Back with Twins, DaShawn Keirsey Jr. likes greater emphasis on running game

DaShawn Keirsey Jr. hasn’t been with the Twins in a month. He’s excited about how things changed while he was gone.

“They’ve kind of opened up the running game, running a lot more now,” Keirsey said. “That’s a big part of my game.”

He’s right on both counts — the Twins stole 23 bases in August, their highest one-month total in more than a decade. And Keirsey, a 28-year-old rookie outfielder, now ranks second among the current Twins with nine steals on the season.

Manager Rocco Baldelli’s new emphasis on aggressiveness on the bases should help Keirsey steal even more, he figures.

“It kind of takes a lot of the focus off of you” when you reach base, Keirsey reasoned. “Before, it was like, ‘OK there’s one or two guys who might run, so we’re not going to let them go.’ But when you have guys who all can become a base-running threat, they’re going to pay attention, but maybe it’s more divided attention.”

His speed paid off Monday when Baldelli sent him in to pinch run for Edouard Julien at second base. Keirsey immediately stole third base — he has half of the Twins’ four steals of third this year — which put him in position to score on Byron Buxton’s fly ball to left field.

Keirsey was one of three additions to the Twins’ roster Monday, now that teams can carry 28 players instead of 26. With righthander Mick Abel optioned to Class AAA St. Paul on Sunday, the Twins called up relievers Travis Adams and Noah Davis to fill out the expanded roster.

“That’s probably the most important part of it. Obviously as the manager, and Pete [Maki] as the pitching coach, we would love to continue to watch Mick pitch at the big league level but keeping him in a rotation, keeping him getting regular work … I think makes the most sense right now.”

Especially since Abel is working on adding a sweeper to his pitch mix.

“Getting his new sweeper where it needs to be and continuing to see that pitch evolve will be something that we’re watching,” Baldelli said. “It’s a weapon. It’s something that we think can get a lot of good results for him, but it’s a brand-new pitch. Allowing him to continue to work with that pitch and figure it out is really important.”

López pitched 5⅔ scoreless innings Sunday at Toledo, struck out seven, and then enjoyed a steak dinner with his St. Paul Saints teammates.

He’s glad he did, too, even though Mr. $21 Million Salary had to pay for the dinner, as is tradition on a rehab assignment.

Momentum into his major league return, he means, which should come this weekend in Kansas City. López has missed three months because of a shoulder strain that has now healed, and he’s eager to rejoin the Twins.

“It feels like ages” since he pitched in the majors, he said. “So much has happened in these last three months. I spent so much time prepping for 75 feet, 90 feet, flat grounds, bullpens and now — hopefully in four or five days from now — doing it on a big league mound. I’m excited.”

López said his St. Paul starts were especially valuable since he didn’t have the usual scouting reports to guide him, “so it’s a good opportunity to challenge yourself. If I don’t know anything about who’s in the box, how do I pitch? Stick to my strengths. So I see it as an opportunity to take the batter out of the equation and just execute pitches based on my strengths.”

Catcher Christian Vázquez will return to Minnesota next week to be examined by Twins doctors, in hopes of being activated before the season ends. Vázquez, absent since Aug. 6 with an infection in his right shoulder, a condition that required a surgical procedure to cure, has been at his home in Florida while waiting for the shoulder to heal.