Twins reluctantly trim Drew Butera
FORT MYERS, FLA. – For the second year in a row, Drew Butera will begin the regular season in the minors.
The Twins sent Butera to Class AAA Rochester on Monday, leaving Joe Mauer and Ryan Doumit as the only catchers on the major league roster.
Butera has been a backup on the major league level since 2010. He is an excellent catcher. He calls good games and the pitchers love working with him. He has an arm to shut down the running game. But he's a career .183 hitter. The Twins wanted a bat on the bench.
"This is the hardest one of the spring for me, making that move,'' manager Ron Gardenhire said, "but we're trying to get a little something more off the bench and get a little more versatility here. We think the first 10 days to two weeks of the season you would not need a third catcher. These two should be able to get through it.''
Butera was called up last May 1 and spent the rest of the year in the majors.
"Start out this way and see how it goes,'' Gardenhire said. "And if we need to make adjustments, we will do it.''
Outfielder Brandon Boggs, infielder Matt Clement, catcher Dan Rohlfing and infielder Ray Olmedo were assigned to the minor league camp. The Twins have 31 players in camp, but four — Rich Harden, Rafael Perez, Tim Wood and Samuel Deduno — are injured.
That leaves two more cuts. Gardenhire prefers to go north with 12 pitchers but said he might have to take 13 in order to carry someone who might be injured for a few days or to have other options to keep Rule 5 draft pick Ryan Preesly from being used too much.
