Twins designate Santana, reinstate Adrianza, select Rucinski

Published May. 5, 2017 4:56 p.m. ET

The Minnesota Twins activated middle infielder Ehire Adrianza from the disabled list and purchased the contract of right-handed pitcher Drew Rucinski, the team announced Friday. To make room on the 40-man roster, outfielder Danny Santana has been designated for assignment.

Adrianza, who has mainly played second base and shortstop in the majors, was claimed off waivers by the Twins in February. Previous, he played in 154 big-league games with the San Francisco Giants from 2013-16. Known more for his defense in the infield, Adrianza has a career .220 batting average with 16 doubles and 26 RBI in 331 plate appearances.

Santana had appeared in just 13 games this season, going 5 for 25 (.200). After a solid rookie season in which he had a slash line of .319/.353/.472, Santana slipped to .215/.241/.291 in 91 games in 2015 and .240/.279/.326 in 75 games last season.

Rucinski, who was not on the Twins' 40-man roster, has pitched 14 1/3 innings in the majors, all with the Los Angeles Angels from 2014-15. The 25-year-old has made six appearances and one start for Rochester this season, logging a 3.41 ERA with 13 strikeouts and two walks.

Minnesota had an open spot on the roster after demoting starting pitcher Kyle Gibson to Triple-A on Thursday.