Arcia is on Twins roster to hit, not sit

Ron Gardenhire doesn't expect Ryan Doumit to come storming into his office, demanding to know why he wasn't in the lineup Thursday. But he couldn't blame him if he did.

"He can probably bite a bat in half right now," the Twins manager said after posting a lineup that had rookie Oswaldo Arcia occupying Doumit's normal role as designated hitter. "He played pretty much every day for us last year. But you know what, I didn't bring Arcia up here to sit on the bench."

To be fair, Doumit has played every inning of 15 of the Twins' 17 games entering Thursday, so it's not like he's not getting work. But he's been out of the starting lineup in three of the past five games, so Gardenhire can give the 21-year-old Arcia an extended look. Gardenhire is moving the rookie around — in his six games, Arcia has filled in for Josh Willingham in left field twice, for Chris Parmelee in right field once, and three times as DH — but wants him to keep playing. "I want to get him some swings. That's what he's here for," the manager said.

But once you factor in the four rainouts the Twins have absorbed in the past week and a half, the manager said, and it's becoming difficult to juggle the lineup and keep players feeling busy.

"The starters don't feel like they've really played a lot of games right now. But if I just play the starters and don't use any of these other guys, think how long they're going to be sitting out," Gardenhire said.

The Rangers' 11-3 victory over the Angels ended at 10:27 p.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday, meaning it was after midnight before Texas' charter plane could take off. The plane landed in Minnesota at 6 a.m., and the Rangers were in their hotel rooms around 7 a.m.

"It's a tough travel day," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "But it's more or less a mind-over-matter situation. It's on the schedule, so you come and try to play, do the best you can, then get a good night's rest."

That was in February.

More than two months later, Romero has finally been cleared by the Dominican government to travel to the United States, Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said. A paperwork snafu — his birth certificate reportedly was destroyed in a fire in his hometown's city hall — cost him his shot a making the Twins' roster; now he has to work just to get back to where he was.

"He had a good, solid year for us last year at Double-A," Ryan said. "Everything being equal, [Class AAA Rochester] would have been his spot. Unfortunately, things aren't equal right now."

Romero, once considered one of the Twins' most promising prospects, has been working out at the Twins' academy in the Dominican Republic, so the Twins are hopeful he can get in game shape quickly. He will arrive at Fort Myers, Fla., in the next few days, Ryan said.

• Righthander Anthony Slama was placed on the seven-day disabled list by Rochester after developing a sore back while pitching Wednesday.