Thursday, June 27, 2019

Running low on outfielders

The Twins won again Wednesday, and they won with a makeshift outfield for much of the game.

After Eddie Rosario -- playing center with Byron Buxton on the IL and Max Kepler sidelined by a swollen elbow -- sprained his ankle on first base, they sported an outfield of Luis Arraez in left, Jake Cave in center and Willians Astudillo in right. (Late in the game Kepler came in to play center, with Arraez returning to third base, Astudillo moving to left and Cave to right.)

While in right field, Astudillo made a savvy throw behind the runner to help mute a Tampa Bay threat. Man can play some baseball.

Still, things are desperate enough that Nelson Cruz was reminding the manager that he still has his glove. I'm pretty sure that Rocco Baldelli wants to avoid that, however.

All of which led to this early morning -- it is a nooner today, after all -- tweet from a national reporter:


No word at that point on how the roster spot was being opened. My guess: Either Rosario is going on the injured list or they're dropping back to 12 pitchers. 

Baldelli downplayed Rosario's injury immediately after the game, and if the Twins really think he'll be good to go in a day or two, they would want to avoid sidelining him. But it's more likely that they will take their time and let the ankle heal rather than push him and risk a more severe second sprain. 


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