Minnesota Twins Transactions (July 24th-25th)

On Wednesday, Joe and Maddie Mauer welcomed Maren and Emily Mauer into the world. The Mauer’s will have their hands full as new parents and as a father myself, I personally applaud Joe’s decision to stay home for a few extra days without pay. On top of everything else, the organization’s catching ranks were shook up as byproduct of the miracle of birth as three backstops were involved in moves.

His stay should be short but Butera is back in the bigs. (Photo Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

July 24th

Placed on the paternity list by Minnesota: C Joe Mauer (30) – is now a father and his life and priorities have been forever changed as a result. He’s already equaled his doubles production (31) from 2012 in 92 games played. As I’ve mentioned countless times on The Pond and on our Facebook page, he has been on pace to break Mickey Vernon’s franchise doubles record (51 in 1946) for much of the summer. With his paternity leave he has fallen off that pace (still on track for 49.7) but has an excellent chance to add that record to his already impressive resume.

Recalled by Minnesota (from Rochester): C Drew Butera (29) – played in 184 major league games with the Twins over the previous three seasons with a dreadful career OPS+ of just 36 (100 is average). He’s gone 0-3 in the last two nights and will be back in Rochester – where he’s hitting 0.215/.247/.316 in 25 Triple-A games – before long.

Assigned to Rochester (from Cedar Rapids): C Jairo Rodriguez (24) – hasn’t had the 2013 season he had hoped. After hitting 0.265/.329/.349 with Beloit in 2012 he’s hit 0.212/.250/.241 in 40 games between Fort Myers (25) and Cedar Rapids (15) this season. With Butera temporarily up with Minnesota, Rodriguez will serve as Eric Fryer’s (27) backup in Rochester. He has yet to take the field for the Red Wings in the four games he’s been with the team.

July 25th

Activated from 7-day DL by Fort Myers: LHP Corey Williams (23) – returns from the disabled list after spending nine days away from the team. His overall stat line this season is somewhat skewed by the the six hits, five walks and seven earned runs in his two appearances (1.2 IP) before he hit the DL. In his first game back on Thursday night he pitched a clean, hitless inning with one strikeout.