Some roster and role moves from the Twins on Monday.
Before the game, Paul Molitor announced that Phil Hughes is being bounced to the bullpen with Kyle Gibson coming off the disabled list this week. Hughes is 1-7 with a 5.74 ERA, and his strikeout rate has declined to barely more than 5 per nine innings, so we can't really say that he's been effective.
On the other hand, he's making $13 million, which is a lot of coin for a long man, which will presumably be his role, at least until somebody else loses his rotation spot. Which will happen, whether because Pat Dean returns to reality, because somebody gets hurt or somebody gets traded. It's just a matter of time.
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Danny Santana injured his left hamstring during Monday's loss to Oakland, and Byron Buxton is returning.
Buxton hit .333/.402/.605 in 28 games in Rochester, so it would appear Triple A wasn't holding many mysteries for the kid.
I'm glad to see Buxton return, and I have to imagine the Twins pitching staff is too. The outfield defense just upgraded markedly
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Gibson is slated to start Thursday against Tampa Bay. We know how the rotation slot is being opened for him. We don't know how the roster spot will be opened.
The Twins right now have 13 pitchers. I don't know what the option situation is for Buddy Boshers or Brandon Kintzler, but I doubt either has any options left. That probably makes Taylor Rogers the easiest to send to Rochester.
I hope the Twins have the intelligence to tell Buxton something like the following: "You are our centerfielder for the rest of the season. Catch every ball in the outfield, try to make contact at the plate, and have some fun." As fans we should forget the small samples from the last two years and watch him blossom.
ReplyDeleteKeep pressure off him as he gets comfortable with MLB.
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