ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Twins were crowded around TVs this morning in their clubhouse, watching Alex Rodriguez announce his retirement. Interesting to think about how long he's been around — Jose Berrios, who started last night for the Twins, was 42 days old when Rodriguez debuted for the Mariners in 1994.
The Twins announced that Trevor Plouffe will rejoin the team Monday at Target Field, having homered and doubled Saturday night in his final rehab start with Class AAA Rochester. The corresponding roster move? Twins manager Paul Molitor said it is "To Be Announced," not "To Be Determined," but that "things could happen today" to affect what the Twins will do, presumably meaning injuries.
Molitor is starting Miguel Sano at third base for the series finale, and moving Jorge Polanco to shortstop, which is interesting. That's not considered the rookie's best position, and he's played third base throughout this road trip, but Molitor said "I want to get a look at him at short."
What might that mean for the upcoming roster move? It could mean Molitor wants to take one more look at Sano in the field before a possible temporary demotion. Or it might mean Molitor and interim general manager Rob Antony are considering Polanco as their new utility infielder, with Danny Santana becoming exclusively an outfielder; that would allow them to return Byron Buxton, 0-for-his-last-10 and 6-for-46 (.130) since the All-Star break, to Rochester.
Either way, it will be interesting to see how Molitor juggles third base, considering how impressed he has been with Polanco's development. The 23-year-old native of that famous shortstop factory, San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic — he was three days past his first birthday when ARod reached the majors — has quietly collected a hit in all seven games since his return from Rochester, and is batting .393 with five extra-base hits over that span. He's been steady at third base, too, though Molitor noted that he hasn't had many chances there.
Joe Mauer and Kurt Suzuki have the afternoon off; they'll watch Kyle Gibson, 0-4 with an 8.85 ERA in four career starts against the Rays, try to break that jinx. Here are the lineups for today's game:
TWINS
Dozier 2B
