Following yesterday’s game, the Twins announced that they had DFAed veteran reliever Craig Breslow. The move didn’t come as much of a shock, as the lefty has been struggling most of the season. There was also the thought that Rule 5 pick Justin Haley is nearing the end of his rehab assignment, and would need a spot back on the 25-man roster.
So it was interesting when the Twins decided on Monday to recall rookie reliever Alan Busenitz instead.
Not that Busenitz is bad. In fact, he’s been quite the opposite. Over the 8.2 innings Busenitz has pitched for the Twins this season, he’s given up only two earned runs—both solo dingers. That gives him a 2.05 ERA, which is among the best on the team (but I know, I KNOW, small sample size).
Justin Haley has to be activated by tomorrow, and now there is no open spot on the roster. They could have easily just activated him now instead of Busenitz, and thereby saved at least two trips across the entire country to Los Angeles. It’s not like Busenitz is more well rested or anything either; Busenitz last pitched for the Red Wings on the 21st, while Haley last pitched on the 19th.
In any case, there will be another roster move coming in the next 24 hours. Hopefully the Twins don’t just send Busenitz right back to Rochester after the game, because man it would suck to do all that flying. They could easily decide to send someone else down, though, like Buddy Boshers, who has given up five earned runs over 5.1 innings pitched in the month of July. Or even Ryan Pressly.
Or if the Twins got really radical, they could just DFA Bartolo Colon after his start tonight and slide Justin Haley into the rotation. I hope they don’t do that.