MINNEAPOLIS — With two catchers ailing, the Minnesota Twins selected the contract of catcher Chris Herrmann prior to Friday's game.
Herrmann spent the 2012 season with Double-A New Britain and hit .276 with 10 home runs and 61 RBI in 127 games for the Rock Cats. While he spent 83 games at catcher, Herrmann also played 27 games in left field for New Britain, one game at third base and 16 as the designated hitter. As a catcher, Herrman threw out 27 of 61 potential base stealers (44 percent) this year with New Britain.
"He's a very athletic kid; he's even a really good outfielder," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said prior to Friday's game. "He played really good left field. He's versatile. He's got a really nice swing. He can hit; we like that about him. His versatility is unbelievable."
Twins catcher Joe Mauer is currently day-to-day with back spasms, and backup catcher/outfielder Ryan Doumit is dealing with an oblique strain. With those two banged up, that leaves Drew Butera as Minnesota's only healthy catcher, prompting the Twins to call up Herrmann.
"(Doumit) says he's ready to go if I need him in an emergency, put him in there now," Gardenhire said. "But we still need to have protection."
Herrmann's flight was expected to land in Minneapolis around 5 p.m. CT, and the Twins were hoping he would be at Target Field prior to the first pitch at 7:10.
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