MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins look a little different than the last time they were at Target Field.
Center fielder Clete Thomas and left fielder Oswaldo Arcia were not on the 25-man roster before the Twins embarked for their six-game road trip last week. But after Minnesota designated Tyler Robertson for assignment on June 3, they recalled Thomas from Triple-A Rochester.
On Monday, Minnesota put center fielder Aaron Hicks on the 15-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain and recalled Arcia. Both Thomas and Arcia were in Tuesday's lineup as they were playing center field and left field and batting eighth and sixth, respectively.
Arcia made his major league debut with the Twins this season and played in 30 games prior to Tuesday. After a hot start in the majors, Arcia cooled off a bit and was sent back to Rochester. Since his demotion, Arcia batted just .218 with nine RBI and 21 strikeouts in 15 games. But with Hicks on the DL, Minnesota needed another outfielder.
While in Rochester, Arcia suffered a shoulder injury and spent 12 straight games as the Red Wings' designated hitter. He played right field on Sunday, one day before he was recalled.
"It was all about just going down there and getting your swings in," Gardenhire said of Arcia. "He went through a little bit of a struggle here at the end, but just go get your swings in and be ready when we call you back up. We have an injury here, so it's nice to see him back up here."
Thomas made his season debut on the road in Kansas City and is 1-for-10 in four games (two starts) prior to Tuesday. He played center field in two of those games and will likely see extended time in center with Hicks on the DL and no other options on the 25-man roster.
"He runs it down, he works hard," Gardenhire said. "We expect him to go out and make all the plays. He's got (Ryan Doumit) on one side and Arcia on the other. He better cover some ground and help them out. That's what he's out there for."
Pressly won't pitch Tuesday: Twins reliever Ryan Pressly was injured during Sunday's double-header in Washington and left the game with a shoulder injury. He said Tuesday that the arm is feeling better, but Gardenhire said Pressly won't pitch in Tuesday's game against the Phillies. Nor would setup man Jared Burton, who suffered a minor groin injury on Saturday against the Nationals.
Pressly threw a bullpen session Tuesday and said he passed all the shoulder tests on Monday. The rookie right-hander believes he should be good to go by Wednesday.
The 24-year-old Pressly, a Rule 5 pick from the Boston Red Sox, made his major league debut earlier this season and has appeared in 20 games in relief with a 1.24 ERA. He said Tuesday that he hadn't been as diligent with his shoulder workouts during the season.
"I've been slacking in my shoulder program," said Pressly, who noted he's supposed to do the exercises twice a week. "I haven't done it in a while, so it's probably catching up to me now. . . . Not smart. Not smart at all. I didn't really get much sleep last night just thinking about it."
Sano, Rosario moving up the ranks: Twins prospects Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario and Angel Morales were all promoted from High-A Fort Myers to Double-A New Britain over the weekend. Sano is regarded as one of Minnesota's best prospects — and one of the best in all of the minor leagues — and was batting .330 with 16 home runs and 48 RBI in 56 games with the Miracle.
It was only a matter of time before Sano, 20, made the jump to Double A. Yet while the Dominican Republic native was tearing the cover off the ball in Fort Myers, Twins general manager Terry Ryan preached patience as Sano makes the adjustment to a tougher league.
"If he does great, everybody will be thrilled; if he does poorly, everybody will be concerned," Ryan said. "It's a growing situation no matter what he does. We'll all be happy if he went off like he did in Fort Myers, but I'm not going to be destroyed . . . if he runs into a little trouble. That's a tougher league and it's more mature players and it's better competition and the game's faster. The weather's different than it is in Florida; the field surface is different than it is in Florida.
"It's time. Same with Rosario and same with Morales. They ended up doing a nice job down there. They got their team in the postseason, all that good stuff. It was time."
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