Roster Updates

The Twins' roster underwent a minor overhaul during the past weekend.  The acquisition of Matt Capps meant the Twins had 13 pitchers, meaning they needed to cut that number down by one.  Nick Punto also hit the disabled list, which is becoming a monthly-scheduled event now, resulting in the need for another middle infielder.

The beneficiary of the Punto injury is Trevor Plouffe, who will see his second stint in the big leagues this season.  The addition of Capps, meanwhile, forced Nick Blackburn to AAA, after his recent demotion to the bullpen.  I was very glad to see it was Blackburn, and not Anthony Slama, who was sent down to the minors.  I figured the Twins, with their obvious reluctance to give Slama a chance, would have seen enough of him after he gave up runs in two of his first three outings.  Fortunately, that's not the case (at least not yet), and Slama will get more opportunities to show off the dominant form that finally earned him the promotion.

In the  meantime, Justin Morneau continues to very slowly work his way back from his concussion.  He was scheduled to take batting practice yesterday, but will instead do so today.  Apparently the decision to hold off a day was made solely because of the amount of people around during the Twins family day on Sunday.  As a very important member of the Twins, and also a member of one of my two fantasy teams, it's painful to see him work his way back so slowly.  Don't mistake that for me calling him weak or anything; head injuries are a serious issue, but when he originally planned to miss just a few days, it's tough to watch his stay on the disabled list become never-ending.  By the way, he still ranks third in MLB with 5.2 WAR.