DETROIT — Willians Astudillo might be gone, but he won't be forgotten.
Several players wore green La Tortuga t-shirts in the visitor's clubhouse on Saturday, several hours after Astudillo was optioned to Class AAA Rochester. And manager Rocco Baldelli spoke glowingly of the effect Astudillo had on the club during his time with the club.
"Obviously, not an easy thing to do on our end with Willie," Baldelli said. "He means a ton to the group. He means a ton to us. He does everything we ask him to do. A very selfless guy.
"It was not an easy conversation and something we obviously don't want to have to do."
But the Twins needed another reliever, as they try to reset their bullpen after recent heavy lifting. Bullpens get to this point every year, and it was time to go to a 13-man staff.
While Astudillo can catch and play at first, third and the corner outfield spots. He's got to hit. And, simply, the magic in his bat that made him a fan favorite has not been there. After going 6-for-11 over his first three games, Astudillo batted .214 with a .537 on base-plus-slugging percentage over the next 30.
So the Twins called up righthander Ryan Eades to help the bullpen while sending Astudillo down.
"Sometimes when guys do have options, you end up having to look toward those guys as the person who would have to go down for a period of time," Baldelli said. "But I hope to see Willians back up here very soon. We're also very happy to see Eadesie join the group. It was good to have him in spring training, he threw the ball well."