The Twins will activate Jose Morales from the disabled list today and option him to Class AAA Rochester, where he'll share catching duties with recently demoted Wilson Ramos, General Manager Bill Smith said.
Morales to come off DL, share catching duties with Ramos in AAA
Morales is a .328 career major league hitter, who could help the Twins again sometime in 2010.
May 13, 2010 at 4:05PM
Morales, who batted .311 (37-for-119) for the Twins last season, had surgery on his right wrist in January and has been rehabbing in Fort Myers, Fla.
Ramos caught most games for the Twins while Joe Mauer was out with a bruised left heel, but the Twins optioned Ramos back to Rochester after Wednesday's game. The Twins will continue using Drew Butera as Mauer's backup.
Morales and Ramos will both be available to catch Friday, when Rochester opens its next homestand.
"There will be enough at-bats and enough innings behind the plate for both of them," Smith said. "It's just like last year when we had Butera and Morales in Rochester, and both needed to catch."
Jair Fernandez and Allan de San Miguel had been handling the catching duties for Rochester when Ramos was with the Twins. Fernandez will return to Class A Fort Myers and de San Miguel will return to Class AA New Britain.
Note: It's a great day to be home, writing off-day stories. At noon on MLB Network, it'll be Tigers/Yankees (Verlander/Sabathia), and tonight on MLB Network, it's Mets/Marlins (Santana/Johnson).
The Forest Lake native has been a standout at the plate and in the outfield during the second half of the season.
