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Baseball seasons are full of ups and downs, but I don't think we were prepared to see the Twins be as sluggish as they've been. There's some comfort in, when comparing this year to last year, the difference between expectations and reality mean that this year's club doesn't have quite so far to fall. Unfortunately that doesn't make the bad games any easier to take.
There are a whole bunch of things worth talking about this morning, so let's get to it.
- Justin Morneau will be put on the disabled list tomorrow. The soreness in his wrist isn't improving, and there's no use keeping him on the roster if he isn't going to be able to contribute.
- As Morneau heads to the DL, the Twins will recall both Brian Dozier and Scott Diamond. Dozier, in 105 at-bats for the Red Wings, has hit .276/.339/.371 with a home run, seven doubles, and 11 walks versus 18 strikeouts. It's likely that Jamey Carroll will be shifted into a utility role. Diamond, meanwhile, has struck out 26 in 34.1 innings, walking seven and allowing just a single home run thanks in some part to a 48% ground ball rate.
- With one to the DL and two on the way up, that leaves the Twins with one corresponding move to make. No other position player would seem to make sense at this point, and among pitchers it would make the most sense to move Liam Hendriks back to Rochester. After a solid first start to the season, each successive trip to the mound has been less effective. The Twins knew Hendriks wasn't ready to face MLB hitters to start the season but he was forced into action. Hopefully Diamond can help the rotation find some stability and give Hendriks the time he needs in triple-A.
- Pardon me for A) questioning how he words it in the sentence, as though if Storen were healthy the deal would be taking place, and for B) still being shocked that anyone still thinks a good relief pitcher is good enough to be the centerpiece of a trade for a good everyday player, but here's Nick Cafardo putting the cart before the horse, saying:
"Denard Span, CF, Twins - He remains on Washington's radar, but with the Nationals closer Drew Storen on the DL, a deal is on hold for a while."
- Alex Wimmers is on the cusp of requiring Tommy John surgery. Pushing the feelings of consternation and frustration and disbelief aside for a moment, right now the Twins are officially calling it a slight tear in his UCL. With rehab the tear could fill with scar tissue, which is the path the team would like to consider first. Whatever happens, it sounds like relying on Wimmers to fill one of those many open rotation spots at the start of 2013 would be ill advised.
- Finally, on Friday the Twins stamped Clete Thomas with a DFA and claimed outfielder Erik Komatsu off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals. Komatsu, an eighth-round pick in '08 by the Brewers, hadn't played a game above double-A before making the roster with the Cardinals out of spring training. He was 4-for-19 in 15 games. In the minor leagues, however, his track record is significantly more attractive: .302/.389/.434 in 1506 plate appearances. He's drawn comparisons to Darin Mastroianni, but Komatsu's walk-to-strikeout ratio is nearly one-to-one as his walk rates are consistently around 11%. At 24 and still relatively fresh, Komatsu seems to have a better shot at sticking as Minnesota's fourth outfielder than Thomas did.
That's all for today folks. See you for the game!