephen Gonsalves was set to make his second Triple-A start Tuesday and remains an option to be called up Aug. 21 to start one half of Monday’s doubleheader in Chicago.

Twins hall of fame manager Tom Kelly turned 67 on Tuesday.

Former Twins outfielder Danny Walton died recently at age 70 in Morgan, Utah. Walton spent parts of nine seasons in the majors, including 79 games with the Twins in 1973 and 1975.