Park banged

Byung Ho Park turned
30 last month.

Byung Ho Park is to have hand surgery today. His 2016 season is over.

His numbers, majors and minors, weren't good. How much of his struggles can be laid at his hand and wrist issues and how much at his ability/approach is uncertain. It's difficult to hit with a bad hand or wrist. Park, through his translator, downplays the injury factor in the linked story, but that may simply be a "no excuses" approach.

Excuse or reason, the injury (injuries?) make Park's 2016 deceptively difficult to evaluate. When he made contact, the ball went a long way. But he didn't make contact very often.

Park is signed through 2019, maybe 2020 (team option). Joe Mauer is signed through 2018. That's two for first base and designated hitter. Miguel Sano may not be any more a third baseman than he was a right fielder, so he may be a third for that mix. Then there's Kennys Vargas, who slugged .576 in his limited major league time. Four.

Meanwhile, Trevor Plouffe has seemingly been locked into both first base and the cleanup slot. There may be a universe in which that is optimal, but I don't think I'm inhabiting it.