Musical Chairs Part 96: Kyle Waldrop Recalled, Matt Carson Optioned to Triple-A

In a move that once again reduces Ron Gardenhire's bench to three players, Matt Carson is getting shipped back to Triple-A while Kyle Waldrop is getting another chance at The Bigs. Carson, who was clearly only going to be around for as long as Denard Span wasn't, departs with a hot hand: 8-for-21 (.381) in five games with a double, strikeout, run driven in and a run scored. Of the balls he put into play 26.7% were line drives, but that number doesn't tell the full story of his unsustainable .533 BABIP.

Join us for more after the jump, where I promise not to mention BABIP again for the rest of the article.

Carson did hit the ball hard in the time he was here, but with the state of the rotation and bullpen it's hard for the Twins to not carry 13 pitchers. And maybe that's why they were content waiting so long on Span without putting him on the disabled list: they're already used to running with a short bench, so what was the rush? * So ends Carson's first MLB stint with the Twins.

Kyle Waldrop, on the other hand, is starting his second stint of the season. In his four appearances between June 29 and July 7 he totaled four innings, although he didn't record an out in his final appearance. Of more useful information is his minor league line this season:

At this point I have to believe Waldrop is just another live arm that the Twins can shuffle into and out of games as they see fit. His stuff plays well enough in Triple-A, but it's still hard to see him being anything more than a back-end-of-the-bullpen option at this point.

I'm happy for Waldrop, don't get me wrong. He's certainly put in his time and pitched well enough to get a look. Still, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that Anthony Slama has struck out 48 batters in 28.2 innings, while allowing just 18 hits. Of course Slama isn't on the 40-man roster, but it's still hard to imagine why the team wouldn't want to give him another look. Slama is 28 years old, and he isn't pitching like an organizational guy. He's pitching like a gang buster...who maybe likes to walk a few guys.

Au revoir for now, Mr. Carson, and welcome back, Mr. Waldrop. It's not quite shuffling deck chairs on the titanic, since this season is already below the surface, but at least the front office is still throwing things at the wall to see if something might stick for next season.

* This was a joke.