CHICAGO – The Twins dropped the opener of their four-game series against the White Sox 3-1 on Monday, maybe partly because the club was missing three starters.
Second baseman Marwin Gonzalez was a late scratch because of a non-COVID illness, forcing the Twins to activate Travis Blankenhorn from the taxi squad.
First baseman Miguel Sano and left fielder Eddie Rosario, both removed during Sunday's game because of injuries, were also out of the starting lineup. Sano is battling a stiff neck while Rosario injured his left elbow colliding with Byron Buxton in the outfield.
Blankenhorn, a 24-year-old left-handed hitting infielder, was the Twins' third round choice in 2015 and has never played above Class AA. He split last season between Class A Fort Myers and AA Pensacola, hitting .277 with 19 home runs. To make room for him on the roster, reliever Devin Smeltzer was sent to St. Paul.
Sano is in a 1-for-10 skid at the plate and struck out in all three plate appearances Sunday before being removed from the game.
"We just deemed Miggy not being at the point where he can turn his head enough to play at the moment," manager Rocco Baldelli said before the game.
"Didn't feel comfortable putting him in the lineup. His is more of an injury that any of us could be dealing with at any moment. But as far as hitting and throwing, having trouble turning his head has been kind of a little bit of a bummer and more of a pain than anything else.
"[Rosario] is going to need another day. We'll see how he is. We're going to keep treating him and see how he is by game time and maybe as the game gets going possibly he can help us out in the game. But he's not going to start tonight."