MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota outfielder Oswaldo Arcia is finally healthy, but the Twins want to see him get some more at-bats before he returns to the majors.
That's why Minnesota optioned the 23-year-old Arcia to Triple-A Rochester on Wednesday after activating him from the 15-day disabled list. Arcia hasn't played with the Twins since April 4 after suffering a wrist injury.
During his rehab assignment, Arcia appeared in 12 games with Rochester and hit .308 with a home run and six RBI. But Minnesota wants to see him continue to make progress at the plate -- in particular, cut down his strikeouts -- before bringing him back up.
"He needs to play," assistant general manager Rob Antony said Wednesday. "He needs to get at-bats. He's not on top of his game offensively."
Minnesota's outfield has been a bit of a carousel through the first month and a half due to numerous injuries. That includes Arcia. Aaron Hicks and Sam Fuld both sustained concussions, and Fuld remains sidelined with his.
The Twins would like to get Arcia's bat back in the lineup as he figures to be a key cog in their offense, but it now appears he'll play several more games in the minors before getting another chance with the big-league club.
Manager Ron Gardenhire indicated the desire to have another position player on the roster when the Twins head west for National League games against San Diego and San Francisco. Arcia seems like a candidate for that, but Antony said there's no timetable for Arcia's return to Minnesota.
"I think the big thing here is making sure he's healthy and letting him play for an extended period here, whether it be a week or 10 days," Gardenhire said. "I want to go into National League games in San Diego and San Francisco with an extra guy on the bench, not a pitcher. You've got to have a little more wiggle room in those National League games. Ultimately, I'd like to get back and have at least four men off the bench before we get there and have five when we're there, counting the DH."
Last year, Arcia hit .251 with 14 home runs in 97 games during his first season in the majors. He had just two hits -- including a triple -- in 18 at-bats to start the 2014 season before injuring his wrist.
Gardenhire has talk with struggling Hicks: Center fielder Aaron Hicks came into Wednesday's game hitting just .160 with seven RBI so far this season. Hicks' struggles at the plate prompted his manager to have a discussion with the 24-year-old.
"We had a long talk yesterday just about baseball," Gardenhire said. "This game, no matter how we try to say it, developing at the major-league level, whatever you want to try to do here is still about numbers. You're hitting .160, .170. Those don't last in the big leagues."
Hicks struggled on offense last year, too, in his first season in the majors. He batted just .192 in 81 games and spent part of the year in Triple-A Rochester after beginning the season with the Twins. Yet Minnesota had stretches where it couldn't send Hicks down to the minors because he was their only legitimate option in center field.
That same scenario is playing out again in 2014. As much as Hicks could benefit from some at-bats in Rochester, the Twins can't afford to lose him at this point because their backup center fielder, Fuld, is on the 7-day concussion DL.
With few options, Hicks may have no choice than to go through some growing pains in the majors.
"He doesn't necessarily have to figure it out up here," Antony said. "But in the situation we're in right now, we don't have another true center fielder. I don't think it would be a prudent situation to send him out and say, 'Go down and figure it out.' We need him, but we also need him to give us something."
Ortiz sees potential in Vargas: Twins minor leaguer Kennys Vargas is likely a few years away from playing at Target Field, but he has a big fan in Minneapolis this week: Red Sox star David Ortiz.
The two sluggers first got to know each other during spring training in Fort Myers, Fla., where both the Twins and Red Sox train. Some people drew comparisons between Vargas and Ortiz because of their physical stature -- Vargas is 6-foot-5, 275 pounds -- and their left-handed swing (Vargas is a switch hitter) that allows both players to hit the ball a mile.
"I didn't get to see him play much, but I know that he's got a lot of pop," Ortiz said of Vargas. "He's got a good future. You've just got to bring him up and let him swing the bat."
Entering Wednesday's game, the 23-year-old Vargas was hitting .310 with seven home runs and 22 RBI in 35 games at Double-A New Britain. Hit hit 19 home runs last season with High-A Fort Myers and has 49 career homers in six minor-league seasons.
Vargas and Ortiz first met in 2011 when Vargas was in instructional league. While Vargas was nervous the first time he and Ortiz crossed paths, their friendship has blossomed since then. Ortiz invited Vargas to his house for dinner during spring training and the two spent plenty of time talking baseball.
"He's a good kid," the 38-year-old Ortiz said. "It seems like he's having fun and trying to make things happen. He's got monster pop, I can tell you that."
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