A trip back to Class AAA Rochester does not mean Brian Dozier is a failure. It does not mean the Twins hate him. It does not mean he will automatically fail -- Ben Revere, who was sent back down earlier this year for more playing time and is now among the AL batting leaders, is a good example -- nor does it automatically mean those extra reps will turn him around (see Valencia, Danny). It does not mean the Twins are trying to keep him from reaching a service-time threshold in order to make him cheaper down the road, though that is a fun conspiracy theory. What it most likely means is what we have all seen from Dozier this season: He has some talent, but he is erratic. He has some pop, but he also takes some terrible at bats. He makes good plays in the field, then he has groan-worthy rookie lapses that lead to errors. (Disastrous? That's a bit strong).

He is a guy who now has 416 career at bats in the minors above Class A (311 in New Britain last season, 105 in Rochester this year before getting called up) and 316 career at bats in the majors. He is not exceedingly young (25), but his experience level means he is still plenty raw.

He could use a few weeks to get his head right and his confidence back. Maybe he could even use that time to start proving he's a big league player instead of simply being a big league player.

We still think he has a very good chance to be the Twins' regular shortstop in 2013 and beyond. His minor league numbers suggest much better plate discipline and overall at-bat quality than he showed for much of his time with the Twins. Maybe he was up too early this year out of desperation. There's no guarantee that he'll be back -- and back for good -- after a short trip in Rochester, but it would hardly be surprising.