Major League Baseball

Twins send struggling Nishioka back to Triple-A

Published Aug. 14, 2012 12:23 a.m. ET

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The Minnesota Twins have sent infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka back to Triple-A Rochester.

The move was made Monday before the Twins played Detroit to make room for third baseman Trevor Plouffe.

Plouffe returned from his rehabilitation assignment with Rochester and was reinstated from the disabled list. Plouffe bruised his right thumb and has been out since July 21. He played in two games for Rochester over the weekend before being cleared to rejoin the Twins.

Nishioka was recalled from Rochester a week ago, but the former Japanese league batting champion went 0 for 12 with three errors at second base. He didn't appear in any of the games against Tampa Bay over the weekend.

''I think he just came up here and whether it's trying too hard, or getting too excited, anybody's guess,'' Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. ''And I think we all saw the performance on the field wasn't very good. He didn't make the plays he was supposed to, he missed the spots he was supposed to be on relays. Those are all things he'll continue to work on and we'll see what happens.''

Plouffe, second on the Twins with 19 home runs, is hitting seventh and playing third base in Monday's lineup.