Minnesota Twins: Mauer to the DL; Cave takes over in Center
Add another name to an already crowded disabled list for the Minnesota Twins. As many Twins fans feared, Joe Mauer was added to the 10 day DL today. The Twins announced that he has a cervical strain and, most concerning, concussion-like symptoms.
It doesn’t come as much of a surprise that Mauer ended up here for the Minnesota Twins. He had been battling a sore neck after diving for a liner during the Angels series over the weekend. After Friday’s 8-3 loss to the hot-hitting Brewers, Mauer was optimistic that he would miss minimal time. The decision by Manager Paul Molitor to place him on the DL guarantees that we won’t see Mauer for at least a few days.
Mauer has been surprisingly durable this season, batting a robust .283 with 39 hits. He has been a consistent bright spot in a Twins lineup that has struggled to put up runs. The club is going into the second game of a three-game set against first-place Milwaukee and could use his consistency.
The road from here doesn’t get any easier with a home stand against division rival Detroit next. The Twins then go on the road for 3 in Seattle and 3 against third-place Kansas City. At only a game and a half behind division-leading Cleveland, every series counts right now.
Jake Cave Makes Major League Debut
Today’s lineup has Logan Morrison replacing Mauer at first base. Morrison has been batting .203 on the season and has 15 RBI and 5 home runs. He is a serviceable replacement at the plate and with any luck, will be just as effective at first base.
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To replace Mauer’s spot on the 25 man roster, the Twins recalled Jake Cave, from Triple-A Rochester. Cave will make his major league debut today. Molitor has him playing center and batting seventh. He replaces Byron Buxton who has been struggling since returning to the club after missing time for migraines. Buxton was most recently on the DL for a hairline fracture in his foot.
The left-handed hitting Cave has some solid numbers at the plate this season. He’s batting .265 with 7 doubles, one triple, a home run and 17 RBI. With the Twins’ DL looking more like an All-Star roster these days, it gives guys like Cave and Morrison an opportunity to show what they can do.
Next: Looking at the Brewers series
Surely the Twins are going to monitor Joe Mauer’s concussion symptoms closely and with any luck at all, he will be back in the lineup soon and back to his consistent ways.