Cruz lands on the IL; Arraez called up

As Professor Farnsworth from Futurama would say sometimes: “Bad news, everyone.” It’s the same case here, except I’m saying it in Professor Farnsworth’s voice and following it up with “Nelson Cruz is now on the Injured List with a strained left wrist, backdated to May 14.”

The Minnesota Twins made the announcement today (not in Professor Farnsworth’s voice - but maybe, who knows?) as Cruz will need more time than expected for his wrist to heal. To be honest, I’m not sure why they didn’t make this move to put him on the IL earlier, but I’m not paid by the Twins to provide my opinions to them or make those decisions. In fact, I’m not paid by the Twins at all. Cruz, a.k.a. Boomstick, has not disappointed fans at all at the plate this season, hitting .270/.354/.508 in 35 games with seven homers and 22 RBI. As mentioned before, his being placed on the IL is retroactive to May 14 even though he’s been sidelined for about five days as players can only be put on the Injured List retroactively for a maximum of three days. He’ll be eligible to come off the IL on May 24, if my calculations are correct.

To take Cruz’s roster spot, the Twins have called up infield utility man Luis Arraez. He’s been putting bat to the ball this season between time with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (38 games, .342/.415/.397, 14 RBI) and the Rochester Red Wings (3 games, .357/.400/.357). He doesn’t mash taters as he’s only tallied six homers in his minor-league career, but he gets on base. Arraez is 22 years old and will be seeing his first action in the majors.

Get well soon, Cruz, and welcome to the bigs, Arraez!