The Twins just announced that they have released righthander Joel Zumaya. Zumaya is out for the year because of a torn elbow ligament.

The club was going to do something to clear space on their 40-man roster so they can add a key player before the regular season began, so some kind of move was expected. Releasing Zumaya is a mild surprise, but the Twins could always re-sign him next year if they want to give him another chance. Heck, they were willing to sign him to a major league contract this time, which surprised some folks around the league.

The Twins now have 38 spots filled on their 40-man roster. Terry Doyle, the Rule 5 pick sent back to the White Sox, is the other deletion.

The bigger question: Why in the heck are the Twins announcing something like this at 7:45 a.m. Eastern?

UPDATE: Trevor Plouffe (right hamstring) is playing in a minor league game down the road. This is an important step for him as he tries to get healthy before Opening Day.

Some folks on twitter think that this is the Twins Opening Day lineup. Not yet. I think the Twins want Plouffe to start in right and I think Ryan Doumit or Chris Parmelee - if he makes the team. Will be at first.

Scratch that last sentence. While Justin Morneau has indicated that being the DH this year could be the way to go for him, it wouldn't surprise me if he decides to man first base for Opening Day, then DH after that.

By the way, if you're not following me on twitter, what are you waiting for? @LaVelleNeal is the handle. You missed an interesting exchange last night!

Guess the Phillies are going sans DH today

Phillies

Jimmy Rollins, SS
Carlos Ruiz, C
Hunter Pence, RF
Ty Wigginton, 3B
Hector Luna, 1B
John Mayberry, Jr., CF
Luis Montanez, LF
Miguel Abreu, 2B
Vance Worley, RHP

Twins

Denard Span, CF
Jamey Carroll, SS
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, DH
Josh Willingham, LF
Luke Hughes, 1B
Danny Valencia, 3B
Ben Revere, RF
Alexi Casilla, 2B

Francisco Liriano, LHP